Mr. Onur Gilleard
Qualifications & Experience
Mr Onur Gilleard is a distinguished consultant plastic surgeon on the GMC specialist register. He previously held an NHS consultant post at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, specialising in skin cancer and microsurgical reconstruction. In 2021, Mr Gilleard transitioned from the NHS to dedicate himself fully to private practice, allowing him to focus exclusively on providing personalised, high-quality care to his patients. He is recognised as an expert in laser treatments, having conducted research and developed advanced treatment protocols using cutting-edge laser technology to optimise both clinical outcomes and cosmetic results.
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Skin tags themselves are harmless — but they can be a messenger. A cluster of new tags, especially on the neck and armpits, is a recognised marker of insulin resistance: a 2023 meta-analysis confirmed the association, and in one case-control study patients with more than 30 tags had a diabetes rate above 50%. Tags also flag weight change, pregnancy and hormonal shifts such as PCOS, and — separately — the one thing that genuinely needs ruling out is whether a “tag” is a tag at all. This guide explains what tags do and don’t warn about, and what to actually do.
First: the Tags Themselves Are Harmless
Before anything else, the reassurance. A skin tag (acrochordon) is a benign overgrowth of soft tissue on a narrow stalk. It is not cancerous, not contagious, and never turns into anything sinister. Tags are also extremely common: a classic European study found them in 46% of adults, most often in the armpits and neck, becoming more frequent with age (Banik & Lubach, Dermatologica 1987). So having a few tags warns about nothing at all — it’s ordinary. What carries information is a sudden crop, and the pattern of where they appear.
The Main Signal: Insulin Resistance
This is the association that genuinely matters, and the evidence behind it is solid rather than anecdotal:
- A 2023 meta-analysis confirmed a significant link between skin tags and insulin resistance (Zohora et al., Int J Dermatol 2023).
- In a case-control study, patients with more than 30 tags had a diabetes rate of over 50% (Rasi et al., Int J Dermatol 2007).
- Neck and axillary tags stay independently associated with insulin resistance even after adjusting for body weight (Tamega et al., An Bras Dermatol 2010) — so it isn’t merely a proxy for being heavier.
The mechanism is straightforward: when the body resists insulin, blood insulin and IGF-1 rise, and both stimulate skin cells to proliferate — producing stalked tags in the folds where friction already exists. Tags often appear alongside acanthosis nigricans (velvety darkened skin on the neck), so consistently that the two are described as “twin signs” of metabolic dysfunction (Barbato et al., An Bras Dermatol 2012). Full detail is in skin tags and insulin resistance.
Other Things a Crop of Tags Can Flag
- Weight gain — more skin folds means more friction, alongside the metabolic effect.
- Pregnancy — hormonal change plus weight; tags often appear in the second and third trimesters and frequently settle after birth (see skin tags in pregnancy).
- Hormonal conditions including PCOS — which shares the insulin-resistance pathway.
- Age and genetics — a rising baseline tendency that explains most tags in most people, and isn’t a warning about anything.
Sudden multiplication and its causes are covered further in why am I getting so many skin tags all of a sudden?
When the Pattern Matters: Neck and Armpit Clusters
Location and speed are what distinguish “ordinary” from “worth checking”. A handful of tags accumulated over years, in a friction site, is unremarkable. A fresh crop over months — especially clustered on the neck and in the armpits, and particularly alongside velvety darkening of the neck skin — is the pattern most strongly tied to insulin resistance. In clinic, that’s the profile where Mr Gilleard routinely suggests a blood-sugar check at the same appointment as removing the tags that bother the patient.
What Skin Tags Are Not a Warning For
It’s worth clearing the internet’s noise. Skin tags are not a warning sign of cancer — they don’t become malignant and aren’t a marker of it. They are not caused by an infection or a virus, so they say nothing about hygiene and can’t be caught from anyone (that’s warts, which are viral and look different). They are not a sign of “toxins”, and no diet, supplement or cream prevents or dissolves them. And a single tag isn’t a signal of anything — it’s just a tag.
The Real Red Flag: When It Isn’t a Skin Tag
Here’s the genuine caution, and it’s a different one from the metabolic story. The tags aren’t dangerous — but assuming a growth is a tag can be. In Mr Gilleard’s words:
“If a skin tag is firm, pigmented, growing quickly, bleeding without being caught, or simply doesn’t look like its neighbours, I’d want it examined and possibly biopsied rather than just snipped off.”
In the largest published series of its kind, 1,335 lesions removed as presumed skin tags included five that proved malignant on histology (Eads et al., Arch Dermatol 1996). Rare — but it’s exactly why examination comes before removal, and why destroying a lesion at home is a bad idea: it also destroys the tissue a pathologist would examine. More in are skin tags dangerous?
What to Do About It
Two separate actions, for two separate issues:
- For the metabolic signal: if you’ve developed many new tags over a short period — particularly around the neck and armpits, or alongside weight gain — ask your GP about an HbA1c blood test. As Mr Gilleard puts it: “If it’s normal you’ve lost nothing, and if it’s not, you’ve caught something early.”
- For the tags themselves: removal is about comfort and appearance, and it doesn’t change the underlying tendency. Small tags are removed by snip excision or hyfrecation under local anaesthetic in seconds, no stitches, up to around 20–30 in one visit. Removal is £200 for the first tag, £125 for each additional, consultation £100.
Book an assessment or call 0203 916 6200. Any growth that doesn’t look like its neighbours gets examined first, not just removed.
Your Questions, Answered
- What are skin tags a warning sign for?
- Most often nothing — they’re found in around 46% of adults. But a cluster of new tags, especially on the neck and armpits, is a recognised marker of insulin resistance (confirmed by a 2023 meta-analysis), and can also reflect weight gain, pregnancy or hormonal conditions such as PCOS.
- Do skin tags mean I have diabetes?
- Not by themselves. But the association is real: in one case-control study, patients with more than 30 tags had a diabetes rate above 50%. A sudden crop, particularly around the neck, is worth an HbA1c blood test with your GP.
- Are skin tags a warning sign of cancer?
- No. Skin tags are benign and don’t become cancerous or indicate cancer elsewhere. The only cancer-related caution is different: occasionally a lesion that looks like a tag is something else, which is why anything firm, pigmented, growing or bleeding should be examined rather than assumed.
- Why are neck skin tags specifically significant?
- Neck and axillary tags remain independently associated with insulin resistance even after adjusting for weight, and they often appear alongside acanthosis nigricans — velvety darkened neck skin — which is another marker of raised insulin. That combination is the strongest prompt for a metabolic check.
- Can pregnancy or PCOS cause skin tags?
- Yes. Pregnancy brings hormonal change and weight gain and commonly produces tags that often settle after birth; PCOS shares the insulin-resistance pathway. Neither makes the tags themselves harmful.
- Does removing them help the underlying problem?
- No — removal is for comfort and appearance only. It has no effect on insulin resistance, and new tags can form while the underlying driver persists. Existing tags also don’t disappear with better metabolic control; once formed they stay until removed.
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