Doctor explains how to get rid of small white spots that appear all over your body

There's nothing worse than waking up in the morning, looking in the mirror and noticing a new breakout has erupted across your face.

Whether it's blackheads, blemishes or painful cysts, it can be very tempting to start poking and prodding away at your skin. We're all guilty of it.

But before you start picking a new hole in your face, you might want to make sure you're first aware of what it is you're picking at – as squeezing certain types of spots will leave your face looking worse.

This includes those tiny white milk spots which have a habit of cropping up under eyes or on your cheeks and forehead.

So what are they?

We're of course talking about milia, the tiny white bumps which are often mistaken for tiny spots or whiteheads.

You don't want to do that... (Getty Stock Images)

What are milia – and why do we get them?

Milia are tiny cysts filled with a buildup of keratin which can appear pretty much anywhere on the body, such as your face, chest, back and sometimes even genitals.

Fortunately these bumps are completely harmless, forming due to dead cells getting trapped under the surface of the skin.

They're not contagious either, which means close having contact with a person who's got milia doesn't mean you're going to wake up and find a cluster of white bumps.

"They form when dead skin cells get trapped instead of shedding properly," Dr Nora Jaafar, known online as Dr Nora, told The Independent, adding that heavy skincare products can sometimes trigger them.

Meanwhile Cleveland Clinic adds that sun exposure, steroid creams and autoimmune responses can also lead to a person developing milia.

Unlike spots and blackheads, milia are not caused by clogged pores, meaning the extraction is different (Getty Stock Images)

How to get rid of milia

So know you know what milia are and why they develop, your next question is likely 'well how do I get rid of them' – which is unfortunately a little more complicated.

Unlike spots - which are your pores getting blocked by an excess of oil, dirt and dead skin - milia bumps sit underneath the skin's surface, making them pretty much impossible to extract at home.

Unless you fancy cutting into your skin and digging them out – and we all know what the aftermath looks like.

"Picking at them often has little to no effect, and attempting to pop them will likely leave your skin red, irritated, and inflamed, with the milia still intact," dermatologist Joel Schlessinger previously explained to Women's Health.

So if you're desperate to remove the bumps, Jaafar recommends using a exfoliating acid - such as salicylic or glycolic acid - to increase cell turnover.

If you're wanting a quicker fix then it's a trip to a dermatologist, who will extract the keratin with a sterile needle.