While skin tags are typically painless and harmless, you might opt to remove them in order to return your skin to a smoother state. It’s a pretty common practice, as it’s estimated that nearly half of adults had one of these pesky bumps at one point.[1]
Essentially, skin tags are just skin buildup. Usually, they appear on dry, creased parts of your body like your neck, armpits, or groin folds. There are some surgical or chemical ways you can get rid of them. However, routinely using specific essential oils for skin is a more natural method for skin tag removal. With this list of essential oils for skin tags, you can safely and effectively reduce the size and appearance of skin tags, while smelling and feeling great.
Can Essential Oils Remove Skin Tags?
Essential oils have a wide variety of uses and benefits. You can find essential oils for sagging skin, and yes, even essential oils for skin tag removal. Most of the essential oils for skin tags work by drying out the skin tag, which causes it to fall off naturally. However, if you don’t see results naturally, you can always talk to your doctor about alternative methods and get a professional opinion. Here are a few easy steps to get you started:
- Choose a carrier oil to blend with your essential oils for skin tags. Combining your essential oils with a carrier oil will help reduce any chance of irritation around the area. Some carrier oils to choose from are almond oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil, or hemp oil.
- Make a bottle of the mixture so you can use it daily. Combine about 12 drops of essential oil per 30 ml of carrier oil. Store this combination in a tinted glass bottle to protect the essential oils from sunlight and spoiling.
- Apply the mixture to your skin tag twice daily by rubbing it on with your fingers or a soaked q-tip and then letting it dry.
Important: Be cautious when using essential oils for skin tags around your eyes. You shouldn’t use them at all on your eyelid to ensure the oils don’t reach your eye.
Best Essential Oils For Skin Tags
Try using one or a few of these essential oils for skin tags in your homemade mixture. These oils are the best of the bunch to help you dry out your skin growth safely and while smelling fantastic.
Tea Tree
It’s old news that tea tree essential oil is a wonder oil for your skin. Also known as melaleuca, it’s especially great for clearing up acne. In fact, one study even shows that tea tree oil is as effective as benzoyl peroxide to treat mild facial acne.[2] This comes from the oils ability to dry out your skin.[3] This same drying effect is what makes tea tree oil great for skin tag removal.
To use this oil for your skin tags, apply it to your skin with a carrier oil. You can even dampen a cotton pad in a tea tree oil plus carrier oil mixture, and leave that on the skin tag for 5-10 minutes per day.
In addition to helping dry out skin tags, tea tree oil is also antimicrobial. This can come in handy if you’ve picked at your skin tag one too many times and now have scratches around the area.[4]
Oregano
This potent antifungal and antimicrobial oil can help your skin tags by drying them out too.[5] When you apply oregano oil, you might experience a slight numbing or tingling, which is normal.
Keep in mind that oregano oil especially should never be applied directly to your skin. It can actually feel like it’s burning if undiluted. Remember to dilute it with a carrier oil and apply to your skin tag twice a day. Also, if your skin tag is relatively small, your doctor might suggest that you also tie a thread around the base of your skin tag to cut off the blood supply too.[6] This will enable your skin tag to dry out fast and eventually fall off.
Oregano is also antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant.[7] All of this makes it a safe and even beneficial oil to use topically on and around your skin tag area.
Lemon
Fragrant-smelling lemon essential oil comes directly from pressing the rind of the fruit. The oil itself is antiseptic and contains a high number of antioxidants.[8] Not to mention, it’s also good at regulating oily skin.[9] This factor contributes to its ability to dry out skin tags by dehydrating it when applied regularly.
Apply lemon essential oil to your skin tag along with a carrier oil, just as with the other options. However, citrus oils can cause irritation and even burning if they’re applied topically and then exposed to sunlight. So just remember to cover up if you apply this oil in the morning. Or, use a band-aid over the skin tag after drying.
Clove
While clove essential oil is less common than the other oils, it shouldn’t be discarded. Clove is highly anti-inflammatory and an anticancer oil.[10] This means it can counteract with tumor production and discourage cell overproduction, which could help reduce your skin tags and stop further growth.[11]
You can add clove to a carrier oil and another drying essential oil for your skin tag. Then, apply it twice daily. Be aware to dilute it generously as this oil, like some of the other essential oils for skin tags on this list, can be a skin irritant. This might create a burning, tingling sensation. Still, it’s a great oil to use for any other skin problems you may have that require an antibacterial or antifungal medicine.
Frankincense
Not only is frankincense one of the best essential oils for skin tightening, but it can also help you get rid of skin tags. It’s specifically good at stopping skin cancer formations, and can heal wounds from picking and even calm the skin from irritation too.[12] Frankincense is great to use in combination with some of the more fiery ones on this list.
Frankincense oil should be a staple in your skincare regime. You can use it for skin tags by combining it with a carrier oil and other essential oils for skin tags and applying to the area.
Rosemary
This essential oil can reduce greasy skin or hair,[13] and is therefore thought to possess the same qualities of drying that can reduce skin tags. Rosemary essential oil contains strong antibacterial, antiseptic, and antimicrobial properties. This makes it one of the essential oils for skin tags you can use to see results.
Try adding a few drops of rosemary oil to a
mixture with some of your favorite oils above. Then, apply it as normal to the
skin tag. While rosemary is a strong oil, it shouldn’t irritate your skin
unless you’re allergic. In fact, it can even sooth dermatitis you have as well
around your skin tag area or on other parts of your body.[14]
References
- [1] https://www.aocd.org/page/SkinTags
- [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2145499
- [3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1360273/
- [4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1360273/
- [5] https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=BVtJDQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT6&dq=oregano+essential+oil+skin+tag+removal&ots=kPbz4pwGq5&sig=O8gS96DJ5x3vzM18hniuzPiFFmw#v=onepage&q=skin%20tag&f=false
- [6] https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/skin-tags/
- [7] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10412905.1998.9700989
- [8] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115001033
- [9] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115001033
- [10] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28407719
- [11] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4132639/
- [12] http://naturalingredient.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/1377986878.pdf
- [13] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115001033
- [14] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3931201/
