Skin tags are tiny, harmless growths that frequently appear on the skin’s surface. Although skin tags are usually not harmful, some people may find them unpleasant or unattractive. Dynasty Dermatology offers safe and efficient skin tag removal in Pasadena, CA.

Non-Surgical Solutions for Removing Unwanted Skin Tags Safely and Effectively

Medical cryotherapy is far more effective than store-bought wart freezing sprays, as our liquid nitrogen is much colder with a boiling point of about −196 °C. Cryotherapy, or cryosurgery, uses these freezing temperatures to create a local, targeted frostbite reaction to destroy abnormal tissue by inducing cell death while preserving surrounding healthy tissues. Our experienced clinicians understand the art of applying this non-invasive approach in the proper way to effectively treat a variety of concerns, such as skin tags, warts, seborrheic keratoses, pre-cancerous actinic keratoses, and other annoying growths.  

Cryotherapy is particularly effective for treating superficial, smaller, and well-defined lesions, as the recovery period is often 1-2 weeks for facial lesions, and 2-4 weeks off the face.  The temporary cold sensations and mild discomfort are brief and subside quickly. A blister or crusted area will likely form, and these will shed off once the skin underneath surfaces.

Not picking these healing blisters or crusted areas is essential for proper healing as well as avoiding sun exposure, as post-inflammatory pigmentation, infection, or scarring can occur.  Multiple sessions might be required, depending on the size of the lesion, and treating the area sooner rather than later allows for more effective resolution.  Depending on the symptoms of the lesion, this is a procedure that may be covered by insurance.

Other Skin Tag Removal Options

Skin tags can be removed cosmetically with scissor removal after the area is cleansed and prepared under sterile conditions, with or without lidocaine, and using chemical or electrical cautery to stop any bleeding. Electrodesiccation, or electrocautery, is an effective tool using a low setting of a high-frequency electrical current to treat various benign skin conditions such as sebaceous hyperplasia (dilated oil glands), dark black spots such as dermatosis papulosa nigra (DPN), seborrheic keratoses, syringomas, hemangiomas or red vascular lesions, and other growths.

Electrodesiccation can precisely pinpoint the lesion and not hurt the surrounding, healthy skin, resulting in minimal pain, downtime, and scarring. Strict sunlight avoidance and not picking the healing wound is necessary, as described above, following cryotherapy or chemical peels.

The treated area is numbed with local anesthesia if a large or sensitive area is to be treated. Then, it is cleansed, and the electrode is carefully applied to the targeted area to destroy the lesion. Depending on the number of lesions treated, there can be some social downtime, but these lesions can be covered with makeup or concealer. This procedure will not effectively treat moles.

Effective Skin Tag Removal at Dynasty Dermatology

If you find your skin tags bothersome, there are safe and effective ways to remove them. Contact our dermatology office today for professional skin tag removal in Pasadena, CA.