Condition

Skin Tags

Skin tags are soft, harmless growths that hang from the skin on a narrow stalk, usually where skin rubs against skin. They are extremely common, they are not contagious, and removing them is a choice rather than a medical need.
Dr. Schwarz, MD · Board-certified dermatologistLast reviewed September 8, 2026
16:9 hero for Skin Tags. Never cropped: the tone strip and the corner logo depend on the full frame.

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Nearly everyone gets skin tags eventually and almost nobody needs anything done about them - they are benign, they do not turn into anything else, and leaving them alone is a perfectly good plan. What I do want is certainty, because occasionally something dismissed as a tag for a year turns out to be a wart, an irritated seborrheic keratosis, or, rarely, a skin cancer. If a growth is firm rather than soft, bleeds, grows steadily, or is a color you would not expect, have it looked at instead of reaching for a removal kit. And please do not remove them yourself - the bands, freezing kits and creams all work by killing tissue, which on a face or neck means scarring and pigment change on a growth that was never a problem, while removal in clinic takes seconds.

— Dr. Schwarz, Board Certified Dermatologist

Key Facts

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How commonVery common - a large share of adults have at least one, and they become more frequent with age
Who gets itAdults, more often with age. More common with excess weight, in pregnancy, and in people with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes
Curable or managedIndividual tags can be removed permanently. New ones can still form elsewhere
Prescription neededNo. Removal is a minor in-office procedure, and it is usually considered cosmetic
Time to improveRemoval is immediate. The small spot left behind heals over one to two weeks

What It Is

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A skin tag is a small, soft growth of ordinary skin hanging off the surface on a narrow stalk. The medical name is acrochordon. Inside is nothing exotic - loose collagen and a few small blood vessels, wrapped in the same skin that surrounds it. That is why they are soft and harmless.

They are usually skin-colored or slightly darker than nearby skin, from one or two millimeters up to about a centimeter, and they appear where skin rubs skin or clothing - the sides of the neck, the armpits, under the breasts, the groin, the eyelids. People often have several in one area.

Skin tags are not contagious, and they are not caused by touching one, shaving over one, or cutting one off. They are not viral, which is the main difference between a tag and a wart. They do not become cancerous.

Most cause no symptoms. They become a nuisance when they catch on a razor, a necklace, a bra strap, a seatbelt or a collar, and a caught tag can bleed, turn sore, or twist on its stalk. A twisted tag loses its blood supply, turns dark red, purple or black, hurts for a few days, and usually drops off on its own. Alarming to look at, not dangerous, but worth checking because other things look similar.

Symptoms

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Soft dangling flaps

Neck and Underarms

Small, soft, skin-colored or darker flaps hanging on a narrow stalk, usually in the neck, armpits and groin. They are harmless and painless. Friction is the main reason they form where they do.
Tags in the folds

Under the Breasts and Groin

The same growths where skin rubs skin, sometimes many at once. They are more common with weight gain, pregnancy and diabetes. They may get sore if clothing catches them.
A tag that turns dark

Twisted or Irritated

A tag that becomes red, painful or turns black because its blood supply has twisted off. It may drop off on its own. A pigmented growth that changes should be checked rather than assumed to be a tag.

Where It Shows Up

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Front view of a whole body with red marks on both sides of the neck, in both armpits, under both breasts and across the groin.
Neck, armpits, under the breasts and the groin
They form where skin rubs against skin or clothing. A line of them often follows a collar, a bra strap or a waistband. They do not appear on the palms or the soles.
Front view of a head with red marks on both eyelids and down both sides of the neck.
Eyelids and the sides of the neck
The eyelids are the other common spot, and the sides of the neck are where most people notice their first one. A tag that is painful, bleeding, growing or changing color is worth having looked at, because those are not things a tag does.

Causes

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Four things come together, in order. Skin rubs repeatedly against skin or clothing, usually in a fold - the neck, the armpit, under the breast, the groin. That friction irritates the skin there. The skin responds with a small outgrowth: a bud of loose collagen and a few blood vessels under ordinary surface skin. As it grows the base narrows, and the growth ends up hanging from a thin stalk.

Friction is not the whole story, since plenty of people have folds and no tags. What decides who forms them is largely internal. Genetics matter - tags run in families. So do hormones, which is why pregnancy commonly brings a crop. And insulin plays a part: insulin resistance, where the body needs more insulin to do the same job, goes along with having a lot of tags, and insulin is a growth signal for skin cells. That is why multiple skin tags are listed among the skin signs of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

Say that carefully. Having skin tags does not mean you have diabetes, and most people with tags do not. It is an association across large groups, not a diagnosis. Suddenly developing many, especially alongside darkened velvety skin in the folds, is a fair reason to have blood sugar checked.

Risk Factors

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Skin tags are largely determined by things you did not choose. Not hygiene, not shaving, not any product.

Age
Age
The strongest factor. Steadily more common from middle age.
Inherited
Genetics
They run in families. Some people develop dozens over a lifetime and others never get one.
Inherited
Rarely, an inherited condition
A few syndromes produce many tag-like growths. Uncommon, but worth mentioning if a young person has lots of new ones.
Friction & body weight
Skin folds and friction
Where skin rubs skin, tags form - neck, armpits, under the breasts, groin.
Friction & body weight
Excess body weight
More folds, more friction, and a metabolic contribution. One of the more consistent associations.
Health & hormones
Insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes
Associated with multiple tags. Insulin acts as a growth signal in skin.
Health & hormones
Metabolic syndrome
Raised blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and waist measurement go with multiple tags, alongside darkened velvety skin in the folds.
Health & hormones
Pregnancy
Hormonal change commonly produces a crop, especially in the second half. Some shrink after delivery and some do not.
Health & hormones
Human papillomavirus
Some studies find HPV inside tags and its role is unsettled. Tags are not contagious.

Course

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Skin tags follow a slow, undramatic course, and most people notice them only when one catches. Removing one changes nothing about what caused it.

AppearingMonths 0 to 6
Easy to miss at first

A small soft bump appears in a fold, usually noticed by touch first.

GrowingMonths 6 to 24
The base narrows into a stalk

The bump enlarges slowly and the base narrows into a stalk. Most stop between two millimeters and a centimeter.

StayingYears
It holds at the same size

Once formed, a tag stays the same size indefinitely. It does not become cancerous and does not spread.

Catching or twistingAny time
The usual reason people act

A tag snagged by jewelry, a razor, a collar or a seatbelt can bleed and stay sore for a few days, then settle. A tag that twists on its stalk loses its blood supply, turns red, purple or black, and is tender. It dries up and drops off within one to two weeks, leaving nothing. Have a dark growth confirmed.

After removalOne to two weeks
New tags can still form

A removed tag leaves a small scab that heals over one to two weeks. A flat mark, darker or paler than nearby skin, is common and fades over months. New tags can keep forming in the same area - not the old one growing back.

What Makes It Better & Worse

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Skin tags come from four things - rubbing, internal drivers, the growth itself, and a tag getting caught. Nothing reliably stops tags from forming, so almost everything useful sits at step four - keeping the ones you have from being a nuisance.

1Skin rubbing against skin or clothing

What helps

  • Reducing friction where you can Softer collars, a better bra, move the necklace.
  • Keeping folds dry Dry well after showering, wear breathable fabric.
  • Weight management where it is relevant Less friction, better insulin resistance.

What makes it worse

  • Tight collars, straps and waistbands Rubbing in one line is the worst aggravator.
  • Repeated friction in skin folds More folds and sweat, more friction.
  • Humidity and sweat Damp skin in a fold rubs more.

2Genetics, hormones and insulin

What helps

  • Asking for blood sugar to be checked Sensible if you have developed many.

What makes it worse

  • Pregnancy Hormonal change produces new tags; some settle after.
  • Insulin resistance and weight gain Both go with developing more tags.

3The growth forming and enlarging

What helps

  • Leaving them alone Right for most tags. They do not progress.
  • Having them removed in clinic Snipping, electrocautery or freezing takes seconds.
  • Asking for one to be done first See how one heals before twenty.
  • Getting anything unusual checked Firm, growing, bleeding or an odd color.

4A tag getting irritated or caught

What helps

  • Shaving around them rather than over them An electric trimmer avoids the weekly bleed.
  • Petrolatum and a small dressing The neatest healing over a removed spot.
  • Sunscreen on the healed spot Stops a temporary mark lasting months.

What makes it worse

  • Shaving over them The usual cause of bleeding.
  • Jewelry that catches Chains snag tags and twist them.
  • Pulling or picking at them Bleeds more than expected, risks infection.
  • Home removal bands and freezing kits Where most needless scarring comes from.
  • Treating an unexamined growth You never learn what it was.

Over-the-Counter Products

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Everything here you can buy without seeing anyone.

Four ointments on white: CeraVe Healing Ointment, a Vaseline jar, a petroleum jelly tube and Aquaphor16:9 hero for Petrolatum. Never cropped: the tone strip and the corner logo depend on the full frame.
Limited evidence
This is aftercare rather than treatment. A dab of plain petroleum jelly and a small dressing over the spot left after a tag is removed keeps the scab soft and gives the neatest healing. It does nothing to a tag that is still there, and it will not shrink one.
Four mineral sunscreens on white: Native SPF 30, Thinksport SPF 50, Colorescience Flex and EltaMD UV Clear16:9 hero for Zinc Oxide. Never cropped: the tone strip and the corner logo depend on the full frame.
Limited evidence
Daily mineral sunscreen over a healed spot on the neck or eyelid stops the temporary mark from deepening and helps it fade faster. It matters most on deeper skin tones, where a dark mark can otherwise last many months. It has no effect on whether new tags form.
Five dark glass tea tree essential oil bottles with glass droppers and one green box on white16:9 hero for Tea Tree Oil. Never cropped: the tone strip and the corner logo depend on the full frame.
Weak evidence
Tea tree oil, apple cider vinegar and garlic are the usual home remedies, and where they appear to work at all it is by burning the skin. That is a poor trade on a growth that was never dangerous, particularly on a neck or a face, and the mark left behind is often more noticeable than the tag. There is no evidence any of them dissolves a tag.
Home removal bands and kits
Home removal bands and kits
Never use
Ligation bands, freezing sprays and removal creams sold online all kill the tissue and let it drop off. Done at home they are unclean, slow and painful, and they are the source of most of the scarring seen from something harmless. They are also applied to growths nobody has examined, which is how a skin cancer gets destroyed without ever being identified.

Prescriptions

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These need a prescription.

16:9 hero for Mupirocin. Never cropped: the tone strip and the corner logo depend on the full frame.Diagram: how Mupirocin works in the skin
Limited evidence
An antibiotic ointment for the small number of tags that get infected after being nicked or snagged — hot, swollen, oozing. It treats the infection on the surface and does nothing to the tag itself. If the redness is spreading into the surrounding skin, antibiotic tablets are needed instead.

Procedures

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These are done in the office, usually over several visits.

16:9 hero for Shave Removal. Never cropped: the tone strip and the corner logo depend on the full frame.Diagram: how Shave Removal works in the skin
Strong evidence
The usual method: the base is numbed and the tag is snipped or shaved off at the stalk with sterile scissors or a blade in a couple of seconds. It gives the most control over the mark left behind, which is why it is preferred on the face and neck and on deeper skin tones. It also leaves tissue that can be sent to the laboratory if there is any doubt about the growth.
A gloved clinician treating a small dark spot on a patient's shoulder with a fine handheld instrument16:9 hero for Electrodesiccation and Curettage. Never cropped: the tone strip and the corner logo depend on the full frame.
Strong evidence
A fine electric tip burns through the stalk and seals it at the same time, so there is no bleeding. It suits several small tags in one session and very small ones on the eyelids. It destroys the growth, so it is not used on anything that needs examining first.
16:9 hero for Skin Biopsy. Never cropped: the tone strip and the corner logo depend on the full frame.Diagram: how Skin Biopsy works in the skin
Strong evidence
When a growth is firm, broad-based, ulcerated, bleeding on its own or simply different from your others, it is removed and sent for examination under a microscope rather than discarded. When it is being taken off anyway, that costs almost nothing, and it is the only way to be certain a growth was what it looked like.
16:9 hero for Cryotherapy (Liquid Nitrogen). Never cropped: the tone strip and the corner logo depend on the full frame.Diagram: how Cryotherapy (Liquid Nitrogen) works in the skin
Moderate evidence
A few seconds of liquid nitrogen freezes the tag so it drops off over a week or so, and it is quick when there are many. It is less predictable with pigment, because the pigment-producing cells are sensitive to cold, so it is used more cautiously on deeper skin tones and near the eyes. It destroys the tag, so nothing can be examined afterward.

When to See a Dermatologist

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Skin tags are not a medical problem, so most reasons to be seen are certainty and convenience - but do not remove a growth at home when you are not sure what it is, because skin cancers are occasionally mistaken for tags, and then nobody ever finds out. Book if a growth does not behave like a skin tag: firm rather than soft, a broad flat base rather than a narrow stalk, growing steadily, bleeding without being caught, ulcerated or crusted, or a different color from your other growths. Book as well if a tag is painful, hot and swollen, if it has turned dark and you are not sure it is simply twisted, if one keeps catching and getting infected, or if you have suddenly developed many new tags, particularly alongside darkened, velvety skin in the neck, armpits or groin, because that combination is worth a conversation about blood sugar. And book if you simply want them gone - removal for appearance is quick, and worth the visit rather than the kit.

— Dr. Schwarz, Board Certified Dermatologist

Complications

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Lookalikes

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Seborrheic Keratosis

Some seborrheic keratoses sit on a small stalk in a fold and get called skin tags, and several dark growths on the face and neck on deeper skin tones can look like a crop of tags. A seborrheic keratosis is firmer, has a rough or waxy stuck-on surface, and often sits flat against the skin rather than hanging from it. A tag is soft and moves freely. They are removed slightly differently, so it is worth knowing which you have.

Moles

A mole can grow outward on a stalk and then look exactly like a skin tag, particularly in the armpit or on the neck. A stalked mole is usually firmer, more evenly domed and more definitely pigmented, and it has often been there since youth. A tag is looser and more crumpled. The distinction matters because a mole that is changing needs looking at, and neither should be taken off at home.

Basal Cell Carcinoma

This is rare in this company but it is the reason not to remove anything at home. An early basal cell carcinoma on the neck or under an arm can look like a small raised bump and get dismissed as a tag for a year. It is firm rather than soft, has a broad base rather than a stalk, is often shiny with fine vessels running across it, and it slowly grows, crusts or bleeds without being caught. Anything that fits that description gets looked at, not snipped off.

Myths

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  • "Cutting off a skin tag makes more of them grow." It does not. Removing a tag removes that tag. New tags can appear nearby because friction, genetics and hormones have not changed, but the removal did not cause them.
  • "Skin tags can turn into cancer." They do not. A skin tag is benign and stays benign. The real issue is the reverse - something that was never a tag being assumed to be one, so an unusual growth should be examined, not removed at home.
  • "They are contagious, like warts." They are not. Warts come from a virus and can spread. Skin tags are outgrowths of your own skin, and you cannot catch one or pass one on.
  • "Skin tags mean you have diabetes." Having several is associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes across large groups, but most people with skin tags do not have diabetes. Developing a lot, especially with darkened velvety skin in the folds, is a fair prompt to check blood sugar.
  • "Apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil or garlic will remove them." When they appear to work, they work by burning the skin. A poor trade on a harmless growth, and the mark can be worse than the tag.
  • "Tying a thread around it at home is safe." Ligation is a real technique, but at home it is unclean, painful, slow, and applied to a growth nobody has examined. Infection and a permanent mark are common.
  • "Insurance will cover having them removed." Usually not. Removal is normally considered cosmetic, and the exception is a tag that repeatedly catches, bleeds or becomes inflamed. Ask before booking.
  • "They will go away on their own." Most do not. A twisted tag can drop off and pregnancy tags sometimes shrink, but a settled skin tag stays for good.

Questions Patients Ask

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Can I just cut it off myself?

Please do not. It bleeds more than you expect, it hurts more than you expect, the tools at home are not sterile, and you lose the chance to have it examined if it turns out not to be a skin tag. Removal in clinic takes seconds.

Will more grow back if I have them removed?

Not the same one. New tags can appear in the same area over time, because removal does not change the friction, genetics or hormones that produced the first one. Not the tag growing back.

Does having skin tags mean something is wrong with my health?

Usually not. They are extremely common and most people who have them are healthy. A lot of them is associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes across large groups, so developing many new ones, especially with darkened velvety skin in the folds, is a fair reason to check blood sugar. A prompt, not a diagnosis.

One of mine has turned black. Is that dangerous?

Most often the tag has twisted on its stalk and lost its blood supply. It is tender for a few days, then dries up and falls off, leaving nothing. Still get it looked at, because a growth turning dark is also how other things present.

Will insurance pay for removal?

Usually not, because it is normally considered cosmetic. The exception tends to be a tag that repeatedly catches, bleeds or becomes inflamed. Ask the clinic before you book so the cost is not a surprise.

Are the ones I got during pregnancy permanent?

Some shrink or disappear in the months after delivery and some stay. Wait several months before deciding on removal, and ask the doctor managing your pregnancy before having anything done meanwhile.

References

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