Milia-naire

Ms. New Beauty knows that her lack of posts lately is just horrible. She tries to add something fresh and new to the beauty blog world at least twice a week, but sometimes life just gets in the way. And since her last post, a big project at work, scrambling to find a fried turkey for Thanksgiving, moving into a new apartment, and a reinvigoration of her workout routine have surely gotten in the way. And, it's quite shameful since MNB has quite a few posts bouncing around her mind and a backlog of reader questions to answer but she hasn't been able to get her fingers to the keyboard to get it to all make sense. But today, she's finally going to post on a pesky skin problem that she's been intending to write about forever, and the timing couldn't be more perfect since she just got this email in her mailbox.

Hey Ms. New Beauty!

I have a question about this darned acne. I get these pimples that look like they are under the skin and they almost never come to a head. It is beyond fusterating. I heard that this happens because my "root" (?) is too small for the amount of sebum that I have in it, therefore it causes the sebum to erupt the root, causing a scar on my otherwise, decent face. What say you msnewbeauty?

Small Roots, Big Acne

Milia

As, we all know (or at least we should by now), Ms. New Beauty is nobody's dermatologist. But this is one skin issue that I feel pretty confident in diagnosing, simply because I've dealt with this problem myself. Your roots aren't too small, your sebum isn't too big. These bumps sound to me like milia. Milia are those little white bumps that never seem to pop and never seem to go away. What causes them is a lack of natual exfoliation by your skin. The bump forms when your skin cells get trapped rather than slough off naturally.

Instead of trying to pop them, the best way to address milia is to simply over-compensate for you skin by stepping up your exfoliation. I was having a full out battle with this annoyances earlier in the fall, but incorporating a daily scrub to my routine solved the problem. These two scrubs combine both chemical and physical exfoliants and help ward off these tiny little problems.

Proactiv Solution Deep Cleansing Wash

This cleanser is a great exfoliator that also prevents acne and breakouts. Though it's very thick and smooth, it is absolutely packed with tiny little scrubbers that are effective enough to really get your skin clean deep down but are gently enough to use everyday. You can really go to town with the scrubbing and your skin won't be the slightest bit irritated or dried out. Its also a salicylic acid based exfoliant. Salicylic acid is one of the most common ingredients in acne cleansers and gels because it is a powerful exfoliant. You'll get the benefits of clear skin and you'll be able to prevent those bumps from forming. I always pay special attention to the area around my chin and mouth which I find are particularly prone to milia.

This retails for about $30 at various online stores, but you should know how I feel about buying Proactiv on eBay (if you don't know or haven't been reading Ms. New Beauty faithfully - how could you not? - I love it and I only buy Proactiv from eBay!). Currently, this cleanser's going for about $15 (including shipping!) on eBay.

Peter Thomas Roth Blemish Buffing Beads

Peter Thomas Roth is one of the few men in my life who can do absolutely no wrong. I really love him. (And by him, I mean all the products that bear his name, and by his, I mean the name of the company because who really knows if a "Peter Thomas Roth" really exists). This scrub is by far one of PTR's standout products. Combining both salicylic glycolic acids, it really does exfoliate, unclog your pores, and prevent acne. Again, it's very gentle and you can use it everyday. The added benefit of this scrub is that you can use it on your face to prevent breakouts and milia and you can also use it on your shoulders if back-ne is a problem for you too.

$36, available only at Sephora


DERMAdoctor has a great in-depth article on milia that you can check out for more information. You should also know, DERMAdoctor is one of the best skincare sites on the web. You can buy Dd products and other great skincare brands, plus you get the benefit of a whole library of articles written by the real dermatologist behind the brand, not just some random MD who lent out their name for the money.


Scrub your skin clear, and learn a little bit more about it in the process, just don't forget that Ms. New Beauty told you!

And, if you have signed up for a FeedBlitz subscription in the right sidebar to enter to win the M.A.C. holiday collections, what the Hell are you waiting for? The contest ends tomorrow!