★★★★★
For years I have had about 9 skin tags on various parts of my body, and they have always driven me nuts. Four of them are large-ish (about 1cm), 3 are small, and 2 are tiny. Two of them are "down there, " around my pubic hair, and one is right in the middle of my cleavage, so I am particularly self-conscious of those ugly ones. Well, I should say "were", not "are" because some are already gone, thanks to the posts here which inspired me!
Since I found the experiences of others so helpful and inspirational, I'll share mine in detail as well in the hope that it can help someone else.
I really wanted them gone but could not afford to have a doctor do it since it's not covered by insurance. So I came to earthclinic. I first tried tea tree oil, as recommended here, because I had some in the house and I do not mind the smell at all. I applied twice a day to all 9 skin tags and covered with a band-aid for 3 days. I didn't notice any change whatsoever. No drying, no discoloration. Nothing.
I was next going to try to get some ACV and try that, but I was emboldened by what others wrote here and so I figured I would try the scissors. Believe me, I figured I was the LAST person who could do something like that--I get extremely squeamish about cutting and bleeding and stuff. But I wanted them gone SO badly and other posts here were very reassuring and said it really was no big deal.
I decided to first try the one in my cleavage and the one on my VERY upper thigh/pubic area, for two reasons: (1) they were both on the largish side and I REALLY hated them, and (2) although the tags were large, they both narrowed dramatically near the skin and were actually attached to my body by a rather tiny flap of skin. So I figured they were a good place to start.
I first tried the cleavage one with a nail clippers cleaned with rubbing alcohol. I thought the nail clippers would make it easier and feel sort of more "removed" from the process. But the curve of the clippers was totally wrong for the job and completely mismatched the curve of my body, and it actually mangled the job a bit. Nothing that won't heal, just more drama than necessary--the clippers scraped the skin to the left and right of the tag, creating an even bigger place to heal. BUT... They did do the job, and quickly. That one is GONE! There are lots of people here who said there was practically no blood, but I did not have the same experience. There was blood. Not a lot, but not a little either. I pressed a cotton ball soaked with alcohol on it for a few minutes, then applied neosporin and a band-aid.
Next up--the one on my thigh. This time I decided to pass on the clippers and go with scissors. I used nail scissors that were pretty sharp. This one was a piece of cake. One quick snip and that hated thing was GONE TOO! This one bled about the same, but again an alcohol soaked cotton ball and a band-aid did the trick.
Those were 4 days ago. Both spots are almost completely healed--the thigh one even more so than the breast one because of the extra damage done by the nail clippers. I can not believe I don't have those skin tags any more. I have been looking at them and hating them for years. I am SO happy.
So then, I wanted to tackle the largest one, which is (was) just at the top of my pubic area. I REALLY wanted this one gone, but did not think I could deal with cutting it because the base of it--where it attached to my body--was not narrow but wide. So for this one I decided to try the string method.
I used dental floss and it was slightly uncomfortable, but I could deal. I added new floss each day, making it a bit tighter each time, for three days, but saw very little change. There was no discoloration as others had reported. Perhaps if I had had more patience and kept going, it would have worked. But I was so happy having the others gone, that I wanted quick results with this one too.
It did seem like the tying had narrowed the base a bit, so I decided to go for the cutting, this time using a scalpel-like tool I have for working with leather. I sterilized the scalpel with rubbing alcohol and this time, because of the size, I iced the area for about 10 minutes and gave a little spritz of numbing spray. The tag was still tied off so I just grabbed it firmly in one hand, held my breath, and sliced quickly with the other.
It didn't hurt a bit, and in a flash it was gone. Now, this one DID bleed, more than a little. Comparable to a bad cut. But I pressed the alcohol-soaked cotton ball on it for a few minutes, then dressed it with a gauze bandage covered in neosporin and taped down with surgical tape.
That was about 3 hours ago. The numbing stuff wore off at least 2 hours ago and while it is VERY slightly sore, I really barely feel anything. I'll change the dressing in the morning--this one left a small hole, about the size of a lentil, so it's going to actually take some healing. But that horrible thing is GONE GONE GONE!!! I am beyond thrilled. The whole enterprise was entirely worth it and I am so glad I did it.
I just have one more on my back that I really want to get rid of. I *think* I can reach it with my scalpel or scissors and it is not too wide at the base so it should be pretty easy. I also took off the very tiny ones which were actually harder to do because they were so small, but virtually painless. Then there are just the three on my side, by my ribs, which will be the last to go. But go they will--I now know there is absolutely no reason to live with these things. If you can stand the tiniest pinch and a little bit of blood, all of which is over in an instant, then you can do it too. Just be sure to keep everything super sterilized.
Good luck!
