What should you know about tiny warts on face?

A facial wart may be rough, flat or slightly raised, and it can appear alone or in a cluster. Warts are caused by human papillomavirus types that infect the outer skin. Shaving, scratching or picking can spread viral particles to nearby skin. Small facial bumps can also be milia, skin tags, acne or another lesion, so a clinician should confirm the diagnosis rather than treating every bump as a wart.

Avoid picking, shaving directly over the bumps, sharing towels or using a wart file on facial skin. A clinician may discuss freezing, electrosurgery, a prescribed cream such as imiquimod in selected situations, or another approach based on the wart type and location. Follow the plan exactly and keep treated skin clean. Treatment can cause temporary redness, crusting, colour change or irritation, so ask how to protect the area while it heals.

Seek assessment if a facial bump bleeds, ulcerates, becomes painful, changes rapidly, affects an eyelid, or does not respond as expected to treatment. Contact the clinic for spreading redness, pus, fever, severe swelling or eye symptoms after treatment. These signs call for review and do not by themselves identify the cause.

Ask how the diagnosis was made, whether the treatment could affect facial pigment or texture, how to reduce spread during shaving, and what to do if new bumps appear. Further reading includes [Wart Removal](/treatments/surgical-dermatology/wart-removal/), [Imiquimod Treatment](/treatments/medical-dermatology/imiquimod-therapy/), [Cryotherapy (Lesion Removal)](/treatments/surgical-dermatology/cryotherapy-lesion-removal/) and [Electrosurgery](/treatments/surgical-dermatology/electrosurgery/).