# Skin tag removal **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 16, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skin-tag-removal/585700 "2011-06-16T15:41:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skin-tag-removal/585700/41 "2011-06-24T07:03:47Z")
If I can reach them, I snip them off with thoroughly cleaned cuticle scissors, and then treat as any other minor wound. If I can’t reach them, I have someone else snip them off. I’ve had a few larger ones removed by a doctor. Snipping small ones doesn’t hurt that much, at least not for me. Obviously, mileages vary. ---
**Author:** ![jlj1944](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@jlj1944](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlj1944)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skin-tag-removal/585700/42 "2014-07-30T03:47:17Z")
I used the dental floss to remove a large skin tag from teticle sack after trying all the other method. I tied the dental floss as tight as I could take it and in about ten days it fell off leaving a very clean surface. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skin-tag-removal/585700/43 "2014-07-30T03:52:39Z")
Thanks for sharing. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skin-tag-removal/585700/44 "2014-07-30T04:13:35Z")
I had one taken off, but I didn’t charged because I was there for something else. He sliced it off with a scalpel and put silver nitrate on. It stung a little but was no big deal. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skin-tag-removal/585700/45 "2014-07-30T06:35:14Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > This is easy. Tie dental floss or thread around the base of the skin tag tightly. It will turn black and fall off in a couple of days. The problem is it has to grow long enough to tie the floss around. They are often caused by skin irritation, so the collar line is a common place to have them show up. I find rough scrubbing of my collar line with a washcloth gets rid of them as they start to appear. But other ones would show up randomly on my torso, and I use the dental floss technique successfully. > > If you see a dermatologist, make sure to mention that they get irritated and inflamed from contact with clothing. That may qualify you for insurance coverage of removal. Insurance usually doesn’t cover removal for cosmetic purposes. My cousin uses the tie down method using hair. I used nail clipper on one and it bled like buggery for ages. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skin-tag-removal/585700/46 "2014-07-30T16:48:51Z")
> [@jlj1944](#): > > I used the dental floss to remove a large skin tag from teticle sack after trying all the other method. I tied the dental floss as tight as I could take it and in about ten days it fell off leaving a very clean surface. The skin tag, I hope. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skin-tag-removal/585700/47 "2014-07-30T17:00:06Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > This is easy. Tie dental floss or thread around the base of the skin tag tightly. It will turn black and fall off in a couple of days. The problem is it has to grow long enough to tie the floss around. This, according to my father. He’s has a number taken off, and this is how the doctor usually did it. After the first few times, he began doing it himself, with good results every time. However, IANAD and don’t know whether there are special cases where this technique shouldn’t be used. > [@Malacandra](#): > > The skin tag, I hope. lol. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skin-tag-removal/585700/48 "2014-07-30T17:51:30Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > My gf removed one with nail-clippers and couldn’t believe how bad it hurt! An ice cube and a really fresh pair of fly-tying scissors. Assuming it is “ripe” enough to be tonsil shaped it doesn’t hurt much more than a second and one small round band-aide stops the blood. ---
**Author:** ![Lydia\_Phalfav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@Lydia\_Phalfav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lydia_Phalfav)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skin-tag-removal/585700/49 "2014-07-30T23:48:20Z")
I just cut them with scissors or a sharp knife. I’ve never had any large ones (yet) & I haven’t felt much, if any pain from cutting them. –Cutting off flaps of skin from a fresh cut or scrape hurts 10-20x worse, but they’ve been those “it had to be done to prevent trapping dirt & bacteria” types. ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skin-tag-removal/585700/50 "2014-07-31T01:01:06Z")
I sort of accidentally removed one on my butt during a long plane journey. I guess I must have shifted in my seat weird and it sort of twisted itself till the circulation cut off. Hurt a bit for a few days until it fell off. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skin-tag-removal/585700/51 "2014-07-31T01:48:24Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > The skin tag, I hope. You win the thread. LoL! I never got them before or after, but during pregnancy they were everywhere! The key is to get them while they are small. For the larger ones I used an exacto knife. I found a scraping/cutting motion worked best. It is really not that painful, but you know yourself best. Passing out with an exacto knife held up to your neck is probably not the healthiest approach. The one on my lower eyelid, right next to the lash line was different. No way was I going to cut in that area! For that one I got one of those wart removal kits from the drugstore. The kind that freeze off the wart. I very carefully froze the tip of the exacto and then just held it to the tag. (The tip that came with the kit was too big.) It took several applications, and that is the only one that comes back; but it shrank down to almost nothing. The worst thing is the way those little bastards bleed. It takes forever for them to stop. Go to the shaving section of the drugstore and get a styptic pen before you start. Shopping for one while you are bleeding is no fun at all. Re: silver nitrate - can I buy that, or do you have to be a doctor? ETA: I tried to remove the first one with a salicylic acid wart remover. That took forever, only removed the tiip, and left it raw, painful and prone to bleeding. Do not recommend. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skin-tag-removal/585700.md?page=2)