Your skin can give you plenty of blemishes to stress over-moles, pimples, warts, you name it. Most skin spots are nothing to worry about, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still be annoying.
One of the most irksome? Skin tags, which the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology estimates half of people deal with at some point.
Skin tags (which are medically called “acrochordons,” if you want to get technical) are small but they can be pesky. The tags, which are flesh-colored or a darker brown, are usually two to five millimeters in size, though they can sometimes get bigger, according to the AOCD. They often appear in clusters.
Generally, these growths are totally harmless, says Dr. Shah, but they can easily become irritated and inflamed. People frequently complain about skin tags getting caught on clothing or jewelry-ouch.
What causes skin tags?
Dermatologists don’t really know what causes skin tags, but there are a few theories. What makes them annoying is that they typically grow in folds of skin or areas where there tends to be a lot of friction-think: armpits, neck, and groin. That might be why you see them pop up in skin folds, says Dr. Shah.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, skin tags may be tied to too much insulin in the blood, and therefore a warning sign of diabetes. “There is also a likely a genetic component, because they tend to run in families,” says Dr. Zeichner.
So what’s the best way to get rid of a skin tag?
There are two main reasons you may want to remove a skin tag. “If a tag is large, painful, bleeding, or getting in the way with daily activities, you may be able to get the tag removed through your insurance,” says Dr. Zeichner. However, plenty of people also get them removed simply because they don’t like the way they look (just note your insurance might not cover it for this reason).
No matter how big or small, skin tag removal means a trip to the derm. There are no topical treatments or natural remedies for shrinking them-“unfortunately once tags are there, the only way to remove them is a surgical option,” says Dr. Zeichner.
Can you remove a skin tag yourself?
You may be tempted to just yank or snip them off-but that’s not a great idea. “I caution people not to remove skin tags at home because they can get infected and they tend to bleed a lot, which you may not be able to control yourself at home,” says Dr. Zeichner.
On top of that, you’re more likely to cause a scar or risk only removing part of the skin tag, which would mean going to see the dermatologist for another procedure anyway.
