MailPlus: TikTok Mole Scraping Warning
Medics have highlighted concerns about the potentially misleading and dangerous advice about DIY mole removal going ‘viral’ on TikTok.
MailPlus asked mole removal expert Dr Ross Perry for his advice and opinion in their recent feature:
“Doctor blasts TikTok ‘mole scraping’ trend as ludicrous and life-threatening”
The Mail+ article says:
“For all the useful beauty and health tricks on the social media site TikTok, there’s an increasing number of DIY trends that not only don’t work – but are bordering on the downright dangerous.”
The mole removal trend has seen videos of people using chemicals, razors, knives to ‘scrape off’ skin lesions such as skin tags and moles. Some users have even tried burning their own skin while there are a host of creams and solutions available for sale on the internet that can be dangerous to apply to the skin.
Such videos have generated millions of TikTok views and the #moleremoval hashtag has over 12 million views.
Mail+ sought expert medical advice from mole removal expert Dr Ross Perry, who was quick to the point, saying:
“It’s just plain stupid, irresponsible and dangerous”
“TikTok stars and influencers as a whole have a responsibility to set a good example.
“Advising their followers on any medical “at-home” methods, particularly mole removal, is just ludicrous and can lead to all kinds of short and long-term health problems.”
Risks of DIY Mole Removal
Ross explained the risks of trying to self-treat for moles and skin tags:
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Missed diagnosis of cancerous lesions, potentially delaying life-saving treatment
Dr Perry continued:
“Some moles may look harmless but they could easily be something more sinister and by trying a DIY removal, not only could you make it more problematic but it could also mean that should it need proper treatment, the home methods have disguised what it was.
“This makes onward treatment much more complicated.”
Skin Cancer
While not all moles are skin cancer, there is a known link and it is very important to diagnose any skin lesions properly to ensure rapid diagnosis and treatment:
Not to mention, if a skin lesion is cancerous, removing the mole but not identifying and removing the cancerous cells
“You could therefore be overlooking what could be a potential melanoma, which, left untreated, can be life threatening.”
Dr Ross Perry said he’d treated patients who had tried various self-help methods
“It’s scary that people even try this at home.
“We see so many patients with scars, pigmentation problems and missed diagnoses of skin conditions.”
TikTok told Mail+ that safety was a top priority on TikTok and that it would ‘remove content promoting dangerous behaviour or activities that might lead to serious injury or physical harm.’
To read more, please visit https://www.mailplus.co.uk/health/22777/health-september-15-2020.
Skin Surgery Laser Clinics
Dr Ross Perry is a qualified and experienced London NHS GP, who founded Cosmedics Skin Clinics in 2003, an independent company specialising in skin treatments such as removal of lesions/blemishes.
Cosmedics’ Skin Surgery Laser Clinic offer private mole removal at a selection of clinics based in London and Bristol. Moles are removed using the latest surgical techniques including laser mole removal; with trained doctors and surgeons.
Our team of qualified and experienced doctors and surgeons also treat other skin blemishes, including sebaceous cysts, skin tags, warts and lipoma using freezing, laser or surgical techniques.
For ultimate peace of mind, Cosmedics Skin Surgery Laser Clinic offer a thorough top to toe mole check carried out by their trained and experienced doctors.
For more information or to book a consultation, please complete the form on this web page or call 020 7386 0464.
