"Little grain-like bumps keep forming on my neck — is it okay to remove these?"
"Once I clear them up once, they never come back, right?"
These are the first things people bothered by small bumps on the neck or under the arms tend to ask.
Greetings from DA Clinic Myeongdong.I'm Director Kwon Si-jin ^^
We're getting ready to open our doors in Myeongdong soon, and since so many people have been asking about skin tags ahead of our opening, we wanted to put together this overview for your information first.
Those bumps that kept catching your attention even when you draped a scarf over your neck — I completely understand how it feels.
It's hard to call it finished after one removal. Recurrence in the same spot is rare, but depending on your constitution new ones can appear elsewhere. Let me be clear about this part.
Skin Tags Are Benign Bumps Called 'Acrochordon'
What we commonly call skin tags is what's known as acrochordon — a benign lesion where the skin stretches out slightly and rises as a soft, flesh-colored bump.
Let me first lay out what skin tags are.
They tend to form mainly in areas where the skin often folds and friction occurs, like the neck, underarms, around the eyes, and the groin.
They're usually painless, but people often want them tidied up because they catch on clothing or accessories and feel bothersome, or because they're a cosmetic concern.
We Tidy Up Just the Bump With a CO2 Laser or Radiofrequency
For skin tag removal, a CO2 laser or radiofrequency (RF) method is commonly used.
A CO2 laser works on the principle of precisely removing the bump tissue with high energy, and radiofrequency is a method that delivers heat through a fine tip to tidy up the bump.
Skin tags are usually small bumps sitting close to the surface, so there's little need to dig deep, and they're cleared up in one go in many cases.
For the small ones, several can be tidied up together in a single spot.
That said, if a bump is large or there are many of them, it may be split up while watching recovery, and the response varies by individual.
The Tidied-Up Spot and Other Areas Should Be Viewed Separately
A part people often misunderstand about skin tags is 'recurrence.'
It's uncommon for the exact same bump to rise again in the spot you tidied up, but if you have a constitution prone to skin tags, new bumps can crop up in other areas.
This is less a matter of what you removed coming back to life, and closer to a flow of new ones forming in an environment where friction is frequent and the skin folds.
So it's hard to declare that tidying them up once means they'll never form again, and some people touch up new ones as they come up.(the degree to which they form varies by individual depending on constitution)
Care Is Needed Even After Tidying Them Up
Tidying up the bumps well, and the care afterward, matter equally.
When you tidy up skin tags with a CO2 laser or radiofrequency, a small scab or red mark is left in that spot, and it's best to leave it until it naturally settles down while new skin fills in.
If you deliberately peel off the scab because it's bothering you, the mark can linger longer.
Also, while recovering, being mindful of UV protection so that area doesn't get exposed to sunlight can reduce pigmentation.
For areas that often touch clothing, like the neck or underarms, reducing friction helps recovery.
What the CO2 laser does
The CO2 laser is what's most used for lesions. Knowing the principle makes the recovery make sense.
It's described as working by being absorbed by water in the tissue and vaporising it. Closer to boiling water off than to burning.
Two things follow from that.One is that the depth can be controlled finely; the other is that the treated site is left with a wound that goes through a healing process.That's where the scab forming and coming away comes from.
At our Myeongdong clinic we have Hestia in the CO2 family.
Recovery runs in this order
- Day 1 to 3a scab forms at the treated site. Best to avoid water contact and rubbing
- 1 to 2 weeksthe scab comes away naturally. Picking it off makes a mark likely
- The months afternew skin looks red, then gradually fades
Many people think it's over once the scab falls off, but whether pigment remains is decided in the months that follow. Red skin makes pigment easily, so taking sun on it then can leave a brown mark.
So there are three things to attend to during recovery: moisturising, keeping it covered, and sun protection.For ointments and dressings, following the instructions from where you had it done is safest.
In These Cases, Take a Closer Look Before Removal
Just because it looks like a skin tag doesn't mean every bump is the same.
There are cases where a bump that's dark in color, growing rapidly in size, or has a bumpy border needs to be distinguished from a simple skin tag.
A bump with a rough surface or that keeps bleeding is also best not brushed past.
In these cases, rather than tidying it up blindly, it's safer to first confirm the condition with a diagnosis, tell what kind of lesion it is, and then decide the direction for removal.
Because even if it looks similar, it may be telling a different story inside.
Where the method divides
Besides the CO2 laser, skin tags are sometimes handled with radiofrequency.Either way, the goal is the same: clear the protrusion and leave the skin beneath alone.
What divides it is size and location.Very small, shallow ones clear relatively simply; larger ones with a base need depth control, which leaves more room for a mark.
So rather than counting them up and clearing them all in one go, working through them by size gives a better result.Starting with the most visible, reviewing, then continuing is a good order too.
- It is a treatment that clears the bumps
- Recurrence in the same spot is rare, but new ones appear elsewhere
- Depending on constitution, new ones can appear in other areas
FAQ
Q. How many sessions does it usually take to tidy up skin tags?
A. Skin tags are usually small bumps sitting close to the surface, so they're cleared up in one go in many cases. For the small ones, several can be touched up together in a single spot. That said, if a bump is large or there are many of them, it may be split up while watching recovery. Since it can vary with the area, the number, and the state of the skin, it's more reasonable to decide by looking at the condition rather than pinning down a number at the start, and it helps to keep in mind that the result varies by individual.
Q. If I tidy them up once, will they never form again?
A. It's uncommon for the exact same bump to rise again in the spot you tidied up. That said, if you have a constitution prone to skin tags or an environment with frequent friction, new bumps can crop up in other areas. This is less a matter of what you removed coming back to life, and closer to a flow of new ones forming. So it's hard to declare they'll never form again, and some people touch up new ones as they come up. The degree to which they form varies by individual depending on constitution.
Q. How do I care for the tidied-up spot?
A. It's best to leave the small scab or red mark remaining at the tidied-up spot until it settles down while new skin fills in. If you deliberately peel it off, the mark can linger long. While recovering, be mindful of UV protection so that area doesn't get exposed to sunlight, and for areas that touch clothing, like the neck or underarms, reducing friction helps.If redness lingers for a long time or there's oozing, don't just leave it — it's best to have the condition checked.
Q. I have a lot on my neck — can they all be done at once?
A. It depends on the number and size.Handling many at once means that many more sites to care for, so they're sometimes divided depending on your recovery circumstances.
Q. Can I tie them off with thread?
A. Not advisable.There's a risk of infection and of leaving a mark, and it hasn't been confirmed that the lesion isn't something other than a skin tag.
Q. Why do they keep appearing?
A. They're known to form where there's frequent friction.Constitutional factors are also mentioned, so new ones can appear elsewhere even after clearing.
Elsewhere, rather than the same spot
Keep only the point and it's this.
Skin tag removal is a treatment that tidies up the bumps, and while recurrence in the same spot is rare, new ones can form in other areas depending on your constitution.
That question you raised at the start — can you see its answer now?
If there have been bumps catching on clothing or accessories and bothering you, it's fine to view it with the mindset of touching up new ones as they come up rather than treating it as the end after one time. Just please keep in mind that the sessions and result vary by individual, and that since even something that looks like a skin tag could be a different lesion, telling it apart with a diagnosis comes first.
DA Clinic Myeongdong is set to open soon.We'll share news of our opening and treatment information first on our blog and Instagram ^^
Thanks for reading all the way through.Director Kwon Si-jin, DA Clinic Myeongdong.
This column is an informational article meant to provide general medical information, and the effects and side effects of treatments may vary by individual. DA Clinic Myeongdong is set to open soon. (Medical Service Act Art. 56)