Santa Monica Dermatology

What are skin tags?

Skin tags are benign skin colored, tan or brown pedunculated lesions of the skin that usually concentrate around the neck, armpits or groin area. They are usually asymptomatic but can become slightly tender following trauma. They can be cosmetically removed with a special scissor known as a gradle scissor or frozen off with liquid nitrogen.

Are skin tags caused by a virus?

No. Skin tags are not due to infections. You can not pass it to other people either.

If I treat a skin tag, can it come back?

Yes. Skin tags are benign growths on the skin. People tend to develop them around the neck and in the armpit areas. Once treated, you can develop more in that area.

How should I treat a large skin tag?

Large skin tags should be treated in a doctors office. The reason is because large skin tags may have a large blood vessels at the center. This blood vessel has be cauterized or blocked off when the tag is removed, otherwise it will bleed profusely.