Milia
and white bumps
In everyday speech and in the consulting room, a stye means two different things. What people usually mean is a milium: a hard white bead that sits there for months, does not hurt and cannot be squeezed out. That is gone in seconds.
A milium we remove with a fine needle, in a few seconds per bead. If it is red, warm and painful, it is an inflammation; come by then, because the approach is a different one.
How we remove milia
A fine needle opens the bead and the contents come out. Per milium that takes a few seconds, and no wound is left.
Looking first, with magnification
The skin therapist looks at each bead up close. If something among them is not a milium, you hear that straight away and not halfway through.
One prick per bead
The skin above it is opened with a sterile needle and the contents lifted out. A few seconds per bead, and you feel a prick like having a splinter taken out.
Done, and you can go
There is no anaesthetic, no plaster and no recovery time. Sometimes a red dot is visible for a few hours, and after that nothing.
Then this is only half your story.
Separate white beads are a thing on their own. If you also see blocked pores, spots or a shiny T-zone, it is congestion and the acne page is the better way in.
White bead or
inflamed gland?
White and hard on one side, red and painful on the other: that difference decides whether it can go here or goes to your GP.
A hard white bead
milium, plural milia- How you recognise it yourself
- Is it white or yellowish-white, not red, does it not hurt, and can you not squeeze anything out of it?
- What it is
- A tiny cyst of keratin, enclosed under the epidermis. There is no opening to it, which is why squeezing does not work.
- What we do
- Opening it with a sterile needle and lifting the contents out. That takes a few seconds per bead and nothing is left to see.
A sterile needle, a few seconds per bead, and nothing is left to see. Almost always a one-off treatment.
What helps and what we advise against
With milia the answer is usually short: if it is the right bump, it is done in one appointment.
This works
- Establishing first whether it is a white grain or an inflammation, because that decides between your GP and us
- Opening milia with a sterile needle, one by one, in a treatment of minutes
- Looking for a trigger: an eye cream that is too rich, sun damage, or something that damaged the skin
- Referring to your GP with anything that is red, painful or warm
We advise against this
- Pricking something that is inflamed. Around the eye that is a risk with no need for it
- Squeezing it yourself. There is no opening in it, so you only damage the skin around it
- Recommending a cream as removal. A cream does not open an enclosed milium.
- Scheduling several appointments unnecessarily. Removing a milium is usually a one-off treatment.
Frequently asked questions
Why can I not squeeze a milium out?
Because there is no opening to it. A blackhead has a pore channel to the outside; a milium is completely enclosed under a layer of skin. So squeezing only damages the tissue around it.
Does having them removed hurt?
You feel a prick per bead, comparable to having a splinter taken out. No anaesthetic is needed and you can simply leave afterwards.
Do they come back?
The treated beads do not. New ones can form, and then we look for a trigger: in some people that is an eye cream that is too rich, in others years of sun damage.
How many can be done at once?
Usually everything that is there, in one appointment. If there are many, we sometimes spread it out to give the skin rest. You hear that beforehand and not halfway through.
What does this cost?
That depends on the treatment that suits your skin, and we work that out at the consultation. The consultation costs 50 euros; if you have a treatment in the same appointment, that amount comes off again. You then hear straight away how many sessions it takes and what the total will be. Every price per treatment is published on the price page.
Just let us look. It is often done in no time.
With milia the appointment is short and one-off. If it turns out to be something else, you hear that straight away and we refer you on rather than trying it.
Book a consultationNot sure yet? Ask your question