The mechanism of formation and the reasons for the appearance of white dots on the face. Home remedies for mildew and salon treatments. Is it worth squeezing out milia?
White dots on the face are benign neoplasms that are not harmful to health, but represent a serious aesthetic problem. It is almost impossible to disguise them with makeup. Removing yourself is problematic. But you can take some measures to reduce the number of ugly "grains" under the skin and prevent the appearance of new ones. However, first let's talk about how white dots on the face are called in cosmetology, and for what reasons they appear.
What are white spots on the face?
Photo of white dots on the face
Small whitish balls, protruding under the skin, in the language of science are designated by the term "miliums", and the people are simply called millets for their resemblance to scattered grains of millet.
Not a single person is immune from their appearance, regardless of gender, age and skin type, although it is believed that women are more often attacked by millets. Perhaps this is due to the fascination of the fair sex with cosmetics that clog pores. Perhaps - by the structural features of the female skin. Or maybe, the increased attention that ladies pay to their appearance: many men will simply ignore the appearance of a pair of hard white dots on their faces, while 9 out of 10 women will immediately start looking for a solution to the problem and ways to remove milia.
Be that as it may, but millet is a phenomenon so widespread that everyone can face it. This means that it will not hurt to study their "weak points" in advance and, first of all, to understand the process of milium formation.
How white dots appear on the face:
- Due to internal malfunctions in the body or the influence of external negative causes, blockage of the sebaceous ducts occurs.
- Under the skin, a small, at first almost invisible from the outside, capsule with a dense shell is formed, filled with the secretion of the sebaceous glands (sebum) and epithelial tissue cells - mainly keratin.
- The capsule grows in size and clearly appears under the skin. At the same time, it retains its density, which is why it is difficult to mechanically remove it: an attempt to squeeze out milia or milia often ends in injury to the skin, introduction of bacteria into the wound and subsequent inflammation.
Most often, on the skin of the face, white dots are localized in the area of the eyes and cheekbones, on the wings of the nose, at the temples or lips. In some cases, they never appear on the surface of the skin, but are felt on palpation as hard painless seals.
Note! Such neoplasms never degenerate into malignant tumors, but they do not disappear on their own. To get rid of the millet, you have to resort to certain actions.
Causes of white spots on the face
It is safe to say what provoked the appearance of milia on the face in each case, sometimes even certified cosmetologists cannot. Specialists know only a general range of reasons, which are divided into two large groups - external and internal. But in order to understand how to get rid of white dots on the face as efficiently as possible, you should try to determine at least the most probable root of the problem, and only then proceed to remove the "mildews".
External causes of the appearance of milia:
- Low-quality decorative or care cosmetics;
- Lack of the habit of removing makeup every day and thoroughly cleansing your face before going to bed;
- Neglect of UV protection (UV-filters, sunglasses, wide-brimmed hat) and overuse of tanning beds;
- Poor environmental conditions;
- Lack of oxygen caused by sleeping in an unventilated room, lack of walks in the fresh air, prolonged stay in rooms with stale air.
Internal causes of white spots on the face:
- An abundance of spicy, fatty, sweet foods in the diet;
- Excessive love of coffee;
- Smoking;
- Alcohol abuse;
- Long-term use of certain medications, in particular antibiotics;
- High blood cholesterol;
- Lack of physical activity, reflected in the state of metebolism;
- Various kinds of skin diseases - dermatitis, seborrhea, etc.;
- Disturbances in the activity of the heart, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract and thyroid gland;
- Hormonal disruptions;
- Heredity - for example, by nature, increased secretion of the sebaceous glands.
Millets that have appeared in connection with diseases must be eliminated under the supervision of a doctor. A healthy lifestyle, proper skin care and cosmetic procedures, which we will talk about below, help to cope with the rest.
Note! The appearance of white dots on the face of an adult and a child can be due to different reasons, therefore, the approach to cleansing the skin in these cases should be different. What to do with your baby's milia, if they really bother you, it is better to ask your pediatrician.
Ways to deal with white spots on the face
Miliums rarely require serious intervention under the supervision of a physician. In most cases, it is possible to cope with them with the help of salon cosmetic procedures, and with luck - also at home. But immediately tune in to long-term painstaking work: stubborn small white dots on the face do not easily give up their positions.
Masks from white dots on the face
Folk remedies are able to cope with mildews on the face only at a very early stage, when the white capsule tubercles have already appeared, but have not yet had time to grow and "fix" in the skin. Otherwise, homemade recipes can only be seen as ancillary measures for salon treatments.
Effective masks for removing white spots on the face:
- Cosmetic clay … Dilute 1 tbsp. l. pharmacy clay with boiling water or hot milk so as to obtain a paste that resembles sour cream in consistency. Add a few drops of lemon juice. Lubricate clean, dry skin in the area of white spots, let the clay dry completely and wash with warm water. Finally, treat your face with a moisturizer or anti-inflammatory cream. For oily skin, it is recommended to use white and blue clay, for normal - red, for those prone to breakouts - black, for mature and fading - pink. Dry skin, in principle, does not interact well with clay, but if you need to remove small white dots on a face prone to dryness, take a green or yellow one.
- Egg white … Lubricate the millet with whipped chicken or quail egg whites, renewing the layers as they dry. In total, it is required to make from 3 to 5 layers, after which the protein must be washed off, and the skin must be moisturized with a cream. Interestingly, some advise to stick a thin film on the inside of the egg on the white miliums and remove it after it is completely dry.
- Gelatin and kefir … 1/2 tsp dilute gelatin 1 tbsp. l. kefir with a fat content of 2.5%, let it swell and lubricate the problem areas of the face with a thick jelly-like mass. After 15 minutes wash well and use the cream. In addition, it does not hurt to make daily lotions from sour milk, kefir or yogurt, simply moistening cotton pads in one of these drinks and applying them to acne.
- Yeast and peroxide … Mash 1/4 of a pack of "live" yeast with a fork and pour 1 tbsp. l. 3% hydrogen peroxide and 1 tbsp. l. lemon juice. Lubricate with the resulting milium paste, leave the mask for 20 minutes and rinse with warm water. Treat your face with cream. It is important to apply the mixture quickly, before it stops bubbling, since the mask helps to remove white spots on the face precisely in the active phase, when peroxide enhances the effect of yeast and increases the permeability of the epidermis.
- Oatmeal and honey. 1 tbsp. l. combine ground oatmeal with 1 tsp. honey and 2 tsp. lemon juice. Cover the white spots with a sweet, sticky mass, avoiding the area around the eyes where it can stretch the skin, leave it on for 15 minutes and wash with warm water.
- Pumpkin and nettle … To remove milia at home, brew 3 tbsp. l. dry or fresh nettle leaves with boiling water. While the broth is cooling, grate the pumpkin pulp on a fine grater to get 2 tbsp. l. gruel. Combine the pumpkin shavings with 1 tbsp. l. of strained nettle infusion, thicken with a small amount of oatmeal or rice flour and apply on problem areas of the face. After 30 minutes, wash off the mask and rinse your face with the rest of the nettle decoction.
- Herbs … To get rid of milia, add 1 tbsp each into a thermos. l. dry flowers of chamomile and calendula. Pour 150 ml of boiling water and leave to infuse for 2-3 hours. In the evening, cleanse your skin from cosmetics and daytime dust, soak in a linen napkin and apply on your face, or use a decoction for spot applications using cotton pads. It is worth continuing this useful practice even after cleansing the face of white spots - as a prevention of new mildews and to improve the general condition of the skin.
Note! Folk remedies are considered relatively safe, but do not forget that they can cause an allergic reaction. If this is your first time dealing with any of the components of a hand-mixed mask, be sure to test it on the wrist or the crook of the elbow and see how the skin reacts. So you will protect yourself from possible troubles.
Mechanical removal of white spots on the face
Women who have been struggling with comedones and acne for a long time are probably familiar with such an object as Vidal's needle (loop, spoon). In shape, it resembles a stick, one end of which is pointed, and the other is equipped with a metal loop or a concave plate with a hole. Skillfully using one or the other end, experienced young ladies remove sebaceous plugs of various types from under their skin.
However, miliums are a much more difficult task for an inept cosmetologist than ordinary blackheads and acne, and the risk of infection when trying to remove them is higher. If you do not have serious experience in this area, it is better to entrust the cleaning to a professional cosmetologist who knows exactly how to remove white spots on the face without damaging the skin.
Advantages of the procedure:
- simplicity;
- cheapness.
Minuses:
- soreness;
- duration - if there are a lot of spots, 2 or more sessions may be required;
- risk of infection.
How to remove white dots on the face with Vidal's needle:
- Remove makeup, cleanse skin with lotion.
- Disinfect the needle and hands.
- Wipe the millet to be removed with a cotton swab moistened with a disinfectant - alcohol, Chlorhexidine, etc.
- Pressing the skin around the pimple with the fingers of your left hand (if you are right-handed), gently pierce it over the millet with your right hand. As you know, milia do not have an exit to the surface, so you need to create it very delicately.
- Turn the needle over and press it with a loop or "spoon" to your face so that the millet falls into the hole.
- Press the instrument against the skin, squeezing the millet capsule into the puncture.
- Wipe the area again with a cotton swab and disinfectant.
We repeat: despite the seeming simplicity, you should not undertake the removal of milia if you are holding the Vidal needle in your hands for the first time in your life. Inflammation can turn out to be much more unsightly marks for you than a small millet.
Cosmetology procedures against white spots on the face
A visit to a cosmetologist is desirable not only because a good specialist is more likely to be able to guess what causes white dots on the client's face and give useful advice on how to eliminate them. Removing skin defects in a salon is, firstly, sterility, which cannot be ensured in an apartment, secondly, the lightness of the master's hand and, finally, the greater effectiveness of the procedures compared to home masks. Neither herbs, nor clay, nor protein will provide you with such an effect.
Salon ways how to remove millet:
- Ultrasonic or vacuum face cleaning … Both methods differ from mechanical removal in greater delicacy and less trauma, both require the use of special devices. The cost of ultrasonic cleaning ranges from 1,500 to 4,000 rubles, vacuum cleaning is about 1,200 rubles.
- Acid peeling … These are all sorts of programs for dissolving sebum plugs and reducing sebum production by applying various acid-based mixtures to the face. The cost is calculated in each case separately, the average price is 2000 rubles.
- Electrocoagulation … Not the most popular method for removing skin defects, because after exposure to milia with electric shocks, white dense dots on the face have a chance to be replaced by small scars. However, with a good beautician and a high level of beauty salon, this risk is minimal. The cost of removing 1 skin neoplasm is 350-1000 rubles.
- Cryotherapy … The short-term effect of low temperatures on various skin imperfections allows you to remove milia and achieve amazing results, restoring smoothness to the face. As a rule, liquid nitrogen is used, and the removal of each millet is estimated at 100-650 rubles.
- Laser coagulation … The most modern and low-traumatic method of getting rid of white spots by means of a laser. The cost of removing one capsule, depending on its size, can be between 340 and 1500 rubles.
How to remove miliums - watch the video:
The cosmetologist will tell you what to do with white dots on the face and what method of dealing with them to choose. Try to find a good beauty salon and a professional in your field, and then work together to build a line of struggle against milia. Rest assured, despite the stickiness, millets will not be able to resist your regular and purposeful actions.
