Skin Tags

Skin tags are small, soft, benign skin growths that often develop where skin folds or rubs together. Known medically as acrochordons, they are usually skin-coloured or slightly darker and often appear to hang from the skin on a narrow stalk.

Most have a soft, fleshy texture with a smooth surface and cause no pain or tenderness, and while they can range from a few millimetres to several centimetres, most remain relatively small. They are most commonly found on the neck, underarms, eyelids, beneath the breasts, and around the groin, reflecting the role friction is thought to play in their development.

Skin tags are very common and usually harmless, and you don’t need to remove a typical one. Many people still choose removal because tags catch on clothing or jewellery, become irritated through friction, or are simply unwanted.

What matters first is correct identification: moles, warts, and some other growths can resemble a skin tag, and any lesion that changes noticeably, becomes painful, repeatedly bleeds, or grows quickly should be medically assessed. Home removal by cutting, burning or tying off is not recommended, as it risks bleeding, infection, scarring and treating a misidentified lesion; the NHS advises against it too.

At 111 Harley Street, we assess every growth before treatment to confirm it is consistent with a benign skin tag and to choose the most appropriate removal technique.