To start, I should tell you that the skin tag removal product industry is not your average one. This, you should know, is a BUYER-BEWARE kind of product category. Full stop. When you are looking for a skin tag removal product, you are clearly looking for something safe, something that will not scar you (which cutting the skin tag can do), and something that works.
Yes, that last part of the statement sounds obvious, but it unfortunately isn’t completely obvious to the people who sell a few of the skin tag removal products out there. What I’m saying, frankly, is that there are snake-oil operators in this category, so you need to ensure you’re watching what you buy.
I’ll start with the MUST AVOIDS when it comes to these creams and solutions, and move on to those that ACTUALLY WORK. It’s important to remember, particularly when you’re looking at some of these products, that you really do get what you pay for. And with a couple of these products it’s actually SHOCKING that they can even be sold, as they frankly border on TOTAL FRAUD. I think you’ll be able to pick them up.
THE LINEUP
Summary: Well, let’s start with Tag Away. If you’re the kind of person that watches a lot of late night TV, you may have already seen the commercials for Tag Away, and while they’re pretty seriously cheesy, they do promote something that appears to work. At first glance, it sounds good, this homeopathic remedy, but unfortunately, real experience shows us that this is a sad, unfortunate lie.
The Amazon Effect
The key reason, I think why Amazon has been so successful is that people simply LOVE to review products there. And with Tag Away, this is no different. So, if we are to believe count ‘em 137 reviews (as of this post, anyway), we should probably take that 1 1/2 star rating to heart.
Benefits:
- If you are looking to smell bad for 6 weeks while your skin tag grows stronger, this is a winner.
- Fake 30 day money back guarantee that ensures you pay for shipping and handling, which is probably worth more than the product itself.
Drawbacks:
- Well, pretty much everything.
- Really smells. Like badly. You don’t want to be in public with this kind of odor on you.
- Doesn’t work. In fact, reviewers report that skin tags tended to get stronger.
Conclusion: If you feel like throwing money away and being burned like so many have been, feel free. But $16 for “smelly medicine-y water” doesn’t really make much sense to me.
Tag Away II – Electric Boogaloo: Elimitag
Summary: Feeling like you’ve seen this before? Feeling a little “rip-off deja-vu”? Well, your feeling is correct.
Now, I have to say that if this wasn’t such a cynical move that is really in such amazingly bad taste, I would probably laugh. Like out loud. Rolling on the floor. But this is actually a serious matter. Elimitag (check the horrifying Amazon reviews here), shockingly enough, is just TAG AWAY WITH A DIFFERENT NAME. A product created to CONTINUE A PRACTICE OF RIPPING OFF CONSUMERS!
I wish I was joking. But I am not. So basically, what we’re dealing with is a company that makes a product that is so ineffective, and that people have so thoroughly bashed on the Internet, that instead of just stopping its sale, have decided to KEEP SELLING IT to people who don’t know it’s a rip-off, AND REBRAND IT UNDER A NEW NAME. That name? Elimitag.
I really wish I was making this up. The websites even look the same! Look here and here.
Now tell me that’s not the same thing. I don’t think you can.
Benefits:
- Good for people who are allergic to their money.
Drawbacks:
- This is clearly an unbelievably cynical attempt to rip you off.
- Doesn’t work. In fact, reviewers report that skin tags tended to get stronger.
- Also stinks extremely badly.
Conclusion: Wow. Just wow. I have never seen this kind of blatant audacity when it comes to ripping people off. It’s sad, really.
Results with Tea Tree oil are VERY mixed.
Tea Tree Oil
Summary: Basically, Tea Tree Oil is one of the most popular home remedies I’ve seen recommended. But it seems to me to be a 50/50 (or less) chance that it actually will remove skin tags. I’ve tried it, and it’s a slow, stinky, difficult treatment, and I frankly saw zero results. Others, meanwhile, have told me that it works. So I cannot recommend this because of that certainty, but I would definitely welcome hearing from anyone who has had good results with it.
Benefits:
- 100% natural product
- Apparently works for other things; I’ve read everything from acne to nail fungus
- Readily available at a lot of stores, and of course Amazon.
- Cheap
Drawbacks:
- Tends to have a very strong odor
- Results are VERY mixed
- Takes a seriously long time (8-12 weeks) to work compared to specialist products
- Very uncertain outlook and no expert has recommended it for skin tags directly
Conclusion: For $10, it’s not the worst price, and “word on the street” is that it does work for some people. For me, it’s a little too uncertain, especially when you compare it to the next product.
Dermatend
Finally, we have Dermatend.
This, as far as I’m concerned after using it, is by far the best skin tag removal product out there in 2013. That’s a fact, my friends. And until there is something that actually works better, I will continue to recommend it.
Benefits:
- 100% natural product
- Strong and very effective
- Removes moles as well
- Reasonably priced
- Quickest solution I’ve seen so far
- Non-scarring solution
- Starts working immediately, with some results within 24 hours
Drawbacks:
- Very strong and as a result care must be taken when applied
- Available cheaper and in a smaller package directly from the company or in a more expensive, larger package from Amazon (also, no 60 day guarantee if bought from Amazon)
Conclusion: What can I say except that I am a huge fan of Dermatend? This is the kind of product that works right away, as opposed to a lot of “supposed solutions” that play on “hope and a prayer”-type ideas and make you wait a month or two before you should expect any results.
Not Dermatend. This stuff works, and it works fast. No ifs ands or buts about it.
(If you have experience with a product that has worked well (or have a warning about a product that DOESN’T work), leave me a note in the comments below!)