Skin tags, also known in the scientific community as acrochorda or fibroepithelial polyps, are small, benign growths that commonly occur on the face, neck, eyelids, armpits, and groin. Although these growths are completely harmless and painless, they can be very embarrassing when they grow in places that are highly visible. Furthermore, if you should accidentally scratch, cut, or break one open, it could cause an infection or other more serious problem.
There are literally hundreds of over-the-counter products advertised for the purpose of safe removal of skin tags. However, in this day and age consumers are looking for products that are not only safe and effective, but also completely natural. Thus, before we discuss causes of skin tags and methods of their removal, you can take a look at two 100% natural products that are really effective and proven to work.
DermaTend is a 100% all natural product that has been proven both safe and effective in the skin tag removal. It continually receives good reviews primarily due to the fact that it works much more quickly than many of its competitors. Where some skin tag medications can take weeks to be effective, consumers start noticing a real difference with DermaTend in a matter of days. The makers of DermaTend are so confident in their product, they are happy to offer satisfaction guarantee. They promise DermaTend won’t leave scars, irritate your skin, or have any negative effects except on skin tags themselves.
Heal Skin Tags is another all-natural product that is safe and usable on any part of the body, including the eyelids, groin, and armpits. The product’s ingredients include several essential oils which are tested and held to the highest quality standards during the manufacturing process. Essential oils penetrate the skin tags and work on the tissue continuously until it simply falls off. The great thing about it is the fact that the natural ingredients are effective without leaving scars or irritating your skin.
There are many different types of benign skin growths that are both annoying and embarrassing, skin tags being just one example. Skin tags are small growths of pigmented skin which can be either black or brown in color, and which can occur as a single blemish or in clusters.
They are very common and can develop anywhere on the body including the torso, arms, legs, and face. Most of the time skin tags do not present a medical concern unless one changes shape or color, or exhibits signs of oozing, pain, or other discomfort.
Skin tags usually first appear in childhood and continue to grow into the teen years. While some may even continue growing throughout a person’s lifetime, it is generally accepted among medical professionals that it’s not normal to develop new skin tags after the late 20s. Any skin tags that show up in middle-aged individuals should be checked by a doctor.
If you have a skin tag that shows any of the previously mentioned symptoms, you should not attempt to remove it at home. Instead, you need to see a dermatologist as soon as possible so that he can diagnose it and send a sample for a biopsy if necessary. Otherwise, if your skin tags remain unchanged and show no signs of oozing or pain and discomfort, you’re probably safe in trying a home removal remedy. The following is a list of the five most common home remedies for skin tag remover, in no particular order. How each individual reacts to these treatments will vary.
Anyone that’s spent time in the kitchen long enough to be put to work slicing onions knows how powerful the aroma can be. In fact, how many of us have experienced the itching and watery eyes only to rub them with our onion-soaked hands to make matters worse? If you know what I’m talking about, you would probably not be surprised to know the onion juice is one of the more common home remedies for skin tag removal.
Onion juice works by drying out the tissue of the skin tag until it eventually dies and falls off. It requires daily application, although that consists of just a few drops, in order to achieve maximum results. If you miss a day or two along the way that doesn’t mean you failed, but it may take longer to prove successful as you are essentially starting over every time you do. You can purchase onion juice at your local grocery store or extract it yourself by juicing a whole onion.
If you have unsightly skin tags you are trying to get rid of, there’s great news – you now have a use for all those ugly dandelions in your garden. Dandelions have been used since the days of ancient cultures to treat a variety of skin related issues and wounds. But it’s not the entire plant that you want; it’s just the liquid which you extract from the roots. This means you must treat the ugly weed with care until the extraction process is complete, or you may find that it does you no good.
Exactly how dandelion roots get rid of skin tags is not clear. But most users will notice a gradual fading until the skin tag is gone, rather than a dying and falling off that you expect to see from some other remedies. The nice thing about this particular solution is that you don’t need a whole lot of liquid. You also don’t need to be all that aggressive with its use. You simply apply with a cotton swab over the course of a few days, gently rubbing it into the skin tag. Then you just sit back and let it do its thing.
Perhaps the most well-known home remedy for skin tags is the use of castor oil. This natural substance goes right to work by softening the skin tag tissue and not allowing it to continue to grow. As the skin cells involved gradually die off, and new ones do not grow to replace them, the skin tag will shrink to the point where it’s completely gone or the last remaining piece falls off. You may be left with a small, tender patch of red skin where the skin tag once resided, but that will fade in a few days.
Like the liquid from dandelion roots, you don’t need a lot of castor oil for this remedy to be effective. Just a little on a cotton swab, applied three times daily, is enough to do the trick for most people. You can find castor oil at your local pharmacy were grocery store.
Baking soda is another of the more popular methods of home mold removal. Often time’s baking soda is mixed with another substance, such as the dandelion liquid or the castor oil, in order to speed up the effectiveness of those other treatments. Baking soda is a caustic substance when mixed with some other things, so care should be taken when doing so. For example, when mixing and baking soda and sour apple, a mixture that has too much baking soda could be strong enough to damage the skin.
This is probably the method that most people are aware of for getting rid of skin tags. It involves getting a piece of string or even dental floss and tying it around the base of the skin tag. It is important that the string is tied very tight around the skin tag so that the blood supply is cut off. When the blood supply to the skin tag is stopped, the skin tag will eventually dry out and then fall off. There is a small amount of pain associated with this removal method but it is quite effective so that is why it is so popular. In some instances however, the skin tag may return but this is usually because the string was not tied at the very base of the skin tag.
It is possible to buy over the counter freezing products for skin growths such as verucas, warts and skin tags. This method is similar to the method used in a doctor’s surgery only it is probably not as strong. After the skin tag has been frozen off or dried out, it should fall off within a week to ten days. This method is a popular method because it is easy to do and is quite effective. Freezing off a skin tag can cause some mild pain but it should not be anything that a couple of painkillers won’t help.
Another quick and easy way to remove skin tags at home is to buy some Apple Cider Vinegar and apply this to the skin tag. If you soak a cotton ball in the vinegar and apply it to the skin tag at least three times per day, it should start to dry up and fall off. The problem with this method is that it can take quite a bit of time and this is something that many people are unaware of. If they don’t see quick results they may give up. Remember that the apple cider vinegar method may take about two weeks before results are seen so you have to keep this in mind. It is also important that you do not use this method for skin tags on or around the eyelids as this could cause problems if the vinegar were to get in the eyes.
Many people will attempt to cut off the skin tags with a scissors or nail clippers. This method is probably the quickest way to get rid of skin tags but it is very important that you do this correctly to avoid any infection. Many people will tie some string around the skin tag before they attempt to cut it off because this reduces the pain. It is essential that you use a sterilised pair or scissors or nail clippers to cut off the skin tag and you can make sure that the utensil that you use is sterilised by using an alcohol solution or by placing it in boiling water for a few minutes.
You may have heard of the great benefits of using tea tree oil for a number of skin problems such as eczema and genital warts. But did you know that it is also a fantastic home removal method for skin tags? This method of skin tag removal is similar to that of the apple cider vinegar. You simply have to apply the tea tree oil to a cotton ball and then place the cotton ball over the skin tag. Make sure that the area around the skin tag has been completely cleaned and dried before applying and apply three times per day. You should see results within a week.
Using nail polish to remove a skin tag might sound like a strange idea but it can work. The problem with this method is that it can take time so patience should be one of your virtues. If you want to try this method then you need to invest in some clear nail varnish and apply it to the skin tag every day. Let the nail polish dry on the skin tag and it should start to dry the skin tag out. If you do not relish the thought of cutting your skin tag or tying string around it, then this can be a cheap and easy solution. It is also completely pain free so might be something that you want to try initially before anything else.
The juice from a sour apple has been touted as a fairly effective skin tag removal treatment. The only difficult with using the substance the fact that when it’s exposed to air it can break down quickly and become ineffective. Should you choose to the sour apple method, you need to buy it directly from your pharmacy or grocery store in a sealed bottle. If you would prefer to juice the apples yourself you’ll need a juicer with the capability to seal the juice so it’s not contaminated by the air.
The one thing you should absolutely never do is try to remove a skin tag by simply cutting it off with scissors or a knife. First of all, it could cause very intense bleeding which you may not be able to stop. Secondly, this type of procedure will almost always results in scar tissue forming at the site of the skin tag. Third, such self excisions can often lead to infection which can then become a much more serious issue. If you try some of these home remedies and they do not work, you can always try an over-the-counter treatment or see your doctor.
Although skin tags can be unsightly and embarrassing, they are relatively easy to deal with if you feel you must do so. An all-natural home or over-the-counter remedy is the safest, quickest, and most effective treatment, with the least pain involved and the lowest risk of scarring.
If you’re one of the millions of people who suffer from skin tags, you know how embarrassing and annoying they can be. Fortunately, these benign growths that can occur anywhere on the body are generally considered harmless unless they are continually irritated or inadvertently cut or broken open. They can occur in people of any age, including infants and toddlers, but those over the age of 50 are more likely to develop them than others.
So what causes skin tags? That’s not something scientists haven’t yet figured out conclusively but skin friction, hormones, genetics, and two strains of the Human Papillomavirus seem to be involved in a large number of studied cases. To give you a better understanding of skin tags and why they might occur, we will discuss the five most common issues scientifically linked to the these growths. This list is by no means exhaustive.
Doctors believe that one of the biggest culprits in developing skin tags is abnormal and excessive friction on the skin. As clothing, jewelry, or even other parts of the body rub on a specific area of skin, it is surmised that the skin protects itself by increasing the production of skin cells. The increased skin cell production moves upward rather than outward, similar to a wart, thereby creating the skin tag.
If doctors are correct about this, it would explain why obese individuals tend to develop skin tags in the armpits, the groin, and under the breasts. These are the areas most likely to develop large flaps of overhanging skin that can cause unnatural surface friction. Furthermore, overweight individuals who frequently undergo a weight gain/weight loss cycle mat be more susceptible to skin friction issues, and thus, skin tags.
When comparing men and women for the frequency of skin tags, both have an equal chance of developing them. The one exception is pregnant women, who have a much higher incidence than men and their non-pregnant counterparts. A combination of the extra weight and abnormal hormone levels are both thought to contribute to skin tags in pregnant women.
These women often develop the growths under the breasts, in the armpits, on the face and neck, and on the thighs. Fortunately, most women who develop skin tags as a result of pregnancy need no treatment to get rid of them. They usually fade away on their own after the baby is born. This further supports the idea that hormones and weight gain are major factors for skin tags in pregnant women.
Type II diabetics are twice as likely to develop skin tags as those who do not have the disease, according to several different studies. Although no one knows exactly why this is so, it is thought that the combination of insulin resistance, excess weight, and irregular blood sugar levels may all contribute in some way.
It’s also important to note that diabetics tend to develop many other conditions as a result of their disease, including nerve damage in the skin. This type of damage can mask skin friction issues that the diabetic would normally be aware of and try to correct. Ongoing research continues to look into how the disease affects all parts of the human body, including the skin.
Although research in this area is far from conclusive, more and more researchers are beginning to believe that genetics does play a role in developing skin tags for some patients. For example, researchers have uncovered instances where one group of obese people will develop skin tags while another will not, even though both groups experience similar living conditions and personal habits. Looking further at the group that does develop the skin tags, it is not uncommon to find that others in their families also had issues with them.
Lending some credence to the issue of hereditary factors are other skin diseases such as eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea; all of which have been proven to be passed from one generation to the next. If genetics does turn out to be a factor, it is not necessarily a given that the children of skin tag sufferers will also develop the growths when they get older. In fact, many common genetic issues tend to skip a generation or two.
HPV is a group of viruses within the papillomavirus family with more than 200 strains that can actively infect human skin. Of those 200 strains, nearly 100 of them cause all the different types of warts in human beings. Interestingly, filiform warts are the most unique-looking of all warts because they tend to resemble small twigs or stalks growing out of the skin, rather than round bumps. Though somewhat more round and plump, skin tags grow up and out just like filiform warts, and sometimes appear as small stalks about the size of a grain of rice.
Research indicates the presence of HPV 6 and 11 in some cases of skin tag growth. It’s unclear at this time whether the viruses are the cause of these cases of skin tags, or whether the skin tag itself was susceptible to a later HPV infection due to the nature of its growth. Regardless, as research continues in this area hopefully more conclusive evidence will be gathered.
There are other miscellaneous possible causes for skin tags that are not discussed very often, primarily because research into this issue is very limited. But things like allergic reactions, wearing improperly fitting clothing, wearing heavy jewelry, increased stress, and poor diet may all have a role to play in skin tag development in some people. Regardless of the direct or indirect cause however, patients can find some relief in knowing that skin tags are merely a cosmetic issue for the most part.
Having them removed is a matter of personal choice and there is no right or wrong decision. If you suffer from skin tags you may use one of the all-natural skin tag removal products sold over the counter. These products are both safe and effective regardless of where on the body your skin tags appear.
Be careful of chemical treatments as these can cause scarring or skin irritation. This is especially true around the eyes or in the groin area. If you experience any adverse reactions to chemical treatments you should probably stop using them in favor of natural substitutes.
Finally, if home remedies don’t help, or you would simply prefer professional help, feel free see your physician. He or she will have no trouble diagnosing and removing your skin tags.
