What Causes Skin Tags?

What are skin tags?

While skin tags are actually quite common – in fact, 25% of people in the UK have at least one – not everyone knows what they are. So, before we get into what causes a skin tag, let’s discover what they actually are first.

First things first though, many wonder whether skin tags can be cancerous, so finding a skin tag can be quite scary. However, the vast majority of skin tags are completely benign and totally harmless. So, there’s no need to worry! If you’re concerned about a skin tag being cancerous, a quick trip to the GP can put your mind at ease. 

Now, let’s get into it. Skin tags are actually made up of a core of loosely arranged and bundled collagen fibres and blood vessels. These bundles then appear as small, fleshy, soft skin-coloured growths on the body that we call skin tags. 

They typically grow in the creases of the body like armpits, or where skin frequently rubs together, like the inner thigh, but you can find skin tags on the neck and around the eyelids too. 

There is no standard size of skin tags, and they can slowly enlarge over time as well. Skin tags may also appear darker than your normal skin tone and can have either a smooth or wrinkled surface. 

What causes skin tags?

Another question we hear a lot at Absolute Collagen is, what causes skin tags? Ultimately, no one really knows the catch-all cause of skin tags – they are still a bit of a medical mystery!

However, as they tend to appear more in skin folds and creases, it may be in part due to the friction and rubbing of skin. This irritation may cause the growth of this ‘extra flesh’. But ‘what causes skin tags on the neck or eyelids?’ we hear you ask. Well, there are a variety of other conditions that give rise to skin tags as well. 

For example, pregnancy can cause skin tags, as can endocrine disorders such as acromegaly or Addison’s disease. This may be due to the increase in skin growth factors – the protein that helps skin cells reproduce - caused by these conditions. 

Diabetics may also be more likely to get skin tags, while people with conditions such as polycystic ovarian syndrome can often get skin tags too. 

Another cause of skin tags is genetics. So, if your parents or grandparents have a lot of them, then you may be more likely to get skin tags too. However, they are more likely to develop later in life as you age, as opposed to being there from birth – just another joy of getting older!

And just one final note, skin tags are not contagious. That means you don’t need to worry about passing them on, and you won’t get a skin tag from close contact with someone who has them.

How to remove skin tags

Now we know what causes skin tags, you might want to start looking for ways to safely get rid of them. Thankfully, we’ve got plenty of suggestions for how this can be done!

We’ve already discussed the vast majority of skin tags are completely harmless, though they can be quite irritating. If you have a skin tag on your neck, you might find jewellery rubs against it, or you might catch it when shaving, if the skin tag is on your arm pit.  

However, you can’t remove a skin tag in one night at home and the NHS do not offer treatment for cosmetic skin tags. That’s not to say there’s nothing to be done – there are a couple options available through private treatments, including:

1. Cryotherapy to remove skin tags

Cryotherapy is one option to remove skin tags. This method is essentially where the skin tag is frozen off. Now, this may sound slightly scary, but cryotherapy is a completely safe way to remove a nuisance skin tag. 

Usually, the health care provider will use two freeze-thaw cycles of liquid nitrogen via a handheld device to freeze the skin tags. This will eventually cause skin necrosis, that is to say it will die and ‘drop off’. What’s more, this whole process typically only takes a matter of seconds – about 25 to 30 seconds to be exact!

This method is completely safe when administered by a professional healthcare provider or dermatologist, but it can cause irritation, inflammation, and blistering. This is purely down to normal tissue surrounding the area getting damaged in the process, and it will heal in no time. 

Once the healthcare provider has removed the skin tag, you may be left with a small hypo-pigmented or lighter patch of skin where the tag used to be.

2. Surgery to remove skin tags

You can remove skin tags with surgery, typically with the help of local anaesthetic. 

As skin tags are usually pedunculated – which means it is attached by a thin ‘stalk’ – they can be ‘scraped off’ via curettage and cautery. Alternatively, skin tags can also be removed with a scalpel or shave device. 

Both treatments are very straightforward and relatively painless thanks to the local anaesthetic. No stitches are required, and the area will heal similar to a graze with proper aftercare, leaving the faintest of marks behind.

3. Electrosurgery to remove skin tags

Another common option to remove skin tags is the use of an electrosurgical device, such as a hyfrecator or bipolar diathermy device. These words may sound complicated and medical, but broken down, they’re both very simple. 

So, first up, the hyfrecator. This is a device that inserts a small needle into the skin that gives off little electrical pulses. This works to burn away any skin tags quickly and easily. While ‘burn away’ may sound painful, you will be given local anaesthetic to make this procedure as painless as possible!

And next, a bipolar diathermy device. This works in a similar way, but instead of electrical pulses, it uses heat generated through radio waves to stimulate tissue relaxation and promote healing.

Collagen and skin tags

Now, we know you’re probably thinking why we’re talking about skin tags in the first place. Well, while Absolute Collagen sachets might not be able to remove your skin tag, collagen won’t cause a skin tag, so it is completely safe to use as part of your healing process! 

Those pesky patches of light skin left behind from removing a skin tag? Well, they can all be helped by collagen too. In fact, 100% of users in our clinical trial found improvements to skin evenness after taking our collagen sachets for 12 weeks. 

So, now you know all there is to know about removing skin tags, what causes skin tags, and how collagen can help marks left from skin tag removal. But do you want to know more about what collagen can do for your skin? Head over to the Absolute Collagen blog for more!