Removing moles and skin tags

[PocketCall]

After years of not minding/ noticing my multiple moles and skin tags having babies and not having enough time to look in the mirror or look after myself I am finally tackling my skin tags and moles. I saw a gp to ask about mole removal and he told me that the sticky out ones on my torso are actually skin tags. He said as a doctor he wouldn't advise it but you can get skin tag removal kits with elastic bands on Amazon. He told me about the kits twice so I think he kind of was advising it so I ordered a kit and now have some elastic bands on thanks to DH helping. Has anyone else done this? The bands on my back keep coming off in the night. I've also booked in for a consultation with a private place about removing a mole on my face with radio surgery. Has anyone had this done before? The GP told me I should think about accepting the mole as part of who I am that's easy for him to say as he was very good looking with no moles on his face.

Try Cryotag or similar for the skin tags if they’re relatively small - it works in the same way as wart and verruca freezing treatments. It usually takes several weeks to have an effect but is less likely to cause scarring than the elastic band treatments.

Encouraging patients to avoid unnecessary or cosmetic procedures - which always come with some risk compared to doing nothing - is just best practice on the GP’s part. If your mole isn’t concerning from a health perspective then it’s rare for a GP to endorse surgical treatment.

Drs are rubbish at this kind of thing. Just live with it..... ummmm OK. I have had a variety of treatments for a variety of different kinds of "moles", none on the NHS.

I have had a couple of dodgy moles cut out, none were cancerous, and all left a scar, which is really annoying. One a keloid, which is worse than the mole.
I have had larger keratosis removed with radio waves, very effective.
Same removed with cryotherapy, not so effective, some come back.
I have had smaller ones and skin tags removed with lasers which work well.

I now resolve to get a few done every year so they don't build up.

I haven't ever used elastics, but I think those are probably best for big sticky out ones, and most of mine are small and flattish.

I had two moles on my nose which I was always very self conscious about. NHS wouldn’t touch them as no health risk.

So I went private for laser removal and I’m so pleased with the results.
If you’re up north, I’d recommend this place in Guiseley https://skinsurgeryclinic.co.uk

My friend also has a mole behind his ear removed here, again no problems.

The guy who did mine is actually an NHS doctor who does this private practice once a week, so I felt like I was in safe hands (in the same way I’d want Botox from a medical practitioner, not a beauty consultant, something I’m researching at the moment!)

I bought an electrolysis pen to fry my skin tags off. Got it on Amazon. It's very satisfying

I used cryotag recently for a load under my armpits.

I was skeptical but it only bloody worked!

All fell off within 2 weeks, bar 2. I'm planning to blitz them again and confident they'll go too.

Wish I'd done it a few years ago

I also want to do this but every time I think about attempting a home remedy I feel strangely fond of them! Weird I know!

With skin tags you can tie a thin bit of cotton around it tightly. It'll go black and fall off in around 12 to 24 hours. I've done this on myself and DP. No issues at all.

Don't know about moles.

Plenty of aesthetic beauticians do both skin tag and mole removal.

I would get on and do it with one of those freeze kits before they get bigger. Kept ignoring one on my theigh but they it got massive, so had to be done at the GP.

Small ones you can snip with clippers or use on of those razors you can buy to sort out eyebrows. Big ones tie cotton thread tight around the stem and enjoy watching the suckers shrivel and drop off.

I second the recommendation of the Guiseley skin surgery clinic if you're in the north. They were great with me when I had some sebaceous hyperplasia removed.

I now have a skin tag on/just below my lower lashes and the NHS won't touch that either!

I wouldn't risk it, my mum tried to tie off a skin tag on her upper thigh, but it didn't work and she had to go to get a doctor to fix it. She felt pretty daft about it, as a nurse she should probably have known better than to DIY something like this. Just get them professionally removed and save yourself the risks. Or leave them, idk.

Thanks everyone, it's great to know I'm not the only one and it's a shame the NHS can't help on these unless they're cancerous. I've ordered some cryotag lotion for the skin tags (the elastic bands have only stayed on one of them) and am looking forward to the private appointment for the mole as now I've noticed these properly I feel self conscious about having them. It's made me wonder why I didn't do something to sort it out years ago.

@pocketcall

What cryotag lotion did you buy and did it work ?

@PocketCall

Be good to hear your feedback and results 😊

@theytheyarereallytakingthepissnow I ended up trying the elastic bands method a bit more on the skin tags and they stayed on long enough for the skin tags to fall off. There's still a mark where they were from this method but they just look like a flat mole instead of weird extra nipples! Such a relief to not catch them all the time and has taken away the stress of my youngest fiddling with them every time she cuddled me. I would recommend trying an elastic band type kit for anyone with annoying skin tags that stick out.

@theyarereallytakingthepissnow I had the mole on my face removed and another one at the skin excellence clinic privately. I would absolutely recommend it, it might not have been that noticeable to anyone else but I feel so much more attractive and less self conscious. A few weeks later you wouldn't notice where the mole was at all on my face. They injected a local anaesthetic which was uncomfortable and there's a horrible burning skin smell while they did it but that bit didn't hurt at all. Then a couple of weeks with a small scab. When that falls off it looks like pink skin and isn't noticeable. The doctor recommended Kelo-Cote Silicone Scar Gel, 6g www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004Q1VP1C?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share to prevent scarring so I apply that but I can already see it's healing fine. I would tell anyone now if your moles truly bother you to book to have them removed as it's not a huge deal to have it done and then you don't have to worry about the mole any more.

I use this for skin tags and burn them off. I would not use it on a mole. https://www.amazon.co.uk/CHRERNA-Removal-Strength-Replaceable-Professional/dp/B09DSNHXWW/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=EWXAZ561AMAA&keywords=skin+tag+remover&qid=1690619780&sprefix=Skin+tag%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

@ThePensivePig

What is the sebaceous thing please

Thanks for the updates 😊