Do you have a skin tag on your body? They can appear anywhere, and while some of us don't really care or notice their existence, some skin tags may appear at annoying body areas like on our face or necks and cause irritation and discomfort.

Just last week, Dr Peter shared extensively on removing skin tags. You can check it out here: Patient Mailbox: Can I Remove Skin Tags on My Own?

Today, let's take a look at 5 (commonly unknown) facts about your skin tags that you should know!

1. Skin tags are more common than you think

The main factor of our oily skin is due to the sebaceous glands under our skin, which are like the oil factories under our skin. These glands are the ones that produce the oil, or sebum, that appear on our face and make it look shiny.

Skin tags are actually extra skin that appears on our body that has a peduncle, or a neck-like appearance in its shape.

They can appear due to aging, pregnancy (during pregnancy, our brain will stimulate the production of growth hormones for our body to grow, this includes skin growth), obesity, or genetics, and patients with diabetes also have a high risk of skin tags.

So it is actually quite common to have a skin tag on our body, but the number of skin tags we have may be different from one another.

Skin tags usually appear at skin areas that have folds, like on our eyelids, on the neck, armpits or underarms, and around our groin or private part area.

2. Skin tags are generally harmless

You do not need to worry too much about any health concerns that skin tags would bring, because they are generally harmless and do not turn into skin diseases or cancers.

However, it is very important to differentiate between skin tags and warts before determining a suitable treatment and care for it.

Skin tags are benign, meaning that they won't turn into a cancer.

On the other hand, warts are an infection, and we need to treat them as soon as possible or they will spread or worsen.

Dr Peter also gave us a handy guide on how to differentiate between warts and skin tags in the previous article here!

3. Some of us are more prone to developing skin tags than others

Even though skin tags are common occurrences, some of us are more likely to get a skin tag appearing on our body compared to others.

Some of the higher risk factors for developing skin tags are:

• old age
• pregnancy (during pregnancy, our brain will stimulate the production of growth hormones for our body to grow, this includes skin growth)
• obesity
• genetics
• diabetes

4. It is risky to remove skin tags by yourself

Whenever you think of removing a skin tag, or any lumps and bumps on your skin at all, always remember - safety comes first. Don't take any risks, it is the safest to get professional advice and treatments from a verified dermatologist or skin specialist.

There are misguided advices spread around the internet on using strong acids to peel skin tags off, using threads to tie them up and pull them off, or simply using a pair of scissors to cut them off.

However, did you  know that these methods can almost certainly leave a SCAR on your skin?

Furthermore, when using acid, which is probably the most common method used to remove skin tags in non-clinical premises, there are several risks involved.

According to Dr Peter Ch'ng, when using acid to drip on the skin tag on our own, we cannot control the depths of the acid penetration into our skin, the strength of the acid reaction on our skin, and a non-medically trained hand will not be able to control how hard to press the acid on our skin.

All of these, if not done perfectly, can cause scarring.

So don't attempt to remove your skin tags without a dermatologist!

5. Skin tags can be removed easily via laser treatments by a dermatologist

The best method to remove skin tag is using a laser treatment.

Lasers are very fine, so no matter how small the skin tag is, we can remove it without causing any scars, because it can accurately and precisely target the skin tag without touching the surrounding skin.

However, this is only safe and effective if done by a trained dermatologist or skin specialist, because an untrained hand can mishandle a laser and cause scarring or other side effect.

Also, if the skin tag is big, it means that there is blood supply to the skin tag, we then need to tie around the neck of the skin tag before removing it, otherwise it may bleed continuously, especially if not done carefully.

Getting an experienced dermatologist like Dr Peter is the safest way to get rid of your skin tag. If you'd like Dr Peter to have a look at your skin condition, call us at +6011-22882299, WhatsApp us here, or book an appointment with Dr Peter here!

Remember - skin tags are annoying, but safety comes first. Removing it may sound easy, but we do not want the situation to get any more complicated than it needs to be!

We’ll be going back to the Patient Mailbox series next week with Dr Loo, so stay tuned!

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If you’d like to ask more about your skin condition or have a discussion with Dr Peter, you can contact us at +6011-22882299, Whatsapp us, or book an appointment with Dr Peter here!