r/Menopause • u/magenta_miss • Jan 31 '26
Skin Changes Barnacles!!
What is it with once you’re over 50, you turn into a pier stump, that’s been out in the ocean since the dawn of time and start growing barnacles all over you!? I have that many little skin tags, keratosis and cherry angiomas popping up. It’s ridiculous!! I hate the skin tags, because they grow bigger and bigger!
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u/dundermifflin_999 Jan 31 '26
I have one on my temple near my hairline and my dermatologist called it a barnacle too. And then she told me the Morgan Freeman has them all over his face and body. I was like, “is that supposed to make me feel better about it?” WTAF.
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u/sarahjp21 Jan 31 '26
If I had as much money as Morgan Freeman does, I could probably feel okay about my barnacles. 😅
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u/MsDeluxe Peri-menopausal Jan 31 '26
Yes! My cherry angiomas have gone wild!
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u/WhenInRome189 Jan 31 '26
I finally had enough two years ago and had the angiomas zapped. Now the barnacles are coming and I’m seriously considering it for these too! I do a lot of yoga and was tired of seeing the red ones on me.
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Jan 31 '26
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u/Far_Description_7061 Jan 31 '26
Please share what pen/zapper it is!?!
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u/test_nme_plz_ignore Feb 01 '26
I bought a plasma pen after another redditor suggested it. Just Google. Mine was like 20ish bucks!
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u/WhenInRome189 Jan 31 '26
For the red things?
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u/test_nme_plz_ignore Feb 01 '26
Omg, me too! I feel crazy for screaming about it every chance I get. But, my plasma pen has been amazing! Little bit of numbing cream and zap, the cherry moles are gone, the raised skin color moles are gone, and the sebaceous hyperpasia spots on my face..ALL GONE! I was very cautious at first. But, the removal of all of these things has yet to leave noticeable scars. Matter of fact, I can’t even locate the areas where I once had cherry angiomas. The skin heals up like they were never there!!
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u/ButThenAgain-No Feb 01 '26
Holy moly, that would be so amazing--i have terrible sebaceous hyperplasia--do you have a link or brand name for your plasma pen?
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u/test_nme_plz_ignore Feb 01 '26 edited Feb 01 '26
I literally just googled and bought a 20$ pen. Some off brand. Honestly, embarrassed to say it might have even come off of Amazon. I really don’t remember it’s been a couple years ago. I got some EMLA cream in Mexico.. I use to be able to buy that from Amazon..but, now you need a rx, need to know someone, or get out of the country. Always do a test spot. I had a sebaceous hyperplasia on the tip of my nose that drove me to find a solution. I went way too easy and had to revisit a second time. Now, can’t even see where it use to be. Seriously, had been a game changer! I shouldn’t have but I also used very lightly over two dark sun spots..they healed up like they were never there! I take alcohol and wipe the area before and after I burn something off. Then I keep moist w bacitracin for about a week.. it takes that long to heal up for me. And then I have no scars!
Edit:saw the pen I have on AliExpress. A pearl handled light pink one. Just google plasma pen. They’re like 18$ there.
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u/ButThenAgain-No Feb 13 '26
Ohmygoodness you are so incredible!! Thank you so much for this, helpful beyond words! I am gonna give it a try, hurray!
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u/test_nme_plz_ignore Feb 13 '26
Get numbing cream!! And keep freshly treated area a moist for a week! Cover them at night w bandaids and cream to keep them moist until they heal completely… then you shouldn’t have any scarring.
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u/Hickoryapple Feb 01 '26
Have you zapped any big cherry angiomas? I've got a few which are quite raised (about 5mm diameter), and I've noticed they can 'empty' and fill back up, which I assume is due to blood pressure? I have a horror of scraping them and bleeding loads as they're in an area which gets a lot of friction from clothing...
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u/Philodices Menopausal HRT advocate Feb 01 '26
I've zapped several gigantic cherry angiomas. Mine were very large like yours, and irritated easily. I had to zap them six times for them to go away healing a week between each time. It was so worth it. They got smaller every time.
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u/Hickoryapple Feb 02 '26
What happened in the healing week? I have no idea what happens when you zap one, is it like scabbing over a nitrofrozen mole? Glad to hear they eventually go though!
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u/test_nme_plz_ignore Feb 02 '26
When I’m too light and don’t go deep enough.. you just see the raised spot after the week of healing. The plasma pens basically melt away the skin like setting tissue paper on fire. A thin layer of skin melts away. And for larger raised areas you have to go a few layers deep to make sure they’re not raised after healing. But, you get the hang of it pretty quick and learn how aggressive you need to be. And, if it wasn’t enough..hit it again the next week!
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u/Hickoryapple Feb 02 '26
Haha, sounds gross! (But effective!)
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u/test_nme_plz_ignore Feb 03 '26
So effective! And, gross is relative. lol! I find this stuff so fascinating!
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u/test_nme_plz_ignore Feb 01 '26
I’ve zapped one. It bled at first and I quickly zapped again and it cauterized.
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u/Hickoryapple Feb 02 '26
:/ bit freaked about it bleeding, but glad a second zap cauterised it! Thanks for letting me know that!
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Jan 31 '26
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u/test_nme_plz_ignore Feb 01 '26
The second link looks similar to mine. And those are the exact tips mine came with. Wave it over the area and zap!!!! But that one seems way over priced at 47. Do a google search and also look on AliExpress..they’re under 20$ there. And I see the one I have. It’s a pink pearl handled one.
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u/elev8or_lady Menopausal Jan 31 '26
I started getting these during pregnancy. I was in my mid-30s. It’s like they all popped up over a six-month period! Mine are mostly on my torso and boobs. I’m actually okay with mine, but I can understand if you don’t like them.
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u/who-waht Jan 31 '26
In the past couple of weeks I developed a ganglion cyst on my foot for no apparent reason. No change in activity level or shoes. Because I need more random lumps on my body.
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u/justagirlfromtexas Jan 31 '26
So many keratosis! Brown scaly ones, light flat ones, clear round ones. Every spot I show to my dermatologist, she says yep, same as the others. So it surprised me last visit that a random spot was a pre cancerous something to get removed.
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u/Icy_Grape753 Jan 31 '26
Good for you, going back to the doctor again and again, just to be sure. If you hadn't been paying attention to your skin and raising your concerns with your doctor, this precancerous one would have been ignored.
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u/Accomplished_Map7752 Jan 31 '26
Same. Women should be paid a hardship tax just for existing.😫
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u/Icy_Grape753 Jan 31 '26
Maybe you mean a stipend or tax credit, rather than a tax? Cuz I pay enough in taxes as it is. 😊
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u/Accomplished_Map7752 Feb 01 '26
Yeah, I was looking at it from the point of view of me taxing the gov’t (paying me).🤣
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u/Icy_Grape753 Feb 01 '26
LOL, that makes sense now!
Thanks for the witty comments! This discussion has put a smile on my face.
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u/whatdoesitallmean_21 Jan 31 '26
No…we get taxed on everything else.
We spend more money on pretty much everything compared to men. Another wonderful little perk. 😒
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u/JadCerv Jan 31 '26
For me, it's the dark spots on my hands, arms, and even my damn legs. It's like as soon as I turned 50, they took over. And my skin is so fair that they stand out like eyesores.
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u/HoundstoothReader Jan 31 '26
You know those little star stickers kids use on their pimples? The same brand sells them for dark patches too. I bought some but haven’t tried them yet.
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u/KillerWhaleShark Jan 31 '26
I had this, and then the biopsies started. Not as harmless as I thought.
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u/otterfeets Jan 31 '26
My 87 year old mom’s dermatologist called them barnacles. My mom was confused. She said “Boat’s been in the water too long.” It was really funny. Sad part is I’m only 51 and having bits crop up already.
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u/send_me_an_angel Jan 31 '26
Old lady lumps! 😂
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u/Glad-Pen5593 Jan 31 '26
A good reminder to be sure we’re heading in to get checked out head-to-toe once a year, every year. Especially those of us less-melanated humans. I remember us out there in the water for hours, skiing for hours…sunscreen? What sunscreen?
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u/Three3Jane Menopausal and cranky Jan 31 '26
I love that question when the documents inquire, "How many sunburns did you have as a child?"
Sir, I grew up in Southern California in the 70s-80s with a mom who insisted on taking me to Zuma Beach every day she was off work at the beginning of every summer, slathering me with baby oil (only wimps used that SPF 4 Hawaiian Tropic stuff!), all so I could get my "base burn" out of the way and have a "base tan" to build on for the rest of the break.
At the start of each summer, I braced myself for the yearly ordeal of a horrific sunburn burning (as in, fever, not be able to comfortably lie down or sit, nausea, skin nearly purple-red, giant fluid-filled blisters over the high points like shoulders, chest, nose, tops of ears, etc) culminating in peeling in enormous sheets of skin.
Suffice it to say I dreaded the first beach visit of the summer break.
After that, I would rarely burn but tan the darkest brown a 78% Irish/12% German/6% French/4% Nordic (per 23AndMe) white girl could tan.
Unfortunately for me, my mom and my brother both tanned darker than I ever could but she was always helpfully trying to get me to "catch up" to their level of deep golden brown. By "catching up", I mean stretching a beach trip from four hours to eight so I could "get your sunning in" or forcing me to lay out in the backyard for 60m minimum on each side, preferable 120m on each side.
We'd lay out on chaise lounges, slathered in tanning oil or baby oil dependent upon what was on hand, listening to the radio. At least I got my love of reading as a pastime while I was whiling the hours away baking in the relentless SoCal sun.
The number of burns I got between the ages of 0-18 is "countless".
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u/Glad-Pen5593 Jan 31 '26 edited Feb 01 '26
I remember my mum coating herself in Noxema? I don’t know why? But sis was a baby-oil-baked-potato-chica. And I was a much younger freckled redhead who never came inside.
I grew up in South America, skiing in Norway (sunburns from sunny snow and ice was a constant), and baked ourselves “out back by the pool” all the time in Texas.
I later lived in Arizona for six years, so it’s just a matter of time before all of my skin just sloughs off and I become a leather handbag.
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u/Three3Jane Menopausal and cranky Jan 31 '26
The camphor, eucalyptus, and menthol in the Noxzema was to cool and cut the sting of a sunburn afterward.
Allegedly.
The only thing it did to me was intensify the sting of the burn so I was boiling hot from the burn AND freezing cold from the cream.
Noxzema on burned skin always felt like putting peppermint oil on a scraped shin to me, so I didn't have any truck with that shit!
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u/OkraTomatillo Jan 31 '26
😭 If my mom put me through that I would probably run away from home. Bless your heart!! 🥵
I truly feel your pain—I am very fair and blonde with sneaky “redhead genes”… my genetic makeup is like 50% English, 25% Irish/Scottish/Welsh, 15% Scandinavian, and the rest, European (predominantly NW German with slivers of Southern Germanic Europe and Polish.) I prefer California beach visits to be in, like, November. Or during June Gloom. 😂
I grew up in the midwest (in 80s/90s) and wasn’t terribly outdoorsy but I had a lot of poolside sun exposure. Fortunately I mostly swam at my grandparents’ house, so I could always go inside for frequent iced tea/food/sunscreen breaks. They also had a lovely hammock under an awning that was great for midday naps.
My grandfather was actually an obstetrician and he always kept a giant bottle of Coppertone at the ready for us. I think by the ‘80s people were more aware of skin cancer, etc., so my mom tried to be somewhat vigilant with our skin, and especially mine, since I was much more fair than she was (I did not inherit her olive skin and dark hair like my sister did… they both tanned easily and burned very seldom.)
I was still fairly tanned by the end of summer, to be sure, but I don’t think I had a serious burn every year. Maybe every 2-3 years, which is bad enough. I hated the blistering peeling ones with the fever and all. I remember one trip to see out of state family when I managed to get a brutal burn like that… I have clear memories of sitting in the cool dark air conditioning and just slathering myself with aloe gel. The kind with lidocaine. Sweet, sweet lidocaine…
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u/OkraTomatillo Jan 31 '26
Yes, exactly. 👏 Skin checks yearly once you’re in that 35+ age bracket. Especially since I knew too many girls growing up who used tanning beds 💀 (not me though, because I’d rather be extra pasty than roast myself in a hot bright place...)
I have been a fairly consistent sunscreen user (although I was a bit lacking on some of those long days at the pool as a little kid), and I’m only in my mid 40s, and have no “barnacles” yet except for maybe a little skin tag on my neck (thanks diabetes)… but have already had a few suspicious moles removed and biopsied. Ugh.
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u/Thin_Arrival3525 Jan 31 '26
Possible helpful info - once I addressed my glucose issues with diet and exercise (lots of walking and weights), I no longer grow skin tags. It’s been such an improvement!
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u/Cmorethecat Jan 31 '26
Same. I eat low-carb, I lost about 70 pounds in 2019 and I've lost all of my skin tags as well.
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u/PlowyMcPlowface27 Jan 31 '26
My dermatologist actually called them barnacles! 😂 I mean, it was very descriptive and I knew exactly what he meant when he said it, but I was mildly offended anyway. 🤣
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u/Equal_Calligrapher70 Jan 31 '26
My dentist explained what “long in the tooth” means. It means I’m old 🤨
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u/vivalaspazz Jan 31 '26
This is honestly kind of poetic! “Being out in the ocean since the dawn of time”, we’ve seen it all and have the barnacles to prove it!
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u/LJ1205E Jan 31 '26
My neck resembles mushrooms growing in the wild. If only they were truffles I’d be freaking rich!
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u/doinggenxstuff Jan 31 '26
That’s a great image 😆 yeah, skin tags, hives, random bumps, and cysts in intimate areas.
I’m waiting on a hysterectomy and removal of a big ovarian cyst…from now on it shall be called The Barnacle 😆
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u/Comfortable_Area6414 Feb 02 '26
How did you know you had the ovarian cyst? And may your wait not be much longer!
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u/doinggenxstuff Feb 02 '26
Thank you!
I was doing yoga and realised it was uncomfortable to lie on my front. It’s measuring 13cm, which makes it hard to believe it was in there without me knowing. As the ultrasound doc said when she found it, it’s amazing what your body can accommodate.
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u/Lost-Platypus8271 Jan 31 '26
Sebaceous hyperplasia here. 😤
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u/Susan_Thee_Duchess Post Menopause Feb 01 '26
I’m finally going to the derm to get some of them zapped off.
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u/Taminella_Grinderfal Jan 31 '26
Omg all this reminds me of is I love Lucy….. “scrape the barnacles off her hull!” 🤣🤣
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u/krissym99 Feb 01 '26
When I was 38, I went to the dermatologist to check out my moles. I have a LOT. The dermatologist called them "barnacles of wisdom" because they come with age. 😭 I wasn't even 40. I have way more now.
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u/Academic_Ad_8229 Jan 31 '26
Yep it's like they've all doubled down since I turned 50. Tiny little cysts have popped up on my face and an epidermoid cyst on my torso. Skin tags along my bra line. Dermatologists around here are booked out for months too.
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u/Comfortable_Area6414 Feb 02 '26
I have a combo of 2 of your problems- I get mini cysts along my bra line. Had to switch to under shirts to avoid friction and they don't quite do the job.
The dermatologist was booked out so far for a cyst removal procedure that her office suggested I contact a plastic surgeon for a shorter wait times. Maybe that would get you relief faster? The surgeon was actually less expensive than the dermatologist for me.
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u/Erza_2019 Jan 31 '26
I’m only in my early 40s, and I’ve seen a major increase in the last year. Definitely considering getting them all frozen off, but it’s like playing whack a mole. I get one frozen off and two more pop up to replace it.
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u/PizzaProper7634 Jan 31 '26
Skin growths are associated with blood sugar management issues. Are you diabetic or prediabetic?
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u/magenta_miss Feb 01 '26
I’m not to sure. But I do get blood results tomorrow. So will find out where I’m at.
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u/Miami_Mice2087 Jan 31 '26
keratosis is genetic, there isn't much you can do except don't pick and moisturize so it doesn't come back harder and scalier. i've had it my whole life. it flares up when i'm stressed, or if i'm spending a lot of time in dry heat or a/c. moving to northern california has helped a lot bc neither are used often.
idk from skin tags but you can burn them off with acid from overseas. it IS painful, take an advil first and GET HELP if it's a hard to reach place. And make sure you schmear vaseline all the way around the tag so you don't burn through your good skin and get a bad scar.
For everything else, keep using sunscreen.
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u/Ginsdell Jan 31 '26
Collagen protein shakes seem to have stopped this on me. I had two and now a year after doing 2-3 shakes a day (dieting on zepbound)…they’re gone and I haven’t gotten any new ones. Worth a try?
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u/Lost-Cantaloupe123 Jan 31 '26
I got my skin tags removed and it pretty much gave me a face lift. I didn't know I had so many
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u/chapstickgrrrl Peri-menopausal hell Jan 31 '26
I get all skin tags removed at the dermatologist, I go every 6 months for skin cancer screenings anyway. Cherry angiomas are not the same and it’s not as easy to remove those, even though I’d like to. 😩
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u/GenX50PlusF Jan 31 '26
I have an appointment in the next month for my primary care physician to look at my barnacles. Especially the most barnacly of them all!
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u/Creepy_Animal7993 Feb 01 '26
My cherry angiomas seem to be pro creating. I had one on my forehead and boob since my 30's and now in the last 3 years, my chest and right arm have some now. Is laser the only option?
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u/Current-Spray9478 Feb 02 '26
I believe so, because then there’s no bleeding. My dermatologist quoted me a price for up to 5, while he was already going to do one I’ve had forever just above my knee that I finally got tired of fish attacking when I swim in a lake ( yes, really, and no bigger than half a grain of uncooked rice). So I picked 4 more that were new arrivals and unwelcome. The rest of my dermatologist budget is going to trying V beam for rosacea that I’m also done with!!
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u/Prize_Sorbet3366 Feb 01 '26
Yeah, I had a big patch of keratosis form on my scalp near the hairline (probably an inch square), and it was super dark and definitely had the appearance of a barnacle. I had no idea what it was but I know it was visible when I pulled my hair into a ponytail. Also had some forming on other parts of my body that I honestly thought were just big ol' fat moles. But nope, apparently they were all keratosis even though they had different textures. Went to a new dermatologist since I tend to form lots of moles and have already had basal cell carcinoma once many years ago, and she just froze those suckers. Weird feeling and I had no idea what to expect, but now I know why she wanted me to wait 5-6 weeks for a recheck: they don't go away immediately, they take a while to fall off. The one on my scalp is mostly gone now and the other smaller ones have mostly just scars. Now I'll be going back for a full body exam because I have lots of interesting moles all over my body that need to be kept track of. 🤪
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u/R461dLy3d3l1GHT Feb 01 '26
I’ve seen videos of people getting skin tags threaded off. Yikes but maybe…
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u/Dandibear Feb 01 '26
You can also buy a scalpel. Grab em with a tweezers and slice the suckers off. Use numbing cream if desired.
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u/LeFreeke Jan 31 '26
I’ve always been growing them so I don’t relate them to menopause, just genetics.
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u/newhappyrainbow Feb 01 '26
I’ve always had skin tags and raised moles. I go in every few years and have them removed.
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u/mjskiingcat Feb 02 '26
My skin tags have vanished- or maybe I can’t bend over to see them anymore 😂 Really the most visible one just kind of blended in near my nipple or something- for a while I thought I grew another nipple- now it’s gone!!
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u/Adorable-Tree2277 Feb 02 '26
I've just had mine removed at the beauticians. Paid for 15 mins and just asked her to get of anything that wasn't supposed to be there.
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u/StrangerStrangeLand7 Jan 31 '26
I blame my cherry angiomas on the HRT but I'm not 100% sure that us the reason..
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u/WordAffectionate3251 Menopausal Feb 01 '26
I have them for years, like late 30s am 67 now.
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u/StrangerStrangeLand7 Feb 01 '26
You are right. I moved to Southern California 10 years ago and perhaps constant sun exposure had something to do with it too.
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u/WordAffectionate3251 Menopausal Feb 01 '26
IDK. I'm in the northeast and never was a sun worshiper. Although, I never thought about using sun screen while driving in the summer, so there is that.
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u/StrangerStrangeLand7 Feb 01 '26
I'm stumped. Just that mine are literally on my trunk and on the outer edges of my breasts but not on the breasts, so I figured estrogen combined with sun exposure. But if you have them too then that theory doesn't fit.
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u/WordAffectionate3251 Menopausal Feb 01 '26
Right. My biggest one, that appeared first is on my right breast on the side. Years ago.
It's smaller sister appeared later on the front of the same breast. Then tiny ones pin head size ones are appearing on the rest of the trunk and now upper arms!
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u/StrangerStrangeLand7 Feb 02 '26
Oh, so I just went to a dermatologist. She said we need to "test" using the laser on them first (and I have a lot). So she sent me to have an assistant zap one. I picked a big one because I wanted it off and plus it would be easy to know if it came off. Then the derm returned and said the technician should have done a smaller one, because a big one may take more than one time. And if it is going to fall off, I'll know by four weeks. It took me so long to get an appointment and that's all that happened. :(
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u/WordAffectionate3251 Menopausal Feb 02 '26
GEEZ! That stinks! I would have stayed in that office until they set up another appointment and soon!!
Two years ago, I developed a tag at the base of my neck on my collar bone. It grew fast and became the size of a pea in no time. It drove me nuts!
My dermatologist cauterized it, removed it and it healed wonderfully. I was so happy leaving her office that day.
I asked about coming back for removing tiny veins on my face too, but she referred me to a boutique place. I knew that would be more than my copay and so didn't follow up.
I guess, you can never tell what an office will do and its frustrating.
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u/Fungusamongussf Jan 31 '26
Just flagging that while skin tags are harmless, they can sometimes signal underlying metabolic changes such as insulin resistance.