They might not be a serious medical issue, but they’re unsightly. If you’ve got them, here are some home remedies for skin tags removal.
If only you could just pick them off like a scab….
But you’re not alone if you have skin tags, or papillomas as they’re also called (as well as the more frightening-sounding “fibroepithelial polyps” and “acrochordons”).
In fact, almost half (46%) of all people in the U.S. have at least one. And the older you get, the more likely you are to develop one.
It may offer some comfort in knowing that they are absolutely harmless an overwhelming majority of the time.
Nonetheless, if you have them, you may consider these elevated abnormal growths of tissue unsightly.
Unfortunately, these benign growths are not considered sexy like other skin imperfections. Cindy Crawford’s mole comes to mind.
Most often, the growths are in the skin folds of the neck. They can also appear on the eyelids, armpits, breasts, and groin.
What are they?
Skin tags occur when collagen, the glue-like protein that provides structure to the skin and other areas of the body, loosens. And more then loosen the individual collagen fibers get trapped in the skin.
What causes them?
It’s not 100 percent certain why they appear. But they may be bothersome especially if your tags are itchy or painful.
Discomfort sometimes occurs when the growths rub against clothes.
You may have these growths because of genetics.
But if nobody else in your family has them, there are a couple other theories.
If certain areas of your skin frequently rubs against another area of skin, this friction may produce growths.
The inner thighs are particularly vulnerable to chaffing.
If you’re overweight, you may be more at risk to skin friction tags.
Speaking of being overweight or obese, metabolic disorders may also be the cause of skin tags. This includes having type 2 diabetes, says this PubMed article.
How do you get rid of them?
We’ll look at some home remedies for skin tags removal shortly.
But first, let’s review the conventional methods of removal.
According to the PubMed article, “they may be treated with any destructive modality, but they are most commonly treated by snip excision (with scissors) or liquid nitrogen cryotherapy.”
In other words, they’re frozen and cut off.
Dermatologists may also remove them by shaving them off, or heating them into oblivion with an electric needle. Another method skin doctors might use is tying a string or suture around the growth.
The researchers in the PubMed article have found a strong association between these benign growths and lifestyle factors. Thus, perhaps the best home remedies for skin tags removal, suggest the co-authors of the study, are “healthy eating habits, exercise, and other behavior modification.”
At the very least, eating a low-sugar diet can help prevent them.
Even if you’re not that overweight, it might be a good idea to have a blood sugar level test. That’s because being prediabetic can place you at higher odds for developing more tags.
Get rid of skin tags with tea tree oil or apple cider vinegar
If you’re scared of undergoing the knife to get rid of them, what are some home remedies for skin tags removal?
According to Healthline, tea tree oil can help. Why tea tree oil?
Perhaps it’s because of the natural properties in it that kill viruses and fungus. Although the growths themselves aren’t viral or fungal in nature, tea tree may help naturally remove them.
And to do so, Healthline suggests first washing the tag. Then, you can take a cotton swab or Q-tip and dip it with a handful of drops of tea tree.
Massage the cotton over the tag. After that, place a bandage over the growth and leave overnight.
Repeating this for several nights in row may eventually remove the growth.
Another nightly ritual you may want to try, and this one is a bit more unusual, is placing a little bit of banana peel on the tag. Healthline claims this works to dry out the growth.
And, so, too, does apple cider vinegar. Just like the tea tree method, soak some cotton in the ACV.
But you don’t have to leave it on overnight as you do with the tea tree oil and banana peel. Instead, leave the ACV on the tag, bandaged up for about 30 minutes.
After that, wash your skin. Doing this for a couple weeks may just allow the ACV’s acidity to eat away at the growth.
More skin tag home remedies
Yet another of the home remedies for skin tags removal Healthine suggests is vitamin E. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant used in many anti-aging products.
It makes sense that vitamin E may help remove a tag because growths most often occur as a consequence of aging. To use it, buy some vitamin E oil and just rub it over the growth and surrounding skin.
Healthline offers one more remedy you can try at home. But you might not want to use this trick if you’re going on a date: garlic.
How do you use garlic to remove a skin tag? Apply crushed garlic directly on the growth. Then cover it with a bandage overnight. Make sure to wash the tag in the morning. Do this for several days, suggests the article, until the tag magically disappears.
Skin tag removal kit
In addition, there are also over-the-counter remedies, containing all-natural homeopathic ingredients.
Most large drug stores will carry at least one brand of skin tag removal kit. A couple product names are TagBand and Skinprov.
There’s also a product you can find on Amazon, Provent Skin Tag Remover. It costs less than $10.
There’s also a wireless pen available at Walmart for under $50. It also works on moles and other skin blemishes.
An example of an over the counter product with homeopathic ingredients is the Rite Aid Skin Tag Remover Stick. The product page claim is 100% natural.
The main homeopathic ingredient in the Rite Aid stick is white cedar (Arbor vitae). This is a tree that’s all over the eastern half of the U.S.
Although there’s no research proving it can help shrink tags, in clinical trials, white cedar shows it’s effective for viral upper respiratory tract infections.
Skin tag removal cream
Another product with white cedar, aka “Thuja Occidentalis,” is Revitol’s Skin Tag Remover cream.
The cream is chemical-free. It works by attacking the root of the skin tag instead of just the surface, claims the product page.
The product page also says that it won’t leave a scar. You use it by applying the cream twice a day. If you do so, says the product page, “you could start seeing surgical-quality results for less than $50.”
Revitol offers a risk-free 90-day guarantee, so it may be worth a try if you don’t see results using the above home remedies for skin tags removal.
One customer who did try it posted this review:
“I brought this product from you as I had a huge skin tag on my upper chest. Having tried so many things that did not work, I found Revitol skin tag remover. I used it three times daily as it suggests and it dissolved the skin tag over a period of two weeks and even got the root too. I am amazed as there is no scar! Your product is worth every penny, I am pleased and i did not have to pay tons of money for surgical removal, which would have scared my chest.”
Home remedies for skin tags removal: Conclusion
These abnormal growths have been linked to diabetes and obesity since 1951. Researchers also speculate hormone dysfunction as well as poor metabolism can cause tags. It may be worthwhile to also visit a functional medicine doctor to assess your health. [SOURCE]
