What are Skin Tags?

They're the tiny bumps growing on top of your skin's surface.

They consist of extra collagen cells connected to your flesh by a thin stalk of blood vessels. You can cut them off with a (sterilized!) knife or starve them of blood by wrapping a thread tightly around them. However, they do bleed, and like any wound, they can become infected. 

If you do get that right, though, you can starve the largest part of the skin tag by depriving it of blood, and it will eventually fall off.

They normally don't hurt. They're not themselves dangerous. But they are unsightly.

They're basically small, benign - that is, NOT cancerous - tumors.

They can become irritated, inflamed, and even infected.

People commonly ask dermatologists to remove them, and they can - though it's usually not covered by insurance.

They're more common in people who are overweight, in women, and in diabetics.

What Causes Skin Tags?

Different authorities say different things.

Some blame genetics, at least partially.

Some say friction. They often appear around the neck, due to necklaces. They're also common in areas where skin rubs skin, such as your underarms and groin. 

Others blame insulin resistance. That's when the cells of your body "resist" taking in blood sugar even though they need it for energy. It takes an abnormally large amount of insulin to force them to absorb the sugar, leading to diabetes and obesity.

That would also explain why skin tags are strongly associated with those conditions, as well as with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

Still, others blame skin tags on increased estrogen, which is also - like insulin - a growth factor that can trigger excess cell multiplication. Pregnancy gives many women skin tags.

There's also a strong association between skin tags and the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). HPV can lead to skin problems, including lesions, genital warts, and malignant tumors. Some research seems to say people infected with HPV get more skin tags than those who aren't infected.

Ways to Reduce Insulin Resistance

When we get to what causes insulin resistance, we run into more conflicting stories.

Some claim it's caused by excess carbohydrates, especially highly refined carbohydrates.

Others say it's caused by a high-fat diet. Fat in your cells is what blocks the sugar from entering.

1. Eat a lot fewer calories, especially: sugar, refined grains, and other processed foods.

2. Eat a low-fat diet.

3. Eat only complex carbohydrates: whole grains, fruits, and vegetables - NOT juices.

4. Give your body time to use up excess blood sugar before you eat again. That can include Time-Restricted Feeding, where you eat only 12 to 4 hours per day and intermittent fasting where you don't eat for 24-72 hours.

Reportedly, reversing your insulin resistance through fasting can trigger your body to re-absorb existing skin tags. This may take time, however, because while fasting your body will prioritize what needs most to be repaired. Re-absorbing harmless skin tags is probably not as important as cleaning up and recycling the metabolic debris inside your body.

5.  Get vaccinated with Gardisil-9, the only HPV vaccine available in the United States. Although it specifically targets only HPV types 6 and 11, it seems to have a generalized effect protecting against all genital warts.

One Home Remedy that's 77% Effective

That's iodine - easily available in any medicine store in the form of Povidone-iodine. 

This is a solution of iodine that's highly diluted so it's safe to put on your skin. (But NEVER put any in your mouth. It is NOT safe for internal use.)

Put the Povidone-iodine on your skin tag, allowing it time to sit, two times per day.

Do this every day until the skin tags are gone. It may take only a day or two - or up to six weeks. Your tags will go away faster the less insulin resistance you have.

Therefore, don't skip adjusting your diet and your eating schedule to reduce your insulin resistance.

Bonus Benefit: Reducing your insulin resistance also has a nearly miraculous ability to lower your risk of obesity, diabetes, cancer and other chronic diseases.

Do NOT use any skin tags close to your eyes.

For Added Tag-Removing Power

Add something else to the Povidone-iodine. 

You can use fresh garlic - the active ingredient allicin is anti-viral, so garlic helps defeat all virus-related skin blemishes.

It's not so easy to squeeze the juice from a small clove of garlic, so try pressing a slice against the skin tag or wart and keeping it there with a cotton swab held on by a Bandaid or tape.

Warning: this will smell bad, so experiment when you'll be home alone for a day or two.

In place of garlic, you can try other skin tag treatments other people have had success with. These include zinc oxide, oregano oil, and apple cider vinegar.

https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/skin-tags

https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/skin-tag-causes-prevention-treatment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7STAPF4Gdr0

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3586892/

https://www.learnskin.com/articles/do-hpv-vaccines-protect-against-all-warts

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8906332/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF_8gVewcKg&t=392s