Beauty - How I keep milia at bay

Hello loves,

I have a skin care post for you today. I've had milia since I was a small child - they run in the family. Sometimes called milk spots, milia are thought to be caused by too much keratin. Keratin is the key material making up hair, skin and nails. The milia look like whiteheads or yellow heads and they never go completely - I always have some. It's a case of trying to keep them as minimal as possible.

Here's a photo of me from December with some milia circled - the filter I used on Instagram has masked some of them.

I get a lot of them around my eyes and on my cheeks, and up until about a month ago they were getting bigger and bigger as I wasn't vigilant enough. They're a pain in the butt! I use a mixture of chemical and manual exfoliation to get rid of dead skin cells and reveal glowing new skin underneath. Here's what I use to keep them at bay.

Soap & Glory Scrub Your Nose In It £9 here (in new white packaging) 100ml

Formulated with our exclusive, deep-pore detoxing D-CLOGTM MICROMUD Scrub Your Nose In It is super cleansing, clears pore-clogging dead skin cells, soaks up excess oils, stimulates fresh oxygen to your face. T-zone purifying, pore shrinking and refining strategically formulated for oily/combination skin.

I use this a couple of times a week to gently scrub my face. I scrub at any particularly large milia for a few seconds using the glove. Sometimes they dry up and fall off a couple of days later, or they shrink.

Paula's Choice 2% BHA exoliant gel £23.50 here 100ml

Break up with breakouts, clogged pores, and redness for good. This exfoliant removes old skin cells both on the skin’s surface and inside pores using 2% salicylic acid.

• Great for blackheads and acne breakouts
• Smooths wrinkles, reveals younger looking skin

This is a chemical exfoliant - meaning the chemicals help uncover new cells. I use this a couple of times a week, alternating between the GlycoWash. 

Paula's Choice 8% AHA exfoliant gel £23.50 here 100ml

Get your glow on. Apply this leave-on exfoliant once or twice a day. Smooths skin, fades sun damage, and reveals younger-looking skin.

• Hydrates and stimulates collagen production
• Evens out skin tone for a brighter, smoother complexion

This is also a chemical exfoliant. I use the 8% AHA gel once or twice a week before bed after cleansing/toning.

BeautyLab GlycoWash £32 (I think the company no longer exists as of 2016).

A skin refining oil free 5% glycolic foaming gel with triggered release technology that works longer and deeper to remove impurities, unclogging pores refining and cleansing whilst helping to prevent future break-outs. Contains pomegranates enzymes, glycolic and salicylic acid infused microspheres, soothing willow bark and lavender.

This is a chemical exfoliant also. I use this once or twice a week in the mornings after cleansing and toning.

Scrubby glove £1 in most pound shops (for a pair)

AHAs (Alpha Hydroxy Acids) are useful for sun damaged skin and BHAs (Beta Hydroxy Acids) are useful for getting rid of blackheads. I did have blackheads on my nose before using the Paula's Choice, and before Fibromyalgia I used to be a lover of the sun, so I've got all my angles covered. If you want to read more in depth about AHAs and BHAs, there's a great article here. 

Since I've been using the Paula's Choice products particularly I've noticed a reduction in redness on my face, and the blackheads have disappeared from my nose. But more than that, I've got a bit of a glow about me.

Have a bonus photo of me with the Soap & Glory on my face. :)

Do you have milia?
Have you tried chemical exfoliation to give you a youthful glow?

Thanks for reading,
Leah xoxo