How to remove skin tags

A skin tag is a soft, usually flesh-coloured growth that may hang from a narrow stalk. It commonly appears where skin rubs against skin or clothing, such as the neck, underarms, eyelids, or groin. A wart, mole, or other lesion can look similar, particularly if it is dark, firm, or changing, so visual certainty from a photograph is limited.

A clinician may remove a confirmed tag by freezing it with Cryotherapy (Lesion Removal), using heat through Electrosurgery, or performing a small snip or another method under local anaesthetic. The choice depends on size, location, stalk thickness, and whether testing is needed. Do not tie off, cut, burn, or apply wart remover at home; bleeding, infection, burns, and an incorrect diagnosis can follow.

Arrange an examination if a growth changes colour, enlarges, bleeds, becomes painful, develops a crust, or catches repeatedly. Seek urgent care for bleeding that will not stop with steady pressure, spreading redness, pus, fever, or severe pain after removal.

Ask how confident the diagnosis is, whether the tissue should be tested, which removal method suits the site, how to protect the healing area, and what recurrence or scar changes to watch for.