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Have you wondered about skin tags? These little growths are not dangerous, but they certainly can be annoying. They tend to grow in places where they may encounter the friction of skin rubbing against skin. Consequently, people may find them uncomfortable and many folks also find them unsightly. Doctors remove skin tags by snipping, freezing or shaving them off (StatPearls, March 24, 2020). If the skin tag is too small to grab with tweezers, the doctor may use an electrodesiccation technique. (But if the growth is that small, do you really need to destroy it?) Some people have utilized home remedies to get rid of these tags.
How You Can Remove Skin Tags:
Q. I have a lot of skin tags on my neck. What causes them? Is there a safe way to remove skin tags? I’d especially appreciate any home remedies.
A. Skin tags are small fleshy growths that occur in the armpits, on the neck or sometimes even on the eyelids. They may have a little stalk, and they are the same color as the rest of your skin.
Nobody knows what causes skin tags, but they seem to be more common among older people. In addition, doctors report that they may be associated with obesity and diabetes. Since you have a lot of them on your neck, you should ask your doctor to check for diabetes or metabolic syndrome (Annals of Medical and Health Sciences Research, Mar-Apr. 2014). Detecting a metabolic problem would be much more important to your health than getting rid of the skin tags.
Home Remedies for Removal:
Some readers have had success coating skin tags with liquid bandage. Others apply castor oil. One old-fashioned approach is to have someone tie a length of thread or dental floss tightly around the base of the skin tag. This is said to cut off the blood supply, and the tag falls off.
Unfortunately, we have not seen any clinical trials of these remedies to remove skin tags. If you decide to try one, please tell us what you did and whether or not it worked.
Is There an Alternative to Liquid Bandage?
Q. I read about putting Liquid Bandage on skin tags to get rid of them. When I tried this method, the smell of the Liquid Bandage was so awful, I couldn’t keep up the treatments. I could smell it all day long and I know others around me could too. What other suggestions do you have?
A. One option you might want to consider is an over-the-counter option such as Dr. Scholl’s Freeze Away Skin Tag Remover or a similar product. Dr. Scholl’s contains dimethyl ether, propane and isobutane. When applied to the skin, this mixture is considered cryotherapy and freezes the skin tag tissue. It should fall off within a week or so. Of course, when in doubt, check with a dermatologist.
Rebecca
I had a rather large one on my neck, and for a few weeks I just kept twisting it around and around every day. It eventully fell off.
JB
A clinical trial? Please! People have been using dental floss or thread for years to remove skin tags. I have never seen a bad outcome.
Mandi
We minimised added sugar and white flour in the diet. Not low carb, but slow carb.
After six months a skin tag I had had for years had vanished. One of my husband’s has also gone.
Bonita
I had an annoying large skin tag just under my eye, so couldn’t use chemical or cryo treatment. I tried the thread trick. Each day I tightened it a little. It was a bit uncomfortable, and I looked a little silly, but within a week it fell off by itself and hasn’t grown back. Thanks for the tip!
Susan
I have used liquid wart remover. Try to just get it on the tag and not surrounding skin.
Sue
I have removed them easily by tying dental floss around the base. Takes a couple days, but does not hurt at all.
I have tried liquid bandage with no success. Perhaps it wears off too quickly on me.
Sandra
As to tying string around a tag, sounds good. But when I tried it, the tag got sore, then got infected. I had to go to the Doc to get it removed surgically. It was under my armpit. Ouch!
Brenda
I use super sharp, clean cuticle cutters and snip them off. NO grow-back and works great. Never had issues with bleeding. I have done this over 20 times.
Colleen
String is a nuisance. Take the tag, twist it, and hold it in place for a minute. This also cuts off the blood supply, and the tag will fall off within a week.
Diane
If I can easily reach them, I put rubbing alcohol on them and on my cuticle scissors and then cut them off. Having a band-aid ready in advance, I slap it on quickly over the spot and leave it for a few hours. They don’t bleed much, and the spot is healed in a day or so. I’ve done this many times with no problems.
Jamerry
Although I’ve only had one, it came off within a week once I started twisting it. Twice a day I would twist it to the point of being a little bit painful, doing it 5 times or so, morning and night. Soon it detached with no drama.
Steve
My grandfather had dozens of skin tags, and he tied thread around the base. They would fall off in a week or two, but more would show up in other places. I tried doing this once but found it painful.
Don
Twenty years ago, when I was in my late fifties, skin tags started appearing on my neck and in my arm pits. One day, annoyed by the chafing against my shirt collar, I grabbed one between my finger nails and pulled it off. Much to my surprise, there was no bleeding. During the following three or four years I did the same to at least 30 more, with no negative reactions of any kind whatsoever. I have not had a skin tag problem since.
Treyce
Castor oil, applied daily until the tag is gone, works for me.
Marilynn
I removed my underarm skin tags by putting a band aid on them, leaving it in place. In a week or so, the tag was gone. You may need to replace the band aid if it falls off too soon.
Mary
I removed a skin tag by tying thread around it. It took a few days to fall off, and the skin tag never grew back
Stella
Just tie a thin string around it tightly for a week or so; it will fall off!!
Pat
The dental floss trick worked on several of my hubby’s tags. There are also kits on-line that have tiny rubber bands and an applicator. Haven’t tried those since floss works and is cheap. Be careful to get floss as close as possible to the body at the base of the tag!
Ron
One caution. I had an older aunt out in the Missouri Ozarks who decided to tie off a “skin tag” on her nose. Going to a doctor in the hinterlands is not the easiest thing to do, and too often people waited too late to seek professional help, so going to the doctor was considered by some to be lethal in itself. As a result, many resorted to self-help where it came to such things. After eroding a large, malignant ulcer in the middle of her face and having her squamous cell skin cancer spread to vital organs that ultimately killed her, her family had learned that going to the doctor is not always lethal in itself!
Marion
I had a fairly large skin tag in my armpit. My husband tied dental floss around it until it pinched, but was tolerable. We left enough floss to tie again the next couple of days. The blood supply was cut off, the tag darkened much like a scab, and fell off leaving no scar.
Pam
Oil of oregano applied as long as necessary always works for me. But it can be irritating to the skin.
Kathleen
While working in the OR, a couple of us used outdated silk suture to tie around our skin tags. This method worked for us. Retired and living alone I have no help with this. I watch closely for any new skin tag formation and just pinch and yank them off.
Janice
I’ve done the dental floss trick. At first when you’re trying to bind it to cut off the blood supply it feels like you’re ripping the tag right off! It HURTS! Then cover with a bandage, and it should fall off in time. If you try to remove it earlier than you should, as if it’s still connected, it will hurt. I don’t recommend this one. I’m going to try the liquid bandage.
Paula
Tied a piece of nylon thread around my husband’s skin tag around his lip. Fell off in two days. When I was in nursing school, I saw in my OB rotation that when a baby was born with an extra finger or little toe they would tie it off, and it would fall off.
Dolores
I’m 67 and remember my Mom saying that her parents would tie a piece of hair on them, and eventually they fell off. Old time remedy that worked!
Rob
My skin tags disappeared very quickly after I changed to a grain-free diet:an unexpected bonus!
Nancy
I had skin tags in my armpit as a young teenager. My mother always tied black silk thread around them and they fell off. I was always thin, never obese, and very healthy. As an older adult (78), I now use duck tape to remove skin tags, as well as warts, rough moles, and keratoses. It works very well. Takes about 5-10 days to remove those things. After a few days of showering, I sometimes need to replace the loosened duck tape. Have a lot of skin damage from years in the sun and rather than the dermatologist burning off the keratosis, I began using the tape.
Momma D
I would have liked to have seen more about skin tags and diabetes or metabolic syndrome explaining about how they affect skin tags. I have prediabetes, and I’m not sure what metabolic syndrome is. I have a lot of skin tags and have had many of them removed under my arms and on my neck. They have been very painful and would like to know easier ways to remove them.
Thank you for the article. I just need more information. I’ve had Lyme disease since age 29, and I’m 65 now so I have no immune system, and my health is not good. I have a lot going on. I have lost both my parents recently so my anxiety is very high. None of this helps what’s going on with skin tags and stuff. If anyone has any suggestions for my skin tags, please help.