What Happens During Skin Tag Removal?

What Is Skin Tag Removal?

It is a flesh-colored benign skin growth, medically known as acrochordon. This typically soft bump on stalks of flesh that varies in size is perhaps the most common skin growth among adults. From a medical standpoint, skin tags are harmless. Typically, moles or skin tags are not necessarily painful, and neither do they cause swelling. However, they can be very annoying. The most common reason people need skin tag removal in Glendale is that it gets caught in jewelry, clothes, and fabrics and can cause some discomfort.

Where Are You Likely to Develop a Skin Tag?

Although skin tags can grow on any area of your skin, they are common where there are folds. Some of the areas you may notice moles and skin tags are:

1. Neck
2. Groin
3. Armpits
4. Under the breasts
5. Eyelids

You can develop many skin tags on your body, ranging between one and a hundred. Skin tags can develop at any age but are more common in middle-aged people. However, children do not develop skin tags.

What Causes Skin Tags?

Skin tags’ causes are not well-known. Ideally, these skin growths occur when extra cells grow in the top layers of a part of the skin. Doctors have found that these soft tissues erupt where the skin rubs together often. However, several factors do increase your risk of getting skin tags, including the following:

1. Obesity – if you are obese or overweight, you are highly likely to develop skin tags.
2. Underlying health problems like type 2 diabetes and polycystic ovarian syndrome.
3. High levels of estrogen typical during pregnancy can make skin tags grow faster and numerously.
4. Genetics – many people with skin tags claim that their parents or grandparents had them too.

Can Skin Tags Be Removed?

Physicians at a medical spa in Glendale will typically recommend skin tag removal when the soft tissue gets irritated or becomes a great source of pain and discomfort. The same applies if the skin tag is big enough to keep disrupting your life. Some people, however, prefer to remove skin tags for aesthetic reasons, particularly facial moles.

Is It Safe to Remove a Skin Tag?

A big misconception people have regarding skin tag removal is that they grow back after a while. It is not true. Any doctor in healthcare will tell you that skin tags do not regrow after removal. However, a different skin tag can grow in a different part of your skin. If you notice that your skin growth regrows after removal, call your doctor immediately. Usually, cancerous growths regrow, but typical skin tags do not.

The only other likely complications of removing skin tags are bleeding and the risk of infection, typical when you try to remove the mole yourself. If you decide to remove your skin growth yourself, be intentional about aftercare measures. Use a clean cloth to stop the bleeding during the first few minutes after snipping it. You also want to keep the area clean until the wound heals to prevent infections.

What Does the Procedure of Removing a Skin Tag Entail?

At Dr. Marta Recasens’ MediSpa, we use different approaches to remove skin tags. It depends on the location of the skin tag and individual preferences. Some of the approaches we employ for removing skin tags are:

1. Snipping – a common way to remove a skin tag is by cutting it. The doctor will first numb the skin area, making the procedure pain-free. After numbing, (s)he will use special scissors to snip the tissue, then place gauze to stop the bleeding.
2. Cryotherapy – is a procedure for freezing the skin tag. The treatment entails using super-cold liquid nitrogen on the mole. After that, you have to wait for about ten days for the skin tag to fall off. Some patients complain of slight irritation at the site before the skin tag falls off.
3. Burning – a doctor will use a tool that delivers electric currents on the skin growth, burning it enough to dry it. When it dries out, the tag will fall off your skin.