Most folks have seen milia a jillion times but didn't know what it was. I always called it "baby zits" because you generally see it most often on infants.
It happens frequently to babies because their glands are not fully formed. More rarely it occurs in adults, most often the result of trauma to the sebaceous glands or from using facial products too rich for their skin type. Even in adults, they're most often seen around the eye, so if this happens to you, STOP using the eye cream you're using! (I started using a REN eye gel when this happened to me, so I ceased and desisted. In my case this was probably just being overly cautious as it only happened around one eye, the eye that I smashed up in an accident last year and where I still have nerve damage.)
Despite it's acne like appearance- THIS IS NOT ACNE. If you try to pinch or squeeze these, you won't accomplish anything other than permanently scarring your face. On babies they tend to disappear on their own, but for some reason with adults they stubbornly refuse to go. If you're a grown up and get these- you have to go to the dermatologist for removal. Much internet scanning showed some dubious home remedies that generally involved jabbing needles into the skin a few centimeters from my eyeball. No thanks.
Sadly, the average dermatologist charge roughly $150 apiece to remove these! I tried masks, serums, exfoliants... no dice. Then..... cue the sun breaking through the clouds.....
SHE appeared! My life, my love, my Clarisonic.
For a bit more than the cost to remove one milia, I bought my pretty pink Clarisonic. I had a discount code, so I got about 20% off and had heard nothing but raves. My mom considers hers to be as neccesary as oxygen so I finally gave in and got one as my Christmas present to myself. GLORY BE AND HALLELUJAH!
I use mine twice a day and the difference it makes is indescribable. The first time I used it, I was in awe of how soft my skin was afterwards and how much better my facial products seemed to absorb. It's waterproof, so I can use it in the shower and it holds it's charge for quite some time. I used to lazy out and not do a full ritualistic cleaning, but this makes it so easy that I feel as if I'm depriving myself of a mini facial if I don't give myself that 2 minutes of vibrating, cleaning bliss.
The best part? Within a week some of the smaller ones disappeared and in a month's time every single last one was gone. The Husband probably wanted to give me crap for such an extravagent purchase at first, but he was amazed by the results and now he thinks it's the bees knees. With daily use, the little buggers haven't come back and I have a happy face again!
Despite it's acne like appearance- THIS IS NOT ACNE. If you try to pinch or squeeze these, you won't accomplish anything other than permanently scarring your face. On babies they tend to disappear on their own, but for some reason with adults they stubbornly refuse to go. If you're a grown up and get these- you have to go to the dermatologist for removal. Much internet scanning showed some dubious home remedies that generally involved jabbing needles into the skin a few centimeters from my eyeball. No thanks.
Sadly, the average dermatologist charge roughly $150 apiece to remove these! I tried masks, serums, exfoliants... no dice. Then..... cue the sun breaking through the clouds.....
SHE appeared! My life, my love, my Clarisonic.
I use mine twice a day and the difference it makes is indescribable. The first time I used it, I was in awe of how soft my skin was afterwards and how much better my facial products seemed to absorb. It's waterproof, so I can use it in the shower and it holds it's charge for quite some time. I used to lazy out and not do a full ritualistic cleaning, but this makes it so easy that I feel as if I'm depriving myself of a mini facial if I don't give myself that 2 minutes of vibrating, cleaning bliss.
The best part? Within a week some of the smaller ones disappeared and in a month's time every single last one was gone. The Husband probably wanted to give me crap for such an extravagent purchase at first, but he was amazed by the results and now he thinks it's the bees knees. With daily use, the little buggers haven't come back and I have a happy face again!
4 comments:
Thanks so much for your review! I just realized I have more milia around my upper cheeks area and aren't quite sure what's causing it and quite recently got the Olay Pro X which is somewhat like the Clarisonic. I just have a question though... do you still use an exfoliator once or twice a week on top of your daily cleansing with the Clarisonic? TIA for your response!
I do still use an exfoliator, I stick with the fairly gentle ones so as not to irritate my skin. I noticed before using the Clarisonic that if I used a rough exfoliator it actually made it worse. Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion is a really good one ( pricy, but you only use a tiny bit so it lasts forever), but yeah, stick with the gentle ones. Also, I've been doing a lot of clay masks lately that seem to have kept them at bay.
I know this comment is a year late, but I'm highly considereing getting the Mia. I have blackheads and milia on my nose, chin, and forehead. I use the Body Shop facial buffer, but it does nothing for me. My current regimen is: Dove white bar, then philosophy face soap, then clean and clear blackhead eraser, then I use seabreeze on a cotton pad, and then a moisturizer. I think it's time to change my regimen, cause nothing is working for my skin. I've tried pore strips, ice facials, egg masks, nothing works. What products do you recommend I continue using, and what ones do you recommend I stop? I pretty much have decided to get the leopard-print Mia, but I assume it's also the products we use as well.
The Mia should definitely help, and I highly recommend removing any makeup first before using it. Even though they are great at removing makeup, I think it gets the brush too dirty. Dr. Brandt Pore Vacuum is really good at removing blackheads. I've never used the facial buffer so I don't know how gentle it is, but I noticed that too harsh of a scrub made my milia worse, I guess it irritated it. I'm a huge Dove fan, but I'd say the Philosophy soap should be enough (that stuff is awesome!)Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing and it sounds like you're giving yourself an unnecessary extra step. The Clean & Clear Eraser is apparently useless, a friend of mine said it did NOTHING for her, and I've read similar things online. Terrible reviews across the board. Make sure that you're not using too rich of a moisturizer, but don't go overboard the other direction and let your skin dry out, all that'll do is make things worse. Hope that helps!
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