Skin Tag Removal Cream?

July 17, 2011 6:40 PM

I'm looking for personal recommendations on skin tag removal creams.

I have a few on my neck and chest I'd like to get rid of. I read in an older thread about tying or cutting them off, but I don't have the guts and I hate to ask my partner to do it for me. Ideally, I'd like to use some sort of cream that will burn them off under a Band-Aid over a few days. Please let me know what product has worked for you.

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (14 answers total)

Skin tags can be removed by a dermatologist in a pretty simple and mostly painless procedure. Have you looked into that?
posted by telegraph at 7:00 PM on July 17, 2011

If you have insurance, just go to your primary care doctor. They can remove them in an office visit, no dermatologist necessary.
posted by matildaben at 7:02 PM on July 17, 2011

I've used the Compound-W kit, and it seemed to work okay, though I suspect the tag I used it on was a little more alive than it was intended for. It ended up being a kind of bloody mess, for awhile, but seems to be healing up nicely. I'm not sure I'd use it on tags in visible areas as it's leaving a mark.

There's also a similar Dr. Scholls kit.

They are both about the same price -- $35 in Canada at the drugstore -- and both have enough things to do 8 tags.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:07 PM on July 17, 2011

I shadowed a plastic surgeon for a week when I was in high school. I watched the doctor remove about 30 skin tags from a woman's neck in under ten minutes. The woman didn't even flinch.

I'm lucky to not be afflicted by them, but if someone I knew had them, I'd recommend they head on over to a doc. I can't imagine a cream will solve your problem in ten minutes. Definitely worth the cost of a co-pay.
posted by phunniemee at 7:08 PM on July 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

I have successfully used Compound W Freeze Off for removing skin tags.

This is an off label treatment.
posted by cinemafiend at 7:09 PM on July 17, 2011

Turn a can of compressed air upside down, carefully blow out the super-freezing propellant into a receptacle that won't shatter (I use a heavy shot glass) and use a q-tip to dab the skin tag. That solution is colder than the Compound W one so it's more effective and it costs maybe 1%, or less, what you're paying for Compound W or Dr Scholls. The skin tag will crust over and fall off in a few days.

Works for warts too. I pour the propellent into a small funnel with opening held TIGHTLY against the wart and hold it there for around 20 seconds. Freezes warts as effectively as a doctor does.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 7:15 PM on July 17, 2011 [2 favorites]

I can vouch for the fact that DermaTend does work, but depending on the size, it may take more than one application. Also, you have to either use a nail file on the surface or scratch it with a toothpick before applying, so if it's in a place that's awkward to reach, it can be gigantic hassle. Especially if you need to apply it more than once.
posted by MexicanYenta at 7:17 PM on July 17, 2011

If you're willing to use the freezing compound I think you may as well old an ice cube on it to numb up and then use some sharp nail clippers to cut em off. Unless you're squeamish about blood. But pain-wise I find the freezing to be worse, longer. Feels like you got a minor burn rather than a cut.
posted by phearlez at 7:30 PM on July 17, 2011

I have developed skin tags on my neck. I read that obesity can be a cause, and, sure enough, when I lost about 15 pounds they mostly vanished. I have put the weight back on and they have returned.
posted by KokuRyu at 7:51 PM on July 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

Skin tags can be a sign of insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. Adopting a diet more in line with our evolutionary heritage has shown promising results in reversing this. No cream or surgery necessary, and likely lots of positive side effects.
posted by Earl the Polliwog at 8:14 PM on July 17, 2011 [3 favorites]

Try Bag Balm and a band-aid over it. I kid you not. Bag Balm is the bomb.
posted by Lynsey at 11:08 PM on July 17, 2011

Everyone's plans are different of course but my dermatologist said they weren't covered by insurance because it was cosmetic.
posted by dog food sugar at 12:14 AM on July 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

I had one in my armpit frozen off. Pretty painless and seriously effective. ethnomethodologist outlines what they did. The cups they used were small plastic funnel-looking things. The brand name was Verruca freeze and you can buy a can with the cups on Amazon.
posted by Foam Pants at 9:53 AM on July 18, 2011

More than ten years ago, I was lying in bed half awake in the middle of the night scratching my side and I came upon this thing attached to me. I sat bolt upright thinking it was some kind of bug, but it was a skin tag about 3/8" long and I had quite a few more smaller ones on both sides, under my arms. I tried pulling it off but it was tough and pulling it was quite painful, likewise twisting, and pinching the stalk with my fingernails. So I just went back to sleep.

Next day, it hurt mildly when my arm brushed past it, but then I forgot about it til a week later, and when I looked to see what was going on, it had vanished completely. Not only that, they were all gone without a trace, never to return.

A couple of days later, riding my bike up and down some hills in high heat, I was astounded to find that, though I was soaked everywhere else, I hadn't sweated under my arms at all. Then in a week, my underarm hair started falling out, and within another week it was all completely gone.

It's never grown back, and I am still completely unable to sweat under my arms in the heat, though I can when I'm nervous.

So I'd say let a doctor handle it.
posted by jamjam at 10:41 AM on July 21, 2011