If you are one of the many people plagued by these unsightly blemishes, there are ways to remove a skin tag by yourself without going to the doctor.

What are these things anyway? These are small benign skin growths that protrude from the skin and typically show up in the more sensitive areas of the body such as the eyelid, face, neck, underarms, or groin area.

In many cases people choose to have a physician remove these growths simply because it is easier than dealing with the issue at home on your own. However, what you run into in this case is problems with the insurance company not wanting to pay because it’s basically an elective, or cosmetic, procedure which they don’t deem to be necessary or life threatening. While it’s true that these growths are generally benign in most cases, there is the rare possibility of a malignancy so it’s best to have them removed.

The doctor will usually freeze the tag and it will fall off in a number of days. In recent years some products have shown up on the market that allow you to freeze them yourself at home, and this is a great way to address the issue. Remember that these products, although fine for very small tags, are not as powerful as what your dermatologist would use, so you may not be able to use them on larger areas. Definitely worth a try though.

All manner of other home remedies have shown up over the years, and some work just fine if you are not the squeamish type. For example, many folks just snip them off with a pair of scissors or nail clippers. Other people find they fear pain or bleeding, so they might try the thread approach where you simply tie a piece of string or thread around the tag and wait for it to fall off. These methods work in a lot of cases but be very sure to use sterile technique so you won’t find yourself with an infection, thereby necessitating a trip to the doctor after all. Also, have something on hand to stem the blood flow if you plan to try snipping.

So basically it is not usually dangerous to try to remove a skin tag by yourself, but keep in mind that there are still some occasions when seeing your physician is the best alternative in the long run.