Growing up, I didn’t really pay attention to the moles all over my body. Even if they were weirdly or “strategically” placed, such as the mole in the exact spot where I got my first ear piercing.

That mole had a use: The spot was already marked!

But I also had my fair share of weird moles.

For instance, I was told that the mole located on my neck meant my future marriage would be bleak. It would meet “unfortunate circumstances” as I am a wild character who will bring disharmony to the family.

Aside from that, I even have one in my eyelid, making me a bad business partner since money doesn’t go my way, or so they say.

Whether or not these “predictions” are true, I decided my moles just had to go.​

What Is A Skin Mole?

Moles, or melanocytic naevi, are the result of your cells clustering together in a particular place.

Moles are either subdermal or flat, as they are formed under your skin, or raised and can even be fleshy, covered in hair, and can also be light or dark in color.

Subdermal moles are smooth to the touch, and can either be just a tiny dot or a large flat mass that resembles Pangaea.

The raised mole, on the other hand, can be fleshy to touch, small, or highly visible.

As for the mole covered in hair, people often opt to remove the hair through beauty procedures such as cosmetic waxing, plucking, threading, or even through cauterizing.

The moles described above are common and are scientifically classified as the junctional melanocytic naevi (brown-round-flat), the dermal melanocytic naevi (raised-pale-hairy) and compound melanocytic naevi (raised-light brown-hairy).​

Rarer moles include a halo naevi, a mole with a “halo” surrounding it, a blue naevi, or the Clark naevi, unusually shaped, flat or bumpy, and varies in color.

As for the different pigments of your moles, it all boils down to the amount of melanin your body produces, or other factors such as sun exposure, genetics, and complexion. However, the different pigments do not have any direct correlation to the size of your mole.

They say that in the first 30 years of your life you’ll get about 40 moles, or if you’re “lucky” 100 of them. Who knows, maybe you’ll get one on THE spot; the jackpot, this-is-the-good-fortune-spot.​

Why Do We Get Moles On Our Skin?

Whether or not my moles are placed on a lucky spot, the fact remains that having a mole is common. In fact, it's quite unusual not to have at least one.

The sole reason behind why you have moles is not known, but having moles can be attributed to genetics.

Just like how you blame an unknown ancestor for your hairy legs, these ancestors can be the reason why you have a lot or a few moles too.

Interestingly, moles can either fade or intensify naturally throughout your lifetime.

For pregnant women, for example, moles can either darken, get bigger, or you might just get a new one!

These darkenings in a pregnant woman’s moles can be attributed to the increase in the production of her coloring pigment melanin, her hormones, or her skin layers.

During your adolescence, moles can also increase in number as your hormones are unstable and increase during your puberty.

Lastly, your moles can fade too when you reach your 40s and onwards.

As you age, your bodily functions and hormones are slower and decreased making your moles seem smaller or less dark.

Are Skin Moles Contagious or Dangerous?​

Moles are a common sight on the body, and you might ask if all 40 or 100 of your moles are safe.

The majority of your moles are harmless, but the possibility of a mole being dangerous is not particularly far-off.

Rarely, a benign mole can mutate into a malignant or cancerous one causing you to suffer from melanoma.

Melanoma is dubbed as the most dangerous type of skin cancer.

It happens when your unrepaired and damaged DNA cells trigger mutations, resulting in rapidly multiplying malignant tumors.

Often, melanoma resembles moles and can even develop from one. The key to treating melanoma is early detection for an earlier treatment since a progressed case of melanoma is typically fatal; a person dies from it every hour.

Removal Procedure

Like most genetic diseases, you are more susceptible to melanoma if your family had a history of the disease.

However, one can never be sure.

After knowing about melanoma, getting rid of my skin moles wasn’t just based on whether or not I’d get lucky or pretty, but was now an issue of safety.

I recommend visiting your trusted dermatologist to check if your moles are possibly malignant especially if you have a suspicious mole. It grows at an alarming pace and comes in an unnatural pigment, such as pink.

In your quest to get rid of skin moles you are given the liberty to choose from surgical procedures or natural ingredients.

For quicker and immediate results, you may opt to do the following:

1. Shave Excision

In this procedure, your mole will literally get “shaved.” This procedure works best for the raised kind of moles.

In shave excision, a sharp razor will be used to cut the growth of your mole. Through multiple horizontal cuts, your mole is “shaved” similarly to how you shave the hair in your leg.​

After "shaving," your doctor will use a dermal loop electrode for a process called electrosurgical feathering. In this process, the edges of your shaved wound will be "feathered" out to smoothness.

The surgery is not a major one; it only requires local anesthesia and a good 15 to 30 minutes of your time.

Of course, this surgery will cause a scar, but it is nothing as significant compared to the one you may get during a surgical excision.

2. Surgical Excision

In surgical excision, instead of the mole getting shaved, the mole along with a little of the surrounding skin will be removed.

This works for all types of moles, flat or raised.

In this procedure, the area will be marked, and with the use of a scalpel and surgical scissors, the area will be cut around and under, excising the mole along with a little skin. Then, the wound will be stitched up leaving you a scar.

The most common type of surgical excision is the elliptical excision or fusiform excision.

The same procedure is done in an elliptical excision. However, the cut will be done in an ellipse with the intention of orientating your scar along with the natural skin creases of your body. Through this, the scar will be less noticeable.

3. Punch Biopsy

A punch biopsy is usually done to obtain diagnostic full-thickness skin samples from a person. It is also an advised procedure, along with surgical excision, for a cancerous mole.

Usually, a punch biopsy is done if the mole or lesion you want to get rid of is deep.

In this procedure, your doctor will remove a round plug of skin tissue with a sharp cylindrical punch - hence punch biopsy.

The skin that will be removed will rely on how far your lesion goes, so expect that the cavity left will be deeper than the first two procedures.

4. Laser Mole Removal Procedure

In this day and age, laser treatments are commonly used for a lot of procedures, and unsurprisingly, mole removal is one of the many.

A laser mole removal is not as instantaneous as the first three cosmetic procedures. Often it will take you up to three trips to the dermatologist to get rid of the mole completely.

But then again, no scalpels and stitches!

Laser mole removal works best for flat moles whether they be brown or black in color.

In this procedure, the area is first numbed through local anesthesia, before using a laser to get rid of the pigmentation of the mole.

The targeted mole will scab and then fall off after laser mole removal.

One of the pros of getting this procedure is that there is a very minimal risk of scarring - under a reassuringly 1% only!

How To Get Rid Of Skin Moles Naturally With Home Remedies​

If you find these procedures a little pricey, or if you are scared of needles and sharp scalpels (because I am), you may try some home remedies to see if they work for you.

However, I still strongly advise you to visit a dermatologist first before treating your mole just to make sure that the mole is benign.

Bonus - ingredients are readily available at home or the local drugstore!

1. Garlic

Garlic is such a beautiful vegetable. Aside from being a staple in almost all of our recipes, it also does wonders in your quest to get rid of moles.

Interestingly, enzymes in garlic can help break down the cluster of cells that makes up your mole.

In the breaking down process, the cells are now spread out, and it is possible that the dark pigmentation will lighten.

In using garlic, be warned that you might feel your skin burn, so it is important to protect the surrounding skin first.

You may use petroleum jelly or even masking tape to protect the surrounding skin.

Use one clove of garlic only, crush it into a paste and apply to the mole. If garlic extract is available, you may use it instead of the paste.

Cover the treated mole with a clean bandage and leave it on for four hours tops.

You may do this treatment thrice a day, and results may be expected usually in around 5 days.

2. Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar, or ACV, is not just good for adding a little spike of fruitiness in your salads and recipes; through the years ACV has also been providing us with a lot of health and beauty benefits.

From treating dandruff to weight loss, ACV is commonly cited, but did you know that it can do wonders for your mole removal endeavors, too?

Apparently, the natural acidity of ACV can dissolve the mole. In just a few days, the mole will scab and fall off leaving you with mole and scar-free skin.

In using ACV, you may apply it on the mole directly using cotton swabs or Q-tips. You may do this daily - twice a day is best,

You may choose to tackle your mole directly, particularly the raised, fleshy kind of mole.

If you do the latter, you need to prepare a sterilized needle, cotton balls, and your handy ACV.

Just poke the mole with the needle twice to allow easy access for the ACV. Put the cotton ball soaked in ACV on the mole, leave it on for at least 20 minutes, and then wash it carefully.

In a span of six days, your mole will scab and ultimately fall leaving you with mole-free skin.

3. Castor Oil

Even if flat moles are flat and therefore "nonobstructive," they still can be aesthetically displeasing, especially if they are quite visible.

Luckily, castor oil is also useful in removing flat moles.

Why? Well, castor oil can soothe sunburns and is a potent antibacterial and antifungal ingredient.

Your mole may be pigmented heavily because of long periods of exposure to the sun. Through castor oil, this sunburn is soothed, and therefore the "burnt" area can get lighter.

Moles, well, some of them at least, can grow out of bacterial or fungal infections. Applying castor oil will rid you of the said infection.

To use castor oil alone, just dab a bit of castor oil on the mole and rub it gently. You may do this at least twice a week.

You can also mix baking soda with three drops of castor oil. Apply the paste on the mole and bandage it at least overnight.

You may do the castor oil and baking soda paste every other evening.

4. Tea Tree Oil

Tea tree oil is known to help treat another common skin condition - acne.

Aside from acne though, it is believed that tea tree oil can also help you in your battle to get rid of skin moles.

Tea tree oil is another antifungal and antibacterial substance. It is even used to treat infections such as psoriasis or athlete’s foot.

Your mole may be caused by fungus or bacteria, and with tea tree oil, you now have a chance to get rid of it.

Aside from a fungal mole, tea tree oil can also help in fading your dark mole into an almost invisible shade.

To use tea tree oil, all you have to do is put some of it on a q-tip or cotton swab and put it on your mole. You can do this treatment thrice a day, but if your skin gets irritated, it is advised to stop as you might damage your sensitive skin.

BONUS: Since your mole can get darker because of too much exposure to the sun, it is advised to religiously apply sunscreen before heading out, and to avoid walking directly in the heat of the sun during the periods of time where the sun is at its peak.​

Not only will you protect your skin from sunburn, but also yourself from possible skin cancer.

The Bottom Line

Moles are common, and everyone has some.

For some, a mole is a cute spot, even beautiful identity marks that make you stand out from the rest like Marilyn Monroe’s and Cindy Crawford’s moles did.

They can even be signs of good luck and fortune or even indications of change in the body. What it should not be though is a mark that brings you discomfort or low self-confidence.

In dealing with your moles, it's either you live with it and love it, or you can always choose to get rid of it. After all, what matters will be your health and your happiness in your own skin.

I hope this guide will help you get rid of the moles and will help you gain the confidence you should have. Remember that you are most beautiful when you feel it yourself - you’ll just glow.​