What are milia seeds?
Milia seeds are white bumps that form when skin cells get trapped under the skin’s surface and often appear around the eye area. They can be caused by lack of exfoliation, sun exposure or oily moisturizers and sunscreens that aren’t suitable for the delicate eye area.
How to prevent the growth of milia seeds
- Exfoliate by using gentle scrubs or an exfoliating cleanser once or twice a week.
- Avoid using oily and greasy creams around the eye area as they could clog your pores. Opt for oil-free products instead.
- Avoid too much sun exposure.
- Don’t use rough pillowcases that could irritate your skin.
How to treat milia seeds
If you already have milia seeds, you should go to a dermatologist to have them removed. I heard some people get rid of them at home with the help of a needle, but because they appear in such sensitive areas, like around the eyes, I wouldn’t recommend doing that, unless you’re absolutely certain and confident you can do it. And even then, make sure the milia seeds haven’t hardened. If so, don’t attempt to do anything on your own and consult a dermatologist.
What do you do to prevent milia seeds?
Source
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
I have milia around my eyes but exfoliation seems to help. If the eye cream is too rich, a seed will definitely sprout.
thank u! i’ve had these my whole life but never knew what they were til i was an adult. they weren’t “whiteheads” or “blackheads” and no matter what i did, they never went away. mine are trapped below the surface and no amount of exfoliation would get rid of em. i tried to squeeze them out and sometimes that’d work but the milia is way bigger than the pore and so it was nearly impossible. i did try the needle thing too– it works but it hurts. the skin is so delicate and u basically have to create an artificial hole and squeeze the thing out.
definitely recommend seeing a dermatologist. altho, most eye creams tend to be rich anyway, so i don’t see how u can avoid that. the other thing i’m trying is aveda exfoliant (liquid toner/glycolic acid) to keep my pores clean. but it’s hard when u use creme de la mer or other rich creams (esp in winter)
Exfoliating helps for me although sometimes they disappear by themselves. Thankfully, I don’t get them that often.
I think I might actually be getting some on my neck, of all places! I don’t exfoliate that area nearly enough. I’ll see if exfoliating more often will help.
Dao: if the milia seeds are new and not hardened too much, exfoliation will remove them, but it takes a lot of time.
Suz: I’m sory to hear you have this problem. I think exfoliation helps only if milia are new. But if it is already hardened, consulting a dermatologist is the better thing to do. The needle thing sounds painful and, if one is as clumsy as me, dangerous. I know it’s hard to avoid richer creams, esp in the winter, but if don’t apply them around the eye area, you should hopefully be fine. As for the eye cream, you just need to experiment until you find one that is light enough and works well for you. But I know that finding good skincare product isn’t that easy.
Jnie: lucky you! I never heard of them disappearing but glad they do for you.
Danielle: The neck is such a neglected area. I’m guilty of not taking care enough of it in the winter when I usually war those halterneck sweaters. If the milia seeds are new, exfoliating should help, but it will take a while.
The ones on my neck have mostly gone away with exfoliation. Do you have any experience of getting rid of small, soft bumps around the eye area? I have some where I have undereye circles. They’re about the size of milia seeds, but they’re soft and I’m afraid of exfoliating them because the skin is so thin there. Any ideas? I’ve heard some women refer to them as “chicken skin”
I’m sorry to hear you have chicken skin. Personally I’ve never had it but as far as I know there is no cure for it. There are treatments available but you need to be consistent or the condition will reapper. One option is to exfoliate with a loofa and dermatologists recommended mild exfolaiting products that contain AHA, like glycolic acid. Products with Retin-A would help too. But for a better diagnosis and proper treatment II recommend consulting a dermatologist.
pettybeautiful, that’s too bad! Removing milia can be painful and also very expensive. I’ve heard more dermatologists charge about $100 to do it! But unfortunately it’s the only way to get rid of them once they’ve hardened..
A good home ingredient that can get rid of milia is aspirin.. i recently discovered that the tiny raised bump i have n partso f my face are called milia.. so i made a desperate search and found that solution to come up in places.. so i tried it,.
Apparently aspirin masks work good after a while (like 15 mins 2-3 times a week) but i was impatient so i did an aspirin mask then rinsed.. then took an aspirin tablet and wet the edge SLIGHTLY (cos it dissolves quick) n rubbed it on areas where i had the milia (which took AGES cos there are quite few lol). But i could see it working!.. little balls came out or would come onto the aspirin.
However don’t do it on whiteheads or spots – it will not have the same affect and only irritate that part… but as far as milia is concerned it improved it… i’m planning on continuing till it goes.. but i’m givin my skin a little break from all the rubbin.
Anyway i hope this helps someone!
Hi Ella, thanks for sharing. I’m glad aspirin worked for you and hopefully it’ll help others too.
Hi ELLA!!
I tried your trick and it works!!! It has cleard up some of my milia, i will keep doing it a few times a week. Thank you so much, sometimes i look at my face and all i can see are those white dots!!
It does leave the area you rubbed a little red, but i put a little eye cream over it!
anyways hope this works for everyone out there, has anyone else tried??
Hi Amber, I’m so glad that Ella tip worked so well for you.
I also have milia under my eyes, I didn’t knew it was milia at first then I found this site (Coz im searching for solutions he he!). I think its already 4 months since I have this and I’m getting very frustrated because it doesn’t disappear. I suspect its because of my eye cream clogging my pores. I’m afraid to pick it with needle because its soft, very small my skin under my eyes is very thin. Do you think diamond peel can remove this milia?
Chill, I feel any peel and exfoliator can help when milia have just appeared, but once it’s hardened (and I think after four months it’s probably hardened), the best thing to do is visit a dermatology to have it removed. You can try exfoliating first, but usually it takes time and you have to do it several times. But after a few months, I’m not sure how well it’ll work. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
hey,if i get them removed from a doctor ,they will come back or not(milia),if thet will then wats the way 2 get them rid permanentally
Pk, milia back could come back even if you have them removed by a doctor. But you can prevent them by exfoliating regularly and avoiding too thick and greasy creams in the eye area.
HOw do you make the aspirin mask?
Tracy, it is very easy. My friend Connie wrote a blog post about it, here’s the link: http://www.skindeco.net/2008/11/monday-is-aspirin-mask-day.html Hope this helps.
The aspirin mask calls for a “cleansing gel.” What kind do you recommend, is Cetaphyl okay? Also, I’ve had milia for just under two months now. Is it too late for home treatment? I really want to get rid of these!! Thanks!
Violet, yes, I think Cetaphyl would be ok. It’s gentle but effective. I’m afraid two months may be too long to do something about it. You can try to exfoliate and see if there are any improvements, but it may be necessary to consult your dermatologist to have them removed.
How can you tell if there are improvements? Does it become smaller?
Also, for the Aspirin mask, how many tablets and how often do you recommend if you are trying to remove milia?
Last question, is removing a milia by a dermatologist painful (especially because I have them on my eyelid) and does it leave a mark for a few days after if you get it professionally removed (like an incision or something)?
Thanks in advance for answering my questions!
Violet, yes, it should become smaller and then disappear if the exfoliating treatment works. To be honest, I have never tried the aspirin mask for milia so I’m not sure about doses and frequency. I doubt you’d need more than one tablet though.
The dermatologist may use a needle to remove the milia so it may be painful but that depends on how good he/she is and the patient’s pain threshold. Also, if the doctor is expert and well-qualified and everything goes well then there shouldn’t be any mark or scars.
Hope this helps.
Thanks!
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!
I haven’t tried the aspirin mask yet but after four days of exfoliating using a loofa and St. Ives Apricot Exfoliating scrub my milia have almost all disappeared! Even the one that is months old! This site helped a lot
Violet, you’re welcome. I’m so glad to hear that!
If i apply aspirin then the milia will go away but the skin will remain red. So, is it permanent or temporary and is there anything we can do to avoid it?
What do you think of aspirin and honey would it be bad or would it help to prevent the redness?
Thanks.
Alia, I haven’t tried the aspirin mask to get rid of milia yet so I’m afraid I don’t know if it is a normal reaction or not. You just mention redness but can you please provide more information? It could be an irritation but I wouldn’t want to give advice until I know for sure that’s what you have or I may make things worse.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with mixing aspirin with honey. Honey has soothing properties so it could help prevent redness but since I haven’t tried it, I can’t say for sure. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
I have milia deposits between my eyelashes!!! How do i get rid of them? they look loke dried sleep on my eyelashes Ugh!
Prue, I’m sorry to hear that. Considering they are in such a delicate area, I think your best option is to go to a dermatologist to have them properly removed.
I started getting these when I turned 40. My best advice (and only if you are not a clutz) Using a very sharp sterilized needle with a small point: Prick inside the milia and do it about three times. Using a motion similiar to that of pulling a splinter out (dont use this motion on the eyes, only pricking straight away) Then apply a very warm compress and leave alone for a day or two. Apply the warn compress again and squeeze it out this time similar to a pimple. If it hurts too much on the eye area-leave it alone then. I get these on my eye lids and use the back end of my tweezers to squeeze them out. My dermatologist refused to remove the ones on my eyelids but I got them out myself-and did a great job might I add. Good luck!
Lori, thanks for sharing these tips. I’m glad you managed to get rid of your milia seed safely. I am really clumsy so I think it’s best I don’t attempt it but I’m sure lots of people will find them very useful.