Q&A: Home Remedies for Skin Moles?

dpn on face home remedyQ: What can I do for my dermatosis papulosa nigra? Are there home remedies? Is medical treatment the only solution? - Brandy N.

A: Dematosis papulosa nigra, better known as moles, is not all that uncommon but does occur in about 35% of African Americans. There are a number of home remedies that will prove to be particularly useful in getting rid of them to some degree. Here are FOUR top remedies that seem to work:

1. Squeezing a clove of garlic and placing it over the area that needs cleansing before covering it with a bandage is known to be very effective in reducing the prominence of skin moles.

2. You could also try crushing some vitamin C tablets and applying the powder over the spotted area of the skin, holding it in place with the help of an adhesive bandage.

3. Castor oil is very beneficial in the treatment of moles and should be gently massaged into the area of the mole at least twice daily for best results.

4. Use the inside of a banana peel on it. Cut a strip of banana peel, place it over the mole, make sure the inside of the peel is touching the mole and then wrap a bandage around it. Leave that bandage on for 2 hours at a time until the mole falls off

It is also essential that you avoid going outdoors when possible, as any over exposure of your skin to the sun could cause the moles to become more prominent. If going out in the sun is completely unavoidable, make it a point to protect your skin with the help of a suitable sunscreen lotion.

THINK BEFORE TWEEZING THESE 4 PLACES

If you are pluck happy person like myself, it’s important to get wake up calls like this one to let you know when to say no! Seeing random hair in random places on your body is certainly the perfect time to pull out those fancy tweezers you have. I mean you bought them for this very reason right!? Well, according to many dermatologists it is not always the smartest idea to start pulling out hair just because it seems like a strange place for it to grow.

Tweezing hair pulls not only the hair shaft out from the skin, but the root as well. According to dermatologist Josua Zeichner, M.D., “While there may be some degree of inflammation in the hair follicle from tweezing, generally tweezing is not considered a form of permanent hair removal and a new hair will be produced. You can traumatize or scar your skin, causing permanent damage in the area.” So be careful. You don’t want a little bit of hair gone to leave you with a permanent big scar.

It’s particularly important to proceed with caution when you start removing hairs from particular areas that are just simply more sensitive than others.

1. Eyebrows

It is actually recommended to trim or wax your eyebrows, as it isn’t as traumatizing as tweezing and threading. Do you ever notice how much more painful it is, and how red your skin looks? This is because this form or removal is much more damaging. According to medical director of dermatology at Mount Sinai Gary Goldenberg, M.D., “Eyebrow hair is very sensitive to trauma and repeated tweezing can produce permanent damage to the hair follicle.”

2. Nipples

Hair on your nipples can make you feel not only weird, but not so….well, feminine. The problem with this is the hairs on your breasts, particularly your nipples, tend to be pretty short. Dr. Zeichner says, “The tweezer itself may cause trauma to the skin in your attempt at grasping at a very short hair. There is a chance you could cause an infection, so proceed with caution. Trimming is a better option here.”

3. Moles

As if the mole itself isn’t the most desirable looking thing, having hair protruding out of it is even worse! Trimming or laser hair removal are much safer and can produce more permanent results, explained Dr. Goldenberg. Otherwise you run the risk of scarring and/or infection.

4. Ingrown Hair

It’s not uncommon to get ingrown hairs. The problem isn’t that you can’t remove the hair; it’s more about how you do it. Zeichner says, “While plucking the hair, which removes pus along with it, can help clear up the infection, you should apply an antibiotic appointment as well, such as over-the-counter bacitracin ointment.

” It’s likely that opening up the skin around this hair will cause an infection if it isn’t cleaned appropriately afterwards. Be careful to make sure that it is an ingrown hair and not just a pimple, as this could cause permanent scarring to the skin.