What Are Skin Tags?

Skin tags are small parts of skin that are soft and benign knobbly growths of skin cells on the exterior of the skin. Their scientific name is ‘acrochordons’ or ‘fibroepithelial polyps.’  They can occur on any area of the body but mainly in areas such as the neck, back, armpit, breasts, eyelids and groin area.

They are absolutely harmless and nothing to worry about. They are a natural occurrence, and many people have them. Dermatologists and doctors see them every day and they’re very simple to treat.

Why Do They Occur?

Unlike warts, they are not contagious and occur naturally due to a number of reasons such as:

•   Changes in hormonal levels – for this reason they are common in pregnant women and anyone with fluctuating hormones from treatment or a pre-existing condition.

•   Things rubbing against skin for a long term period, like clothing – this commonly occurs where there are folds of skin. For instance in people who are overweight or have lost weight resulting in an excess of skin.

•   Sometimes they appear for no reason at all

Why Remove Them?

Some people feel self-conscious about them and they can affect your self-esteem if you feel they are unsightly. If you feel like you’d rather not have a skin tag, there are always options for removal if you choose, no matter how small or large they are. You can find many skincare experts that can help you with skin tags, such as Sk:n who can offer a variety of safe treatments dependent on your needs. Sometimes, skin tags can cause issues when it comes to shaving as they get irritated easily and are at risk of being cut with blades of razors.

How Are They Removed?

Skin tags are easily dealt with and only need a very minor procedure which involves a minimum of discomfort. The 3 ways medical professionals remove skin tags are as follows:

1.  Excision – the part of skin will be removed surgically using a scalpel.

2.  Cryotherapy – much like the treatment for warts, cryotherapy freezes the skin until the unwanted area’s cells die, and it simply falls off.

3.  Hyfrecation – a therapy that uses electrical pulses to damage only the cells of the skin tag, so the unwanted skin naturally falls away,

These treatments all ensure skin tags are gone permanently, but won’t stop new ones arising in the future.

All of these treatments are very minor procedures and are considered cosmetic surgery. They don’t take very long – usually a matter of a few minutes – and they don’t cause much in the way of pain.


This is a guest blog entry.