Skin Tag Removal in Danville, CA
Skin Tag Removal in Danville, CA
Skin tags (acrochordons) are common, benign skin growths that often develop where skin rubs against skin, clothing or jewelry. They do not need treatment unless they become irritated, painful, repeatedly bleed, affect vision, or a patient wants them removed for appearance. A dermatologist can first confirm that a growth is truly a skin tag and then remove suitable lesions with methods such as snipping, electrosurgery or cryotherapy. At-home mole/skin-tag removal products are not recommended because they can cause injury, infection, scarring and delayed diagnosis of skin cancer.
Skin tags are small, soft growths that sit on the skin, often on a little stalk. They are very common and they are not cancer. They turn up where skin rubs on skin, on clothing or on jewellery: the neck, the armpits, the eyelids, the groin, under the breasts. You do not have to do anything about them. Most people ask for one to be taken off because it keeps catching and bleeding, because it hurts, because it is getting in the way of an eyelid, or simply because they do not like it. A skin doctor will first make sure it really is a skin tag, then take it off, usually by snipping it, burning it off with a tiny electric current, or freezing it. Please do not use the mole and skin tag removal kits sold online. They can burn you, cause an infection, leave a scar, and hide a skin cancer while you wait.
Skin Tag Removal: the essentials
The short version
Acrochordon.
Acrochordon. Most people just say skin tag.
Typical skin tags are benign and usually harmless.
No. An ordinary skin tag is harmless.
Neck, underarms, eyelids, groin, under the breasts and other friction areas.
Neck, armpits, eyelids, groin, under the breasts, and anywhere skin rubs.
Irritation, bleeding, pain, eyelid interference or cosmetic preference.
They catch and bleed, they hurt, one is in the way of an eyelid, or you simply do not like it.
Snip removal, electrodesiccation/electrosurgery or cryotherapy depending on size and location.
Snipping, burning off with a tiny electric current, or freezing. It depends on the size and where it is.
Not recommended; FDA has not approved over-the-counter products marketed to remove moles/skin tags and AAD warns about injuries and delayed cancer diagnosis.
Not a good idea. The FDA has not approved any product sold over the counter for removing moles or skin tags, and skin doctors warn about injuries, and about cancers being missed.
What is a skin tag?
What is a skin tag?
A skin tag is a soft, benign growth made of normal skin components. It may hang from a small stalk or sit more broadly on the skin. Because other growths can resemble skin tags, diagnosis matters before removal.
A skin tag is a soft growth made of ordinary skin. It may dangle from a thin stalk, or sit flatter against the skin. Other growths can look very like a skin tag, which is why it is worth having it looked at before anyone removes it.
- They often develop in friction areas such as the neck, underarms, groin and beneath the breasts.
- They can be skin-colored, brown, pink or irritated red.
- People with obesity, pregnancy, diabetes/metabolic syndrome or a family tendency may develop more skin tags.
- A sudden eruption of many new growths deserves medical evaluation rather than self-treatment.
- They turn up where skin rubs: the neck, the armpits, the groin, under the breasts.
- They can be the same colour as your skin, or brown, or pink, or red and sore.
- People carrying extra weight, people who are pregnant, people with diabetes, and people whose family gets them, tend to get more of them.
- If a lot of new growths appear suddenly, get them looked at rather than treating them yourself.
When should a skin tag be removed?
When is it worth removing one?
Most skin tags can be left alone. Removal is reasonable when a tag repeatedly catches, bleeds, becomes painful, interferes with vision or hygiene, or is cosmetically unwanted. Sudden pain, color change, ulceration or diagnostic uncertainty should prompt examination rather than automatic cosmetic removal.
Most skin tags can simply be left alone. It is reasonable to have one removed if it keeps catching, keeps bleeding, has become painful, gets in the way of your sight or of keeping clean, or if you just do not want it. But if one suddenly hurts, changes colour, breaks open, or if anyone is unsure what it is, it needs looking at properly first, not simply removing for appearance.
- Repeated friction from necklaces, collars, seat belts or shaving.
- Bleeding after repeated trauma.
- Eyelid location that affects vision or comfort.
- Cosmetic preference after the diagnosis is confirmed.
- It keeps catching on a necklace, a collar, a seat belt or a razor.
- It keeps getting knocked and bleeding.
- It is on an eyelid and affects your sight or your comfort.
- You do not like the look of it, and we have confirmed what it is.
Illustration showing common skin tag locations such as neck, underarm and groin
A drawing showing where skin tags usually appear: the neck, the armpit and the groin.
Illustration comparing snip removal, electrodesiccation and cryotherapy for skin tags
A drawing comparing the three ways skin tags are removed: snipping, burning off, and freezing.
How does a dermatologist remove skin tags?
How does a skin doctor remove them?
The method depends on size, thickness and location. Small tags may be snipped after numbing if needed; other tags can be treated with electrodesiccation or cryotherapy. More than one method may be appropriate, and eyelid or unusually large lesions can require special planning.
It depends on the size, the thickness and the place. A small one may simply be snipped off, with numbing first if you need it. Others are better burned off with a tiny electric current, or frozen. Sometimes more than one method would work. Anything on an eyelid, or anything unusually large, needs planning first.
| Snip / shave | Sterile scissors or blade removes the tag at its base | Small wound; brief bleeding control and simple wound care |
|---|---|---|
| Electrodesiccation / electrosurgery | Controlled electrical energy destroys/removes the tag | A small crust/scab forms while the site heals |
| Cryotherapy | Very cold liquid nitrogen freezes the tissue | Blister or scab may form before the tag falls away |
Snipping Sterile scissors or a blade take the tag off at its base. You are left with a tiny wound, a moment of bleeding, and simple aftercare.
Burning it off A controlled electric current destroys the tag. A small scab forms while it heals.
Freezing Very cold liquid nitrogen freezes it. A blister or a scab may form before it drops off.
What is recovery after skin tag removal?
What is the recovery like?
Downtime is usually limited for small lesions, but treated spots still need basic wound care. Depending on the method, a tiny wound, crust, scab or blister may develop and can take days to a few weeks to settle.
For small ones there is usually nothing to stop you doing, but the spot still needs looking after. Depending on the method you may get a tiny wound, a crust, a scab or a blister, and it can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to settle down.
- Keep the site clean and follow the bandage/ointment instructions provided.
- Avoid picking scabs or blisters.
- Temporary color change can occur, particularly after freezing or inflammation.
- Call for increasing redness, pus, persistent bleeding or worsening pain.
- Keep it clean, and follow whatever dressing or ointment instructions you are given.
- Do not pick at scabs or blisters.
- The skin there may be lighter or darker for a while, especially after freezing.
- Ring us if it gets redder, oozes pus, keeps bleeding, or hurts more instead of less.
Concept illustration explaining that different skin growths can look similar and need diagnosis
A drawing explaining that different skin growths can look alike, so they need to be identified before treatment.
Why not remove skin tags at home?
Why not just do it at home?
At-home cutting, acids, “mole removers” and wart products can injure normal skin and can delay diagnosis if the growth is not actually a skin tag. AAD specifically recommends dermatologist evaluation and notes that FDA has not approved products marketed for removing moles and skin tags at home.
Cutting one off yourself, or using acids, mole removers or wart products, can damage the healthy skin around it, and can delay a diagnosis if the growth turns out not to be a skin tag at all. Skin doctors recommend getting it looked at, and the FDA has not approved any product sold for removing moles and skin tags at home.
- Wart remover is not designed for skin tags and can damage surrounding skin.
- Cutting a growth yourself can cause uncontrolled bleeding or infection.
- Destroying a suspicious lesion can delay skin-cancer diagnosis.
- Wart remover is not made for skin tags and can burn the skin around it.
- Cutting one off yourself can lead to bleeding you cannot stop, or an infection.
- If it was not a skin tag, destroying it can delay finding a skin cancer.
Questions patients ask
Do skin tags grow back after removal?
Do they grow back?
A removed skin tag generally does not regrow from the same tissue, but people who are prone to skin tags can develop new ones elsewhere.
The one that was removed does not usually come back, but if you are someone who gets skin tags, you will probably get new ones somewhere else.
Is skin tag removal painful?
Does it hurt?
Discomfort depends on the method and tag size. Small tags may require little or no anesthetic, while larger or sensitive-area tags can be numbed before removal.
It depends on the method and the size. Small ones may need little or no numbing. Larger ones, or ones in a sensitive spot, can be numbed first.
Does insurance cover skin tag removal?
Will my insurance pay for it?
Removal done only for appearance is commonly considered cosmetic. Coverage can differ when a lesion is painful, bleeding, functionally problematic or diagnostically uncertain; patients should verify benefits with their insurer.
If it is being removed purely because of how it looks, that is usually counted as cosmetic and not covered. It can be different if the tag is painful, bleeding, getting in the way, or if nobody is sure what it is. Check with your insurer.
Can a skin tag be cancer?
Could a skin tag be cancer?
A typical skin tag is benign, but other benign and malignant growths can resemble one. Any lesion that is changing, unusual, painful, ulcerated or uncertain should be examined before treatment.
An ordinary skin tag is harmless. But other growths, some harmless and some not, can look very like one. Anything that is changing, unusual, painful, broken open, or that anyone is unsure about, should be examined before it is treated.
Can I use wart remover on a skin tag?
Can I use wart remover on a skin tag?
No. AAD advises against this because wart medication can damage the softer skin-tag tissue and surrounding normal skin.
No. Skin doctors advise against it, because wart medicine can damage the softer tissue of a skin tag and the normal skin around it.
How many skin tags can be removed in one visit?
How many can be removed in one visit?
That depends on how many there are, their size, where they are, the method used and the type of visit. Ask the office what is possible in one appointment.
It depends on how many there are, how big they are, where they are, the method used and the kind of appointment. Ask the office what can be done in one visit.
Where to go next
If this is a medical emergency, call 911. For an urgent skin problem during office hours, call the practice on (925) 820-3376 rather than using a form, messages are not monitored continuously.
Talk it through with a physician first.
Every plan starts with an assessment of your skin, your anatomy and what you actually want to change.
This page is general health information, not medical advice. It cannot tell you whether a treatment is right for you. Approved uses, risks and results differ from person to person, and product labelling changes. Ask us at Dermatology and Laser Centre about your own situation, or make an appointment, and seek urgent care for any serious symptom.
