I certainly understand the desire to want to remove moles yourself. I had moles from head to toe my whole life and felt extremely self-conscious all the time. I was at a point where I wanted to cut them myself, so I could relate to anyone else who is researching how to remove moles yourself.
At the same time, I want to pass on a few words of "practical wisdom" to you if you are seriously considering ways to remove moles yourself so you don't screw things up and make things worse.
I am now in my 40s and did not seriously consider having any of my moles removed until I was thirty. Why? Because, I didn't even know I could before then.
I had heard of people having warts removed from their skin, but as for moles, I thought this was one of those things you lived with and tried to cover it up with makeup as best you could. After all, there were role models like Cindy Crawford, whom they looked up to for having a facial mole.
I just considered that some people were lucky because their moles were in places that enhanced their beauty (i.e. beauty marks). I was one of the unlucky ones who ended up with unsightly raised moles on my face and chest.
When I "woke up" and realized that there were ways to remove moles by yourself, with a variety of methods, I felt like a kid in a candy store and wanted to remove all the moles.
What I learned is that the path to removing moles on your own isn't entirely simple or effective if you choose the wrong methods or jump into it without some important considerations ...
1. Remove moles yourself, don't make things worse
When you remove moles yourself, you need to make sure that the mole is a candidate for self-expression and that the method you choose will not leave a permanent mark or scar.
How do you know if a mole is a candidate? You must determine if it is normal or cancerous. It cannot be known for sure if a mole is cancer unless a medical professional or dermatologist collects a sample from the mole and sends the cells to a laboratory for analysis. However, you can tell if a mole looks normal or abnormal.
You don't want to remove moles yourself if they look abnormal in any way because if there is a chance that the mole is cancerous, you could delay proper treatment and let the cancer spread.
This sounds like a scare tactic, but I want you to take it seriously. I had a cancerous mole removed and it is not something to tinker with or shrug off as a minor thing.
Here's a list of things to watch out for that your dermatologist should check before removing moles yourself.
Get your mole checked first if...
- Contains a mix of colors, such as tan, brown, black, red, or pink.
- Has ragged edges or doesn't look like a nice round or slightly oval dot.
- It has recently grown in size or is larger than a pencil eraser.
- It looks red and swollen, is bleeding, or does not seem to heal.
- It itches
Therefore, trying to remove cancerous moles is definitely one way to make things worse. Another way to make your situation worse is to leave a mark or scar after you remove the moles yourself.
Surgical mole removal gets a bad rap because it can leave a very prominent scar. I must know, I had a cancerous mole removed from my arm and now I have a large scar in its place.
But what if you remove the moles yourself? Is there still concern about scars?
Home remedies use mild ingredients, most of which are slightly acidic in nature. These natural remedies tend to fade moles over time, which works in your favor and reduces the risk of scarring.
However, you will need to be patient with natural remedies used to remove moles yourself. If you become too aggressive when you remove moles yourself, it can cause an unintentional abrasion or burn and this can heal or leave a long-lasting dark mark on your skin.
2. Remove moles yourself: After care
Once you get rid of the mole, your work is not completely done. The skin under the mole is new and needs protection. Your worst enemy before, during and after you remove your moles is the sun.
A mole on your face or body can become enlarged or abnormal when exposed to excessive sunlight or artificial sun. Therefore, you should take some precautions after removing moles yourself so as not to make things worse.
First, cover the newly removed mole with a high SPF sunscreen (50 is best) when you are outside. This is not only on sunny days, but also on cloudy or winter days. If you are removing a mole in the winter, be aware that snow can strongly reflect sunlight, making it as much of a problem as the summer sun.
You can also cover a recently removed mole with a plaster. I realize this can be a problem with a facial mole, but its long-term results will be worth it. With facial moles, a hat or visor can add protection from the sun during the initial healing phase.
What about tanning booths? Tanning booths are sometimes considered a safe alternative to natural sun. It is true that the natural sun emits ultraviolet B (UVB) rays, which are not found in tanning booths. However, artificial tanning booths will produce ultraviolet A (UVA) rays, which may take longer to cause skin damage, but they do.
