They are very simply an overgrowth or hyperplasia of the epidermis or outside layer of the skin. They often occur as you grow older and are usually most prominent in middle age. Nothing has been proven to cause them but some conditions, such as being overweight, are thought to encourage their growth. Insulin fluctuations are also thought to be one of the possible causes as well as high levels of growth factors such as during pregnancy.

Skin tags normally occur most often in the eyelid area, the upper chest, and the groin, although they may actually pop up pretty much anywhere you have skin, so that leaves a lot of real estate open.

There is no known prevention per se but what you can do is watch for them and when they start to appear (they appear first as a tiny bump), and then as soon as you can see a tag is forming with a small stalk that attaches it to the skin, snip it off with fingernail clippers or small scissors. It's best to do this early because they larger you allow them to grow, the more painful the excision of them will be.

If you wait too long you may have to have them removed at an office visit to your dermatologist, which will of course cost you money and, quite simply, is just a bother. But if you do have them taken off they will normally either freeze them off or excise them. It's fairly painless so not much to worry about.

So although skin tag causes can vary, they are not dangerous and not usually anything to be too worried about other than the cosmetic issues.

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