The Skin Lesion Guide
Skin tag, mole or seborrhoeic keratosis? How to tell what your raised spot is.
A raised spot is most often one of three things: a skin tag that hangs from a thin stalk, a mole that sits deeper and is usually pigmented, or a seborrhoeic keratosis that looks stuck on and waxy. Here is how to tell them apart, and where to go next for each.
You have noticed a raised spot, and the first question is the simple one: what actually is it? Most raised, flesh-toned or brown growths fall into one of three kinds, and the good news is that they are usually told apart by how they sit on the skin rather than by anything you need a clinic to see.
This is the sorting page. It walks through the three most common raised spots, a skin tag, a mole and a seborrhoeic keratosis, gives you the quickest way to tell which is which, and points you to the right guide and the right next step for each. It also covers the spots that are none of these three, so you know when you are in a different lane entirely.
What is this raised spot on my skin?
A raised spot is most often one of three things: a skin tag, a mole or a seborrhoeic keratosis. The fastest way to tell them apart is how each one sits on the skin. A skin tag hangs off the surface on a thin stalk. A mole sits deeper and is usually evenly pigmented. A seborrhoeic keratosis looks stuck on, raised and waxy, as if it could be picked off (it cannot, and should not).
That is the whole map in one line. The rest of this guide is just those three tells, drawn out a little, plus what to do about each. If you would rather see them side by side, the table below lays out the differences at a glance.
Skin tag, mole or seborrhoeic keratosis: the three-way comparison
Here is how the three most common raised spots compare. Use it as a guide to which one you are likely looking at, not as a way to rule anything in or out for certain. A clinician confirms what a spot is.
| Feature | Skin tag | Mole | Seborrhoeic keratosis |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it sits | Hangs off the skin on a thin stalk | Sits deeper, flat to slightly raised on a broad base | Sits on the surface, looks stuck on |
| Texture | Soft and floppy | Smooth, even | Waxy, scaly or slightly rough |
| Colour | Skin-coloured to slightly darker | Usually evenly pigmented, tan to brown | Pale tan to dark brown or black |
| Typical spots | Neck, underarms, eyelids, body folds | Anywhere on the body | Face, chest, back, anywhere with age |
| When it appears | Where skin rubs on skin or clothing | Often from childhood or early adulthood | Develops and multiplies with age |
| Read more | Skin tag removal | Mole removal | Seborrhoeic keratosis removal |
How do I tell a skin tag from a mole?
The quickest tell is the attachment. A skin tag hangs off the skin on a thin stalk and is soft and floppy, while a mole sits flatter on a broad base and is usually evenly pigmented. If you can gently move it and it dangles, it is far more likely a skin tag. If it sits firmly in the skin and is an even brown, it leans toward a mole.
Skin tags are the soft, skin-coloured growths that turn up where skin rubs against skin or clothing: the neck, the underarms, the eyelids, the body folds. Moles can appear anywhere and are usually there from much younger. There is more on skin tags in our guide on whether skin tags are dangerous and need removing, and on the skin tag removal page.
How do I tell a seborrhoeic keratosis from a mole?
A seborrhoeic keratosis looks stuck on to the surface and has a waxy or scaly texture, while a mole is smoother and sits more evenly in the skin. Both can be brown, so colour alone will not settle it. The surface does: a keratosis has that crusty, barnacle-like top, where a mole is even and smooth.
Seborrhoeic keratoses come with age and tend to gather over the years. A mole has usually been there a long time. If the spot is waxy and stuck-on looking, our guide on what a seborrhoeic keratosis is covers it in full.
How do I tell a skin tag from a seborrhoeic keratosis?
A skin tag hangs off the skin on a stalk, while a seborrhoeic keratosis sits flat against the surface with a broad, stuck-on base. Both can be small and skin-toned at first, but a tag dangles and a keratosis does not. A tag is soft and mobile; a keratosis feels waxy and fixed in place.
The other difference is how they arrive. Skin tags form from friction in the folds. Seborrhoeic keratoses thicken slowly with age and can appear anywhere. If a growth hangs, think tag. If it sits stuck on and waxy, think keratosis.
My spot is red, or flat, not raised. What is that?
If your spot is flat and sits level with the skin, or if it is red or purple, it is probably not one of the three raised growths on this page, and a different guide is the right one. The way to sort it is the same simple test: feel and colour.
- Flat and brown, level with the skin. This is usually pigmentation, such as a freckle, sun spot or age spot. Those are covered in our Pigmentation Guide, not here.
- Red, purple, or a small raised vascular spot. Things like cherry angiomas, blood blisters and broken capillaries are vascular, treated on a different laser. Those belong in our Veins and Redness Guide.
Holding that line keeps you in the right place: raised, benign, non-vascular growths here; flat marks with Pigmentation; red and vascular spots with Veins.
A quick word on the spots that are none of these
Not every bump is a skin tag, mole or keratosis. Spots like acne, cysts and milia are a different thing again, and this guide does not try to cover every lump the skin can make. The three on this page are simply the most common raised growths people ask about, and the ones Pink treats cosmetically once they are confirmed benign. If your spot does not seem to match any of them, that is a good reason to have it looked at rather than to force it into a category.
If you are weighing up cosmetic removal of a raised growth and you already know what it is, you can book your free consultation and a clinician will confirm it and talk you through the options.
Is my raised spot something I should worry about?
Most raised spots are harmless, but no guide can tell you that yours is, and Pink does not diagnose. If a spot is new, changing, very dark or unusual, have it checked by a GP or skin-cancer clinic before thinking about cosmetic removal. The features on this page help you guess what a spot is likely to be; they do not confirm it is safe.
A few things are worth a professional look rather than a guess: a spot that is changing in size, shape or colour, one that bleeds or itches without being knocked, a growth with several colours in it, or the one that looks clearly different from everything else on your skin. Our guide on telling a seborrhoeic keratosis from a melanoma goes through these warning signs in detail and is the place to start if a spot is worrying you. When in doubt, get it checked first. Removal can always come later, once you know a growth is benign.
Which removal page is right for my spot?
Once you have a sense of what your spot is, here is where to go next:
- A soft growth that hangs from the skin, in a fold. That is a skin tag. Read our skin tag removal page.
- A confirmed-benign mole you would like gone. Pink removes benign moles cosmetically. See mole removal.
- A raised, waxy, stuck-on brown growth that came with age. That is a seborrhoeic keratosis. See seborrhoeic keratosis removal.
For the bigger picture across all three, the Skin Lesion Removal hub brings the lanes together and explains how the Er:YAG laser removes each kind of growth.
Book your free consultation
If you would rather have someone confirm what your raised spot is and talk through whether removal is worth it, a free consultation is the easy way in. A clinician looks at the growth, confirms it is the kind that is straightforward to treat, and explains the options with no obligation. You can book your free consultation online whenever you are ready. If a spot is worrying you rather than simply bothering you, see a GP or skin-cancer clinic first.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this raised bump on my skin?
A raised bump is most often one of three things: a skin tag, a mole or a seborrhoeic keratosis. A skin tag hangs off the skin on a thin stalk and is soft. A mole sits deeper and is usually evenly pigmented. A seborrhoeic keratosis looks stuck on, raised and waxy. The way it sits on the skin is the quickest way to tell which one you are looking at, though a clinician confirms it.
How do I tell a skin tag from a mole?
The attachment is the quickest tell. A skin tag hangs off the skin on a thin stalk and is soft and floppy, while a mole sits flatter on a broad base and is usually evenly pigmented. Skin tags turn up where skin rubs, such as the neck, underarms and eyelids. Moles can appear anywhere and are usually there from a younger age.
How do I tell a seborrhoeic keratosis from a mole?
A seborrhoeic keratosis looks stuck on to the surface and has a waxy or scaly texture, while a mole is smoother and sits more evenly in the skin. Both can be brown, so colour alone will not settle it. A keratosis has a crusty, barnacle-like top; a mole is even and smooth.
How do I tell a skin tag from a seborrhoeic keratosis?
A skin tag hangs off the skin on a stalk and is soft and mobile, while a seborrhoeic keratosis sits flat against the surface on a broad, stuck-on base and feels waxy and fixed. If a growth dangles, think tag. If it sits stuck on and waxy, think keratosis.
My spot is red or flat, not raised. What is that?
If it is flat and level with the skin, it is probably pigmentation, such as a freckle, sun spot or age spot, which is covered in the Pigmentation Guide. If it is red, purple or a small raised vascular spot, such as a cherry angioma or blood blister, it is vascular and treated on a different laser, covered in the Veins and Redness Guide. Neither is one of the three raised growths in this guide.
Is my raised spot something I should worry about?
Most raised spots are harmless, but no guide can confirm that yours is, and Pink does not diagnose. If a spot is new, changing, very dark or unusual, have it checked by a GP or skin-cancer clinic before considering cosmetic removal. When in doubt, get it checked first.
Which removal page is right for my spot?
A soft growth that hangs from the skin in a fold is a skin tag, covered on the skin tag removal page. A confirmed-benign mole you would like gone is covered on the mole removal page. A raised, waxy, stuck-on brown growth that came with age is a seborrhoeic keratosis, covered on the seborrhoeic keratosis removal page. The Skin Lesion Removal hub brings all three together.
