No vitamin deficiency has been proven to directly cause skin tags. The idea that a single missing nutrient triggers these small, fleshy growths is a simplification of a more complex metabolic picture. Vitamin D deficiency is the nutrient gap most often linked to skin tags in popular health discussions, but the connection is indirect, running through insulin resistance and related metabolic problems rather than through vitamin D itself. The real story involves a web of hormonal, metabolic, and growth-factor signals that encourage skin cells to overgrow, and understanding that web is more useful than hunting for one missing vitamin.
Why Skin Tags Form in the First Place
Skin tags, known in medical literature as acrochordons, are benign overgrowths of skin that typically appear on the neck, armpits, groin folds, and eyelids. They consist of a core of loose connective tissue surrounded by a thin layer of epidermis, and they hang from the skin surface on a narrow stalk. They are extremely common, showing up in roughly half of all adults at some point, and become more frequent with age.
At the cellular level, skin tags grow because keratinocytes and fibroblasts in a small patch of skin start proliferating faster than normal. Research has found that actively growing skin tags show elevated levels of epidermal growth factor receptors compared to surrounding normal skin, indicating heightened cell-proliferation signaling in the tissue.1PubMed Central. Epidermal growth factor receptors in idiopathic and virally induced skin diseases What drives that excessive signaling is where insulin, hormones, and body composition enter the picture.
Insulin Resistance Is the Strongest Known Driver
If there is one factor that research consistently ties to skin tags, it is insulin resistance. When cells become less responsive to insulin, the body compensates by producing more of it. That excess insulin raises circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a potent cell-growth promoter. Higher IGF-1 stimulates proliferation of both keratinocytes and fibroblasts, and the result can manifest as skin tags.2PubMed Central. Role of insulin-like growth factor-1 in skin tags: a clinical, genetic and immunohistochemical study in a sample of Egyptian patients This is why dermatologists sometimes view skin tags as an external marker of internal metabolic trouble.
The metabolic connection is strong enough that skin tags show a striking overlap with metabolic syndrome. One case-control study from Eastern India found that the risk of having metabolic syndrome was roughly eleven times higher in people with skin tags compared to those without them. Among the individual metabolic components, high waist circumference and low HDL cholesterol had the strongest independent associations.3PubMed Central. Association of Skin Tag with Metabolic Syndrome and its Components: A Case–control Study from Eastern India Other research has confirmed that the majority of skin tag patients are overweight or obese, and that dyslipidemia and insulin resistance are common findings in this group.4PubMed. The metabolic profile in patients with skin tags
Obesity plays a dual role here. The mechanical part is simple: skin folds create friction, and chronic rubbing can nudge susceptible skin into overgrowth. But the metabolic part matters more. Fat tissue is metabolically active, and in obese individuals, the hormone leptin (produced by fat cells) interferes with insulin receptor signaling, worsening insulin resistance and further boosting IGF-1 levels.2PubMed Central. Role of insulin-like growth factor-1 in skin tags: a clinical, genetic and immunohistochemical study in a sample of Egyptian patients Research has shown that leptin is overexpressed in skin tag tissue itself compared to normal skin, suggesting it may directly contribute to the growth process.5PubMed. Immunohistochemical Evaluation of Leptin Role in Skin Tags Patients with metabolic syndrome who have skin tags also show significantly higher leptin levels and insulin resistance scores compared to skin tag patients without metabolic syndrome.6PubMed. Assessment of serum leptin, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome in patients with skin tags
Where Vitamin D Actually Fits
The vitamin D connection to skin tags is real but indirect. Vitamin D deficiency is widespread, and a substantial body of research links it to the development and worsening of insulin resistance. Reviews of the molecular evidence show that low vitamin D levels can accelerate the formation of insulin resistance and are associated with insulin-resistance-related conditions like obesity and type 2 diabetes.7PubMed Central. Analysis of Association between Vitamin D Deficiency and Insulin Resistance Since insulin resistance is the strongest metabolic driver of skin tags, it follows logically that anything worsening insulin resistance could increase skin tag risk.
But “could contribute to the metabolic environment that promotes skin tags” is a very different claim from “causes skin tags.” No study has shown that correcting a vitamin D deficiency makes existing skin tags disappear, and no trial has demonstrated that vitamin D supplementation prevents new ones from forming. The causal chain has too many links: low vitamin D worsens insulin resistance, insulin resistance raises insulin and IGF-1, and elevated growth factors promote skin cell proliferation. At each step, dozens of other factors are also at play. Treating vitamin D deficiency is worthwhile for bone health, immune function, and metabolic reasons, but expecting it to clear up skin tags is setting the bar in the wrong place.
Other Vitamins Commonly Blamed
Online health sites frequently list B vitamins, vitamin E, and zinc alongside vitamin D as nutrients whose deficiency “causes” skin tags. The evidence behind these claims is thin to nonexistent. Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause various skin problems, including hyperpigmentation and certain inflammatory lesions, but published dermatological reviews of B12-related skin conditions do not include skin tags among the recognized manifestations. The same applies to zinc and vitamin E: both are important for skin health in a general sense, and deficiencies can cause rashes, slow wound healing, or dry skin, but these are different conditions with different mechanisms than the fibroblast and keratinocyte overgrowth that produces a skin tag.
The confusion likely arises because people with poor overall nutrition may also have metabolic syndrome, and metabolic syndrome strongly predicts skin tags. If someone is deficient in several nutrients and simultaneously has insulin resistance, it is the insulin resistance doing the heavy lifting when it comes to skin tag formation, not the vitamin deficiency per se. Correcting nutritional gaps is good medicine, but the honest answer is that no vitamin supplement regimen has been shown to prevent or treat skin tags.
The Role of Sex Hormones
Hormonal influences on skin tags are better supported than vitamin-based explanations. Researchers have found that skin tag tissue contains significantly higher levels of estrogen receptors (both alpha and beta subtypes) and androgen receptors compared to normal adjacent skin.8PubMed Central. A STUDY OF ANDROGEN AND ESTROGEN RECEPTORS α, β IN SKIN TAGS This pattern has been replicated across multiple studies, with one investigation of 62 skin tag patients and 30 controls finding that estrogen and androgen receptors were significantly upregulated in the epidermis and dermis of skin tags.9PubMed. Immunolocalization of androgen receptor and estrogen receptors in skin tags
This hormonal sensitivity helps explain some clinical patterns. Skin tags frequently appear or multiply during pregnancy, when estrogen and other hormone levels surge.10PubMed Central. Cutaneous Changes During Pregnancy: A Comprehensive Review Research on growth factor receptors has found that the concentration of epidermal growth factor receptors was strikingly elevated in skin tags from patients who were pregnant or taking sex steroid hormones, more so than in skin tags from other patients.11Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Increased epidermal growth factor receptors in seborrheic keratoses and acrochordons of patients with the dysplastic nevus syndrome Certain subtypes of hormone receptors in skin tags also correlate with clinical details: higher androgen receptor expression has been linked to armpit-located skin tags, while higher estrogen receptor beta expression has been associated with female sex and obesity.9PubMed. Immunolocalization of androgen receptor and estrogen receptors in skin tags
None of this means that sex hormones alone cause skin tags, but it does explain why they tend to cluster during certain life stages and why they disproportionately affect areas of the body where hormone-sensitive skin meets friction, like the neck, axillae, and groin.
Oxidative Stress as a Contributing Factor
Another thread that has emerged in the research involves oxidative stress. Malondialdehyde (MDA), a marker the body produces when free radicals damage cell membranes, has been found at significantly higher levels in people with skin tags compared to controls.12Universitas Sumatera Utara Institutional Repository. Analisis Kadar Malondialdehyde pada Skin Tags Elevated oxidative stress is also a feature of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance, so it fits neatly into the broader metabolic picture rather than standing as a separate cause. Still, the finding adds nuance: systemic inflammation and oxidative damage likely create a cellular environment that favors the kind of uncontrolled tissue growth seen in skin tags.
Research on skin tag patients has also found elevated levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, another marker of systemic inflammation, alongside their metabolic abnormalities.4PubMed. The metabolic profile in patients with skin tags The combination of metabolic syndrome, obesity, and skin tags has been described as a “Bermuda Triangle” acting against cardiovascular health, highlighting that skin tags may be a visible surface marker of deeper metabolic and inflammatory problems.13PubMed Central. The Evaluation of the Impact of Age, Skin Tags, Metabolic Syndrome, Body Mass Index, and Smoking on Homocysteine, Endothelin-1, High-sensitive C-reactive Protein, and on the Heart
The HPV Question
One persistent idea is that human papillomavirus (HPV) plays a role in triggering skin tags. The evidence here is genuinely contradictory. An older study detected HPV DNA (types 6 and 11) in the vast majority of skin tag samples it tested.14PubMed. The detection of human papillomavirus DNA in skin tags But a later study looking at both low-risk and high-risk HPV subtypes found all skin tag samples negative, with no significant relationship between HPV and skin tags.15PubMed Central. An Association of Human Papillomaviruses Low Risk and High Risk Subtypes with Skin Tag These conflicting results may reflect differences in testing methods, sample preparation, or the populations studied. At this point, HPV does not appear to be a reliable or necessary cause of skin tags, though it may play a role in a subset of cases. Warts, which HPV does cause, are a separate condition with a different tissue structure.
When Skin Tags Signal a Genetic Condition
In rare cases, an unusual number of skin tags can be a clue to an underlying genetic syndrome. Birt-Hogg-Dubé (BHD) syndrome is caused by mutations in the folliculin gene on chromosome 17 and is inherited in an autosomal-dominant pattern. It typically presents with small benign tumors of the hair follicle on the face, neck, and upper trunk, and skin tags are among the recognized skin findings.16PubMed Central. Birt–Hogg–Dubé Syndrome: A Rare Genodermatosis Presenting as Skin Papillomas However, skin tags are less specific to BHD than its other characteristic skin lesions and are not enough on their own to prompt suspicion of the syndrome.17European Journal of Human Genetics. ERN GENTURIS clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis, surveillance and management of people with Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome
BHD is worth knowing about because it carries risks beyond the skin, including lung cysts and a heightened risk of kidney tumors. If you have an unusually large number of skin-colored bumps clustering on your face and neck, especially combined with a family history of collapsed lungs or kidney problems, mention it to a dermatologist. For the vast majority of people with a handful of ordinary skin tags, genetics likely plays a background role in susceptibility but not one that requires testing.
Removing Skin Tags and Preventing New Ones
Since no vitamin supplement has been shown to clear skin tags, the practical question becomes how to remove existing ones and whether anything can slow the development of new ones.
For removal, clinicians commonly use two approaches: cryotherapy (freezing) and electrosurgery (using heat from an electric current). A randomized clinical trial comparing the two found that both were effective, but patient and physician satisfaction was significantly higher with electrosurgery for skin tags specifically. Side effects were uncommon with either method, though cryotherapy occasionally caused pigment changes and electrosurgery occasionally left small atrophic scars.18PubMed Central. Evaluation and Comparison of the Efficacy and Safety of Cryotherapy and Electrosurgery in the Treatment of Sebaceous Hyperplasia, Seborrheic Keratosis, Cherry Angioma, and Skin Tag: A Blinded Randomized Clinical Trial Study Over-the-counter cryogenic devices also exist, and at least one trial showed that a consumer cryotherapy product could completely eliminate about two-thirds of treated skin tags, with half of those clearing after a single application.19PubMed Central. Efficacy Evaluation of the Pixie® Skin Tag Cryogenic Device on Skin Tags in a Prospective, Single-Blinded, Randomized, Comparative Clinical Trial Simple surgical snipping with fine scissors remains the quickest in-office method for small skin tags and is often done without anesthesia.
Prevention is harder because the main risk factors are difficult to change overnight. The most evidence-backed strategy for reducing new skin tags is improving metabolic health: losing excess weight, improving insulin sensitivity through regular physical activity, and managing blood sugar and cholesterol. Given the strong association between insulin resistance and skin tag development, interventions that improve insulin sensitivity are more likely to make a difference than any supplement. If you are being told your skin tags might signal a metabolic issue, the useful follow-up is a check of fasting blood glucose, insulin levels, and lipid panels rather than a trip to the vitamin aisle.
Skin Tags During Pregnancy
Pregnancy-related skin tags deserve special mention because they are a common source of worry that leads people to search for vitamin-based explanations. Hormonal surges during pregnancy create a perfect storm for skin tag development: estrogen and progesterone levels climb, growth factor receptor activity increases in the skin, and many women gain weight that worsens insulin sensitivity. Skin tags that appear during pregnancy sometimes shrink or fall off after delivery as hormone levels normalize, though not always.
Because prenatal vitamins are top of mind for pregnant women, it is natural to wonder whether a deficiency is responsible. There is no evidence that prenatal vitamin status has anything to do with pregnancy-related skin tags. The hormonal mechanism is well established through the receptor studies discussed earlier, and the solution, if the tags are bothersome, is the same as for anyone else: removal by a clinician, or patience. Most dermatologists advise waiting until after delivery to see whether the tags resolve on their own before opting for removal procedures.