Ewww...what is that? It’s a Skin Tag!

Previous to viewing a certain Dr. Scholl’s commercial, I had never even heard of a skin tag. I knew about ball tag and even freeze tag, but if you had asked me about skin tag I would have guessed it was a saucy adult variation of one of these games. Not only was this commercial enlightening, it was also highly entertaining. For those of you who haven’t seen it, it goes like this: A woman and her child are relaxing in a hammock. They laugh and giggle at each other. What a wonderful day! The little girl plays with her mom’s hair as she says, “Mommy, you have such beautiful eyes”. Such sweet words from a delightfully precious child. But seconds later the compliment is eradicated as the little girl uncontrollably exclaims, “Eww! What is that?”. The mother tries to gracefully respond, “Oh that? It’s a skin tag”. She acts as if the comment doesn’t bother her, but it’s impossible to hide. Deep down her confidence is shattered and a morsel of resentment has developed towards this kid who doesn’t know when to shut up. Kids say the darndest things and in this case the little girl’s outright disgust at her mom’s unsightly skin tag is the highlight of the commercial. You can tell the mother wants to respond by pointing out a flaw on her daughter “Eww what’s this? Oh it’s a mole!” or “Eww what’s this? Oh it’s your adoption papers!”

I honestly can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a skin tag in real life. It could be because I only allow beautiful people to hang out with me, or more likely because I really don’t notice stuff like that. Maybe I have seen a skin tag recently and I just didn’t know what it was, who knows. But what is certain is that I have never heard the actual term “skin tag” until the Dr. Scholl’s commercial – which I found surprising. I’m fairly well educated and not a total dummy so I thought maybe if I hadn’t heard of this term there are others out there like me. So today is your lucky day, you get to find out what a skin tag is.

Basically a skin tag is a small flap of skin that forms where there are creases or friction on the body such as an armpit or neck. They can also form on other areas such as the face or in the case of the woman in the commercial, the chest. Unluckier people can have them in the groin or butt area but I don’t even want to think about that. Clothing can also cause the friction necessary to form a skin tag.

Skin tags are not particularly harmful so they don’t always need to be removed. But of course if your rude daughter is constantly pointing them out and asking what the heck they are, you might want to get rid of them. Or just get rid of your daughter instead using Dr. Scholl’s Curious Child Remover. For professional help, it’s best to consult a dermatologist who has various medical procedures at his or her disposal that will treat the problem. A dermatologist is also a great resource for dealing with how to get rid of acne. All are relatively painless and without tremendous risk. You can also do it yourself by tying dental floss around the skin tag to cut off its blood supply, then snip it off. But don’t do it because I told you to, please check with your doctor first. I refuse to be responsible if you end up accidently choking yourself to death.

Well I hope this hub has been helpful in some way. At the very least, you can watch the commercial for yourself...