In an earlier post, we talked about the causes of skin tags. Now that you know why they form in the first place, you can make better decisions and lifestyle choices to keep skin tags from taking shape on your body. Nobody likes the unsightly look of those tags of loose skin, so prevention is key if you want to keep them from forming at all.

How To Keep Skin Tags Away

First off, if it’s too late and you already have some skin tags on your body, we recommend our Extreme Skin Tag Remover product to safely and quickly remove those ugly blemishes. Once they are all gone, you can heed the following tips to keep them from coming back.

One thing that you can do is lead a healthier lifestyle. It has been indicated by medical research that skin tags are a pre-diabetes symptom. Consuming too much sugar, saturated fats, and other unhealthy food can lead to becoming overweight or obese. As mentioned in our previous post about how skin tags are formed, these conditions are ripe for creating skin friction that leads to the formation of skin tags.

By making wiser choices for your lifestyle and diet, you can lose weight and become healthier and alleviate the potential of skin tags from arising from the extra folds in the skin that cause friction. You can’t make a drastic difference overnight, but adhering to a healthy diet and exercise routine will pay off in time and reduce your chances of getting skin tags, as well as promote long-term health in general.

In the meantime, while there are extra folds in the skin, there are also friction-reducing powders that can be used. Skin tags are most commonly found in the neck area, between the legs (the groin), armpits, and under the breasts – basically everywhere there are folds and two surfaces of skin are rubbing together. There are medicated powders that can help lubricate this friction to reduce irritation and keep the area dry.

Another thing that you can do is stay away from wearing tight clothing. If your clothing is tight, your skin will be rubbing against it with every movement you make. This is why many women experience skin tags on their back, shoulders, and around the breasts, as the bra (and bra strap) lead to friction on the skin. It is also why wearing a necklace can increase the potential for tags on the neck area. Choosing an outfit that has a more relaxed fit can reduce the chances of rubbing against the skin and lessen the potential for tag formation.

While it may be impossible sometimes to prevent skin tags, if you need to tackle them, this is the product we recommend you try:

By making the above lifestyle changes, we can’t say for certain that skin tags will not form at all, but implementing them will greatly reduce the factors that lead to them arising. Some are easier to undertake than others, while some are short-term changes and others require a more long-term effort to take effect, but making these alterations can go a long way to keep these blemishes from popping up.

Skin tags can be ugly, unsightly blemishes that crop up on our body as we get older. While they can grow at any age, they mostly affect older individuals, especially on the neck and shoulder area. While they are more annoying than anything else and are harmless blemishes, that doesn’t mean they can’t be safely removed so you can have clearer skin. Find out how skin tags form, as well as easy ways to remove them, in our post below.

Why Do Skin Tags Form?

To get the good news out of the way first – skin tags are harmless and benign. There are no symptoms or other reasons to worry about their presence. That doesn’t, however, make them any nicer to look at and its understandable that anyone would want to rid themselves of these ugly blemishes.

These tags of skin can be found on the surface of the skin as well as hang from the body after sprouting from a thin stalk of skin. These are called cutaneous tags, soft fibromas, fibroepithelial polyps, or acrochordons. Most of them are colored the same as the individual’s flesh tone, though some of them can manifest into a darker color. In either case, they are benign and not a cause for concern.

Skin tags are a quite common problem, as it is estimated that about 25% of the population will develop skin tags at some point in their life. Most begin to form after the age of 50, though as mentioned above they can be found at any age. Those who are afflicted with diabetes tend to get them more commonly, as well as those who are obese or overweight (as a result of folds in the skin causing friction when the skin rubs against itself).

Outside of friction caused by being overweight, most skin tags are caused by friction on the skin in general. This is why they are often found on the neck, shoulders, or upper back area, where the afflicted individual’s collar or shirt rubs up against the skin and creates a tag. They can also be found lower on the back on females, as a woman’s bra strap creates friction in that area, as well as under the breasts due to the friction of the bosom against the body.

While doctors have not been able to pinpoint exactly what causes skin tags, friction is the most common answer. This was determined since most skin tags crop in areas where the skin folds – in the armpits, the neck, the groin, and sometimes even the eyelid area.

If you are suffering from skin tags on any area of your body, luckily there are many methods to safely remove them. Your dermatologist may surgically remove them or freeze them off (similar to a wart), but our recommendation is removing them with our SkinPro Extreme Skin Tag and Mole Remover (available for purchase here). With a high concentration of Salicylic Acid, multiple applications of this solution will safely burn away the blemish and leave clear, healthy skin in its place.

We talked earlier about what to look for in a mole to determine whether it is cancerous or not, but at what time should you raise the alarm? What are the signs that you should seek the advice of a doctor on whether it should be removed and a biopsy performed? This post will serve as a handy guide for the characteristics to look for, and let you know when that mark on your skin is in need of a further diagnosis.

Is This Mole a Cause for Concern?

It has been beaten into our heads over and over that we need to be protecting our skin to prevent it from getting too much direct sun exposure, and also to pay special attention to our moles. But how do you know exactly what kinds of things to look for? Is it a normal mole or a sign of something more serious? Hopefully, these tips will give you a clearer picture and alleviate any concerns that you have.

One quick piece of advice that we thought was pretty apt is that moles are like a family. For any mole that you have, there should be one (or many) other moles on your body that looks similar to it. If you have an individual mole on your body that does not fit on your body or looks different from the rest — whether it be in size, shape, or color — then it is recommended that you seek guidance from a skin care professional.

A simple device that you can use to self-monitor yourself is called the ABCDE Rule. This is a mnemonic device that can help to remember the signs to look out for when checking over your moles. See the image below for an explanation of what each letter represents, as well as photographic examples of a normal mole and a cancerous mole for each descriptor.

We love having a handy device like this, and it is pretty self-explanatory. A is for Asymmetry – the mole should be pretty uniform on both halves or around all sides. B stands for Border, which should be smooth and even without any irregular outcroppings. C stands for Color, which should be mostly uniform brown throughout. D is for Diameter, and a normal mole should be about the size of a pencil eraser. Lastly, E is for Evolving. A mole should not change over time after it forms (more on how moles form here). If it evolves in color, size, or shape over time, it is time to have a doctor look at it.

Wrapping Things Up

Even if a mole is normal and non-cancerous, many still view them with trepidation as if they may be something more serious than a skin blemish that can be removed with a product like ours here. By following the identification tips above, you can ease your worries about the moles on your body, or be more assertive when you find something that is amiss and get it professionally looked at to be diagnosed and treated early. Skin cancer is no joke, but early detection of this type of skin cancer is highly effective. Armed with this knowledge you are in much better shape for taking care of yourself.

In an earlier post, we talked about how to identify a cancerous mole. While that is a handy guide for giving yourself a self-diagnosis, it doesn’t answer the questions of how and why those moles form in the first place. Mole growth can be perfectly normal, provided that they are of the non-cancerous form, and can be easily answered in our post below.

Why Do Moles Grow on the Body?

Moles grow in a much similar way to freckles or other dark pigmentations on the body. Down to the most simple explanation, they occur when skin cells grow in a thick, dense cluster as opposed to being spread evenly throughout the skin. The scientific name for these skin cells is “melanocytes”. These melanocyte cells are what produce melanin, a term that you have probably heard before. Technically, a freckle is also caused by melanocytes, though there are distinct differences in a freckle and a mole.

Melanin is what gives the skin its natural pigment, as well as the color of your hair and even the shade of the iris of your eye. They are found in the top two layers of the skin. When you are exposed to ultraviolet rays from the sun, the melanocyte cells produce more melanin which leads to a darkening of the skin. When exposed safely, this leads to a natural tanning of the skin.

While there is no specific reason for when melanin is distributed evenly (a suntan) versus when they are developed in clusters, moles form when there is an uneven distribution and a dense cluster of melanin leads to a mole on the skin’s surface. These can form anywhere on the body, though they most often manifest themselves on the arms, hands, face, neck, and chest – which shouldn’t be too surprising, as these are the areas of the body that receive the most direct sun exposure. Most of the moles on your body form in the first twenty years of your life, though it is not uncommon (or unsafe) to see them develop in your later years.

Other Causes of Mole Growth

Some moles, called Atypical or Dysplastic Moles are thought to be hereditary. These moles tend to be slightly larger than a pencil eraser and can appear anywhere on the body, though they are most often seen on the back and rarely manifest themselves on the face.

Congenital Moles, which are also called congenital nevus, are moles that you have had since birth (so obviously they are not brought about by sun exposure). It is estimated that 1% of the population has these moles on their body, and they are caused by prenatal issues such as the growth of fatty tissue cells.

In Summary

Moles are mostly caused by clustering of melanin as a result of sun exposure, though some can also be genetic or present at birth. In any case, a normal mole is, for the most part, nothing to worry about and can be safely removed with our product here. You can see our previously linked post (in the first sentence) on how to determine whether a particular mole is cause for concern or not, but by and large, they are non-worrisome blemishes on the skin.

When it is found early, skin cancer can be one of the most effectively treated types of cancer that you can be afflicted with. When it comes to early detection, you need to know what to look for. Sure, most of us have a mole or two (or more) on our body somewhere, but how do you know if it is a harmless mole or something more serious and cancerous?

Given that skin cancer can visibly manifest itself in many different types of moles, it is best that you visit a dermatologist or a physician to get a proper checkup and diagnosis to take a look at moles and lumps on your skin. If you want to give yourself a quick look, however, we’ll take this time to go into detail on what to look for in determining if it is a cancerous mole or not.

How Does a Cancerous Mole Look?

Again, if you want to get an exact determination of what you have on your skin, whether it is safe or not, consult a medical professional. When taking a look at yourself (and you may need a partner to help take a look at any that you may have on your back or other hard to see places), then these are the kinds of things that you should be looking for.

Normal Moles

Perhaps just as important as knowing what a cancerous mole looks like, it is just important (and perhaps even easier) to identify what a normal mole looks like so you know that you don’t have to worry about it. Normal moles, for the most part, tend to be evenly colored with a brown color, and can be lighter like a tan shade. They can also be a black spot on the skin. These moles can either be flat or raised, oval or round. They are generally about the size of a pencil eraser (about 1/4 inch across). They, for the most part, stay the same size and shape and color for many years. For more information, see how moles form in this post.

A couple of normal moles may look like the following:

Cancerous Mole

On the other hand, there are telltale signs to look for when you are wondering if a mole is cancerous. A handy mnemonic device that you can use is the ABCDE rule. these stand for:

• Asymmetry: one half of the mole does not look like the other
• Border: the edges of the mole are not smooth, they are blurry or irregular
• Color: the color differs from area to area; different shades of brown or black are present; there may be splotches of pink, red, white or blue
• Diameter: larger than a normal mole mentioned above (larger than 1/4 inch across)
• Evolving: the mole has changed in shape, size, and color

On top of these factors in the ABCDE rule, there are a few other things to monitor. Other signs of a cancerous mole are that it develops a sore that doesn’t heal. it may also have some redness and swelling creeping out around the border of the mole. Be cognizant of it having an itching sensation, or tender to the touch.

A few examples of the above irregularities are illustrated below, along with identification of the type of skin cancer they represent:

In Conclusion

Now that you know what to look for, give your body a close examination to determine if the moles you have are normal or a sign of something more serious. When in doubt on any of them, seek the diagnosis of a medical professional. Skin cancer is no joke, and it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

If you have a mole you would like to safely remove from the comfort of home, check out our SkinPro Extreme Skin Tag & Mole Remover – see this page for more information.