A strategically placed mole is often seen or known as a beauty mark. Take the famous Cindy Crawford for example, her beauty mark mole perfectly placed just above her lips. But sometimes, moles are not beauty marks. Sometimes we consider a mole to be an eyesore if they are too big, positioned badly, or it causes some form of discomfort, be it physically or emotional discomfort.
Moles, also known as nevi, are common skin growths that can occur anywhere on your skin or mucous membrane. Moles either occur alone or in clusters and they usually appear before we reach the age of 20. There are different types of moles, these are:
All moles look different but most of them have the following characteristics:
Melanocytes or skin cells are usually evenly distributed throughout our skin, but in certain places, melanocytes start to grow in clusters resulting in moles.
Moles are usually removed for two main reasons, these are:
There are certain signs to look out for when checking if your mole is cancerous, these are:
If you notice any of your moles with the above symptoms, get it checked out.
After your mole is removed, the area will be treated and must be kept moist and clean. You may be scheduled for a follow-up to check on how you are healing or for your doctor to share the results of your mole biopsy (atypical mole removal).
Mole removals are low risk procedure, but there are some complications that may occur in a small number of individuals, these are:
