If you mean milia—those tiny, firm white or skin-colored bumps, usually around the eyes, cheeks, or forehead—they’re not actually fat cysts. They’re small keratin-filled cysts that form just under the skin.
How to get rid of milia
- Don’t squeeze or pierce them. Especially around the eyes, this can cause infection, scarring, or skin damage.
- Use a gentle cleanser and avoid harsh scrubs.
- Retinoids such as adapalene can help prevent new milia by increasing skin-cell turnover, but they can irritate sensitive skin. Avoid retinoids during pregnancy unless your clinician says otherwise.
- Professional removal is the quickest option. A dermatologist can carefully open and extract the cyst with a sterile instrument.
- Chemical peels or laser treatments may sometimes be used when there are many milia or they keep returning.
Most milia are harmless and don’t require treatment. If a bump is new, changing, painful, inflamed, or you’re unsure it’s actually milia, it’s worth having a dermatologist examine it.
If you tell me where the milia are (especially around the eyes or elsewhere) and your age/skin type, I can suggest the safest way to treat them.
