A sudden increase in skin tags usually signals a change happening inside your body, most commonly weight gain, hormonal shifts, or rising insulin levels. Skin tags affect roughly 1 in 2 adults, and while they’re harmless on their own, a noticeable uptick can point to metabolic changes worth paying attention to.
Skin tags are small, soft growths that hang off the skin by a thin stalk. They’re not cancerous and don’t become cancerous. But when several appear in a short window of time, your body is often telling you something specific.
Insulin Resistance Is the Most Common Driver
The strongest link researchers have found between skin tags and internal health is insulin resistance, the condition where your cells stop responding efficiently to insulin and your body compensates by producing more of it. That excess insulin circulating in your blood has growth-promoting effects on skin cells. It mimics the activity of growth hormones, stimulating the rapid multiplication of the cells that make up your skin’s outer layer and the connective tissue beneath it. The result: small benign growths in areas where skin is already prone to irritation.
This connection is strong enough that some researchers have suggested screening patients with multiple skin tags for blood sugar problems. If you’ve noticed a cluster of new skin tags and you’ve also been experiencing increased thirst, fatigue, or unexplained weight changes, it’s worth checking your fasting glucose and insulin levels. Insulin resistance is the precursor to type 2 diabetes, and skin tags can be one of its earliest visible signs.
Weight Gain and Friction
Skin tags develop where skin rubs against skin, clothing, or jewelry over time. The most common spots are the neck creases, underarms, beneath the breasts, the groin, and along the sides and abdomen. If you’ve recently gained weight, even a modest amount, you’ve increased the surface area where skin-on-skin friction occurs. People who are overweight have a 4.7-fold higher likelihood of developing multiple skin tags compared to those at a normal weight.
This also explains why skin tags show up under bra straps, along necklace lines, or where a seatbelt sits. Any repeated rubbing over weeks and months can trigger a tag to form. A change in clothing style, a new piece of jewelry, or a different exercise routine that increases chafing can all contribute.
Hormonal Changes and Pregnancy
Pregnancy is one of the most reliable triggers for a sudden crop of skin tags. The combination of weight gain, increased blood volume, and surging hormones creates ideal conditions. Estrogen and progesterone fluctuations affect skin cell turnover, and pregnancy-related insulin resistance (which is normal and temporary) adds fuel to the process. Most pregnancy-related skin tags appear during the second or third trimester.
Outside of pregnancy, any condition that raises growth hormone or its downstream signal, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), can promote skin tag formation. This is why skin tags are a recognized feature of acromegaly, a rare condition where the pituitary gland produces too much growth hormone. In acromegaly, skin tags appear alongside other skin changes like thickened or oily skin and acne.
Cholesterol, Thyroid, and Other Metabolic Links
The connection between skin tags and metabolic health goes beyond blood sugar. Research published in The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology found statistically significant associations between multiple skin tags and elevated cholesterol levels. The study also identified links with abnormal triglycerides and hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid). The statistical model that best predicted which patients would have skin tags included BMI, the number of body areas affected, skin type, and blood cholesterol levels.
These findings suggest that a sudden appearance of skin tags, particularly in multiple locations, can reflect a broader metabolic pattern. High cholesterol, sluggish thyroid function, and insulin resistance often travel together as parts of metabolic syndrome. Skin tags may be one of the more visible, external markers of internal changes that otherwise require blood work to detect.
Genetics Play a Role Too
Some people are simply more prone to skin tags than others. The tendency runs in families. If your parents or grandparents dealt with frequent skin tags, you’re more likely to develop them yourself. This genetic predisposition means that when a metabolic or hormonal trigger kicks in, your body responds by producing tags more readily than someone without that family history. Aging compounds this: skin tags become increasingly common with age as skin loses elasticity and folds more easily.
How Skin Tags Are Removed
Skin tags don’t need to be removed for medical reasons, but many people want them gone for comfort or cosmetic reasons, especially when they catch on clothing or jewelry. A healthcare provider can remove them in an office visit after numbing the area, typically using one of three methods:
- Snipping: The tag is cut off with surgical scissors or a blade. Quick and straightforward, sometimes requiring a small bandage.
- Cryotherapy: Liquid nitrogen freezes the tag, which then falls off on its own within 10 to 14 days.
- Electrosurgery: A small electric current burns off the tag and seals the area to prevent bleeding.
Do not try to remove skin tags at home. Cutting, tying off, or freezing tags yourself risks infection, bleeding, and scarring. On darker skin tones, removal can cause hyperpigmentation (darkened patches) where the tag was. This discoloration is usually temporary but can sometimes be permanent.
Telling Skin Tags Apart From Other Growths
Skin tags are soft, flesh-colored or slightly darker, and hang from a narrow stalk. They move freely when you touch them. This distinguishes them from several look-alikes. Seborrheic keratoses, another common benign growth, tend to look waxy or “pasted on,” sit flatter against the skin, and can appear scaly or wart-like. They range from white to dark brown and feel rougher to the touch. Moles are typically flat or dome-shaped, with a broader base and more uniform color.
If a growth is firm, has irregular borders, changes color, bleeds without being irritated, or looks different from your other skin tags, have it evaluated. Seborrheic keratoses and skin tags are both harmless, but they can occasionally resemble growths that aren’t.