It’s the question at the forefront of your mind. What is it? What is that thing on my skin? A wart? A skin tag? Luckily, it is quite easy for you to find out.

How to tell if it is a Wart?

Warts are cylindrical or dome-like in shape, with a rough texture (unless they are on the sole of the foot, where they are likely to have been smoothed down). They form on the surface of the skin itself, and consequently the majority of warts do not dangle off of the skin.

Filiform warts, however are slightly different. This type extends upwards from the surface of the skin, and they have spike-like projections which branch outwards from the surface of the wart itself.

Warts can be white or pink-hued in colour, and may or may not form in clusters of several warts which look similar to a cauliflower. The surface of them might be dotted with black specks, potentially many or sometimes only a few, depending upon the type of virus that causes the warts. They are generally 5-10 mm in size.

How to tell if it’s a skin tag instead?

Skin tags are small fleshy growths, which are generally irregular in appearance. Their texture is normally smooth. They do not form on the surface of the skin itself in the same way in which warts do. Instead, a small stalk will form at the base of the tag and the rest of the tag will be attached to this. This means that unlike a wart, it will normally dangle slightly off of the skin.

Some might not though, and might instead form on the surface of the skin. Instead of being white hued, they will be flesh-coloured or brown (not to be mistaken with moles or freckles).

Skin tags should not form in clusters on the skin as warts might, as unlike warts they are not contagious, and such clusters are due to contagion of the surrounding skin area. However multiple tags will often form in a similar area. They can grow bigger, but are usually only several millimetres across.