Q I’m starting to get skin tags on my body. How can I treat and hide them in the meantime?

Suzie, Bolton

A

DR AAMER SAYS: These small, soft, skin growths that hang off the skin are very common and affect roughly one in four of us. Although usually harmless and nothing to worry about, they can be annoying, especially if they rub against clothing or jewellery. CryoPen, costing between £40-80 a session, usually gets permanent results in just one treatment, freezing off warts, age spots and skin tags in seconds. A device, shaped like a pen, emits a fine jet of nitrous oxide (a freezing solution) under high pressure, which rapidly cools the skin tissue. When skin cells reach -20C they’re killed and the blemish is blasted away. Depending on the size of the area treated, the process takes between five and 90 seconds. Sometimes a blister may form immediately after treatment, which will heal in two to six weeks. Antiseptic cream is applied afterwards.

LESLEY SAYS: Unless there is a medical problem with a skin tag, removal is not covered under the NHS so you would need to see a private GP or a dermatologist for removal. Sometimes skin tags evacuate themselves. They can twist off or die due to a lack of blood supply but never try to cut them off yourself. An at-home kit called Cryotag Skin Tag Remover £26, removes skin tags in as little as one treatment with most tags falling off after two weeks. However, some skin tags may require additional treatments. You can treat the skin tag again, with up to four treatment cycles, and the kit contains enough for 12 treatments.