If you’ve ever wondered what those annoying flesh-colored little nubs on your neck are, they’re called skin tags, and most people have them. These small, benign skin growths — officially known as acrochordons by derms — can show up in several different places on your body besides your neck: armpits, groin folds, under breasts, and on eyelids.
“They are thought to develop due to friction against the skin, whether that is between areas of skin [rubbing against each other] or from clothing,” Salma Pothiawala, a dermatologist at Schweiger Dermatology in New York City, told YouBeauty. Pothiawala also noted that people who are obese are at higher risk for developing skin tags.
The good news is that skin tags aren’t harmful. “Skin tags are not cancerous,” she said. “But they can often times become irritated and bleed if they get caught on clothing or torn.”
Wondering how to get rid of skin tags? If they’re irking you, see a dermatologist to have your skin tags removed. “The dermatologist may cut the tags with a blade or scissor, freeze them with liquid nitrogen, or cauterize them [burn them off],” Pothiawala explained. Whatever you do, don’t mess with skin tags yourself. “At-home treatments, such as tying the base of the skin tag with a thread, are not recommended as they are often times not effective and can result in undue side effects, such as infection,” she said.
