Struggling with small bumps on your face that aren't pimples or acne? Here's why they develop and how you can treat them

 

Especially if you live in a hot and humid climate, you might have noticed small bumps (that aren't acne or pimples) around the areas of your face where you sweat the most - forehead, cheeks, temples, chin.

These small bumps that aren't pimples or acne are called milia. Unlike typical acne, blackheads, or whiteheads, milia operate differently.

It’s never easy to resist the temptation of touching your skin and popping these pesky bumps. But if popping them hasn’t solved your textured skin problems, perhaps it’s time to acknowledge that there are deeper issues at play.

There are internal and external causes of these small pimple-like bumps, and treating them means reversing the long-term damage to your skin.

Keep reading to find out more about the causes of milia and how to treat them.

Table of Contents 1. Milia: The main culprit of textured skin 1-1. What are milia? 1-2. Slowed skin turnover is the primary cause of milia 1-3. What causes slowed skin turnover? 2. Do's and don'ts: How to treat small bumps and textured skin 2-1. Do: Wipe sweat and moisturize 2-2. Don't: Forcefully pop milia 2-3. Do: Sun protection (sunscreen, sun umbrella, hats)

 

1. Milia: The main culprit of textured skin

1-1. What are milia?

Milia, also known as milk spots, are small cysts that are most commonly found on the face. These cysts develop when dead skin cells and skin protein are clogged underneath the surface of the skin, and harden over time.

They are not to be confused with acne, pimples, whiteheads, or blackheads. 

Some characteristics of milia include: Painless Asymptomatic Firm Dome-like White or yellow in color Develops in clusters

1-2.  Slowed skin turnover is the primary cause of milia

Our skin has a natural process called skin turnover. This is a regeneration process in which new skin cells travel from the deepest layer of the skin (stratum basale) to the outermost layer (stratum corneum). Once new skin cells reach the surface of your skin, your skin naturally sheds the dead skin cells.

Skin turnover involves a skin protein known as keratin. Keratin is a protein that helps form hair tissue, nails, and new skin cells for your skin's outermost layer.  

But when the dead skin cells on your skin's outermost layer don’t shed, new skin cells formed by keratin are prevented from traveling up to the surface. This occurs when your skin's turnover process is delayed. When this happens, new skin cells grow on top of the dead ones and traps them underneath. In other words, new skin cells become clogged and blocked within the skin, forming milia bumps underneath the skin's surface.

1-3. What causes slowed skin turnover?

Why can’t your skin shed properly? Why does keratin get clogged underneath your skin?

According to Singapore’s Cutis Medical Laser Clinics, slowed skin turnover and resulting milia are associated with some kind of damage to the skin. 

TLDR: Your skin is more prone to milia in countries where the average temperature is tropical or humid. Sun damage, sebum produced from excessive sweating, and extreme dryness of the skin from sweat make it difficult for keratin to travel up to the skin surface for turnover. It instead stays trapped and hardens underneath the skin.

1. Sun exposure and damage: Prolonged sun exposure causes the skin to become leathery and extremely dehydrated, making it more difficult for keratin and dead skin cells to rise to the skin surface and shed.
2. Excessive sweat and sebum: Although sweating doesn’t directly cause milia, sebum does. Sweat activates the production of sebum, which is composed of oil, fatty acids, and cholesterol. Especially in hot and humid climates, the abundance of sebum produced from sweating can clog pores on the skin surface and trap dead skin cells underneath. 
3. Overdry: Overdry occurs when sweat or any kind of moisture on our skin evaporates, and takes away the natural moisture within our skin as well. This causes your skin to become extremely dehydrated and produce excess oil to compensate for the dryness. Dehydration and oil make your skin more susceptible to milia because they create unideal conditions for skin turnover. 
4. Cosmetics and makeup: Cosmetics and makeup products clog pores on the skin surface, preventing keratin from moving up to the surface for turnover and causing buildup. This is worsened when you use products that are too heavy for your skin type or that have a high oil content.
5. Aging: With age, our skin’s natural ability to exfoliate and the speed at which skin turnover occurs slows down, making it easier to develop milia.
6. Genetics: Overproduction of keratin can be a result of a genetic condition. Since the skin’s natural turnover process can’t keep up, this overgrowth can accelerate buildup within the skin.

2. Do's and don'ts: How to treat small bumps and textured skin

Unfortunately, there is no permanent cure for milia. Time is the best medicine since the bumps will clear up on their own.

But that doesn't mean there's nothing you can do to speed up the recovery process. Below are the do's and don'ts of treating milia.

2-1. Do: Wipe sweat and moisturize

Whenever you can, wipe away the sweat on your face with a towel and moisturize immediately.

When the sweat on our skin evaporates, our skin’s natural moisture is also stripped away. This not only causes our skin to become extremely dry (overdry), but it causes an overproduction of sebum to compensate for the dryness. 

The combination of inner dry skin and excessive sebum prevents keratin from surfacing and dead skin cells from shedding. Thus, it becomes very important to regularly dab sweat off and moisturize your skin right away.

When you moisturize, it’s important to moisturize effectively. Meaning, you have to replenish hydration to your skin and make sure your skin retains that moisture for as long as possible.

A perfect moisturizer for that is Earthcare Asia’s Aquatect Gel - it provides those exact two functions of hydration and moisture retention.

With its golden water-to-oil ratio of 8:2, Aquatect Gel hydrates the skin and locks that hydration for a long period of time.

After wiping away the sweat on your face, your skin is in a highly vulnerable condition - it needs to be hydrated and protected as soon as possible. Not to mention, sweating is a natural bodily process that could happen anywhere at any time. It's completely normal to have to wipe and moisturize many times throughout the day - but that would mean buying moisturizers more frequently. Thus, time and money may become an issue. But not to worry with Aquatect Gel: it is an all-in-1 effective moisturizer that significantly reduces the amount of time and money you need to spend on moisturization. 

Want to speed up the recovery of those pesky small bumps with Aquatect Gel?

Click here to purchase the value trial kit - limited for first-time customers only!

2-2. Don't: Forcefully pop milia

Just like how you’ve been told not to pop your pimples, you should not be popping milia. If anything, it might be worse to pop milia than pimples.

Unlike pimples, milia don’t have an opening in the skin’s outermost layer. This is because they form under a thin layer of skin below the skin surface. Although the small bumps may look like it’s on the surface of your skin, it’s actually located farther below. Popping milia out would be to forcefully rip through your skin. This will cause further unwanted scarring, skin damage, and infection.

2-3. Do: Sun protection (sunscreen, sun umbrella, hats)

Including a sun protection regime in your daily routine can help prevent milia.

As mentioned above, sun exposure and damage are one of the main causes of milia. The sun’s UV rays dehydrate your skin, causing it to become leathery. This makes it more difficult for keratin and dead skin cells to rise to the skin surface and shed.

You can do this by applying sunscreen, using a sun umbrella when you’re outside, or wearing a hat to protect the skin on your face.

For smarter sunscreen selection, we recommend you use one that checks all the following boxes:

• Hypoallergenic sunscreens that are UV absorber-free and only made of UV scattering agents
• Sunscreens with low SPF for less strain on the skin
• Waterproof sunscreens that do not come off at room temperature water. 

Although there are no permanent solutions to completely getting rid of milia, understanding the dos and don'ts will assure that you don't aggravate those small bumps on your skin any further.  

 

References

Barrell, A., 2021. ‘How to get rid of small bumps on the forehead.’ Medical News Today. [online] Available at: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/small-bumps-on-forehead. (Accessed 26 September 2022).

Cutis Laser Clinics, 2021. ‘What are those tiny bumps on your face?’ Cutis Medical Laser Clinics. [online] Available at: https://www.cutislaserclinics.com/blog/what-are-those-tiny-bumps-on-your-face/. (Accessed 26 September 2022).