Skin tags, also known as acrochordons, are a tricky skin condition to treat. You can’t remove them with moisturizers, and keeping the skin clear and clean won’t prevent them. So, which skin tag removal methods work?
The good news is that there are a few treatments out there that can work for you. One of the home remedies you’ve probably already heard about is lemon juice. You may have heard from a friend or relative that it helped them, but can it help you?
As we’ll explore below, lemon juice for skin tags isn’t just an old wives’ tale. It’s based on real scientific fact and evidence. Not to mention that if you check out the reviews for any lemon-based skin tag product, there many people who have tried it and found it to work.
This brief guide details many points. First, we’ll explain how can lemon juice get rid of skin tags. We’ll then cover precisely how to use it for maximum results. So if you’d like to know more, read on!
How Can Lemon Juice Get Rid of Skin Tags?
If you weren’t sure, we’re talking about lemon juice, not lemon oil, lemon essential oil, or any other derivative. We mean basic lemon juice, as fresh as you can get. The purer your lemon juice, the better, and the quicker you may be able to get rid of your skin tag(s).
Lemon juice is believed to get rid of your skin tags because it is acidic. This is the same reason why apple cider vinegar is believed to help. Both lemon juice and vinegar are around the same pH, roughly 2.5 but ranging between 2.0 and 3.0. For reference, battery acid is 1.0 pH, so both lemon juice and vinegar are very acidic.
As you continually apply the lemon juice (or any other base or acid substance), it will slowly eat away at your skin tag. It would do the same to any other exposed area of skin. That’s why it’s vital to only apply lemon juice to your skin tag, not to the area around it. Otherwise, you’ll have a patch of sensitive and painful skin, which you don’t want.
The key word is ‘slowly’. Citric acid is derived from lemon juice won’t work in a matter of minutes. Instead, it can take anywhere from a few days to a month, depending on your skin. Everybody’s skin is different and reacts differently to stimuli.
Does All Lemon Juice Work?
As we pointed out above, lemon juice may work because it is loaded with citric acid. Since all lemon juice contains citric acid, the juice of any lemon variety works fine. One crucial point is that you shouldn’t use lemon juice you bought from a store. It won’t work in the same way, and might even irritate your skin.
Store-bought lemon juice is packed with unnecessary filler, sweeteners, and preservatives that you won’t need. These ingredients aren’t supposed to be used on the skin and may have an adverse effect. That’s not to mention the fact that the juice you buy, especially cheap heavily processed juice, is watered down. This will make the lemon juice less acidic, and less effective.
All you need is fresh lemon juice. That’s why we recommend using juice that you’ve freshly squeezed yourself. Fresh juice is the most effective. Also, you know exactly what you’re putting on your skin.
Is Lemon Juice Good for The Skin?
Lemon juice isn’t the most common skin care ingredient. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not right for you. In fact, it’s probably not in skin care products because we associate lemon more with bleach and antibacterial spray.
Whatever the reasons, though, it does many things for the skin:
- Lemon juice is, indeed, antibacterial.
- It’s a natural cleanser that can clear pores as part of a skincare regime
- It can remove oil from the skin
These benefits of lemon juice make it a useful for skincare, so long as you use it with care.
It has two main side effects which you will want to bear in mind:
- Lemon juice dries out the skin rather than adding moisture. This is part of the mechanism which will destroy your skin tags. However, it also means that you should not leave lemon juice on your skin overnight.
- It can cause phototoxicity. In other words, it will make you more prone to sunburn (or worse).
The good news is that these side effects are beneficial when you want to get rid of a skin tag.
So without any further ado, let’s take a look at how to use lemon juice on skin tags.
How To Use Lemon Juice on Skin Tags
So, would you like to use lemon oil to get rid of your skin tags? It’s a surprisingly simple process, but it won’t deliver fast results. If you want quick results, we recommend Pristine Wart Mole Vanish.
Just follow the guidelines below:
- We recommend squeezing your own lemon juice. If you have to buy some from a store, only buy 100% pure juice.
- Apply the lemon juice to your skin tag using an applicator, preferably a cotton swab (Q-Tip). This will prevent the juice coming into contact with any other part of your skin.
- Either leave the skin tag to dry in the air, or cover the skin tag with a Band-Aid. This will stop the juice from evaporating as quickly, and make it work for longer.
- Repeat the process at least twice a day for maximum effect.
If the lemon juice works, you should notice that your skin tag becomes shriveled and dark. This is a natural reaction. In fact, this is the reaction that you would notice if you used other skin tag removal methods, like ligation. It’s a sign that the tissue of your skin tag has died and will fall off soon.
How Effective is Lemon Juice?
Lemon juice is potentially one of the better natural skin tag removal methods. Its efficacy is based on the science of acids, bases, and corrosion. Based on reviews and testimonials, lemon juice works consistently if you apply it correctly. Lemon juice is a reasonable choice.
However, the side effects of lemon juice – phototoxicity and irritation – can be troublesome. To an even higher degree than essential oils, lemon juice can irritate the skin when applied neat. There’s also the fact that using lemon juice tends to take a lot longer than other skin tag cures. It can take up to a month, or maybe more, depending on how your skin responds.
Compare this to removing skin tags with cream, where you can remove them immediately. The main drawback is that you may have a scar afterwards. The avoidance of scar tissue is one of the main benefits of using lemon juice. Overall, you have to balance whether the side effects and time it takes to work (if it works!) are worth it to you.
This is mostly because it takes a long time to get results, and can have side effects. If you’d like to see how lemon juice stacks up against other skin tag removal products, check out our list of alternatives below.
What Are the Alternatives to Lemon Juice?
Lemon oil might take a while to work. If you’re concerned about the length of time that it will take or want quicker results, you can always consider the alternatives below. Each of these methods is tried and tested, and some of them can get rid of your skin tags in a matter of minutes (although you will have to wait for the area to heal).
- Ligation, also known as tying off, is the oldest natural method of removing skin tags. You tie a thin string around your skin tag to cut off its blood supply.
- Cautery/Electrocautery works by burning or destroying the tissue of your skin tag.
- Cryotherapy (or freezing). Cryotherapy works by freezing your skin tags using a special applicator and liquid nitrogen.
- Essential oils are similar to lemon juice, in that they take a long time to work. They dry out your skin tags instead of corroding them.
There are natural ways to remove skin tags, but you may find that other methods work better for you. If you want to remove skin tags naturally, we highly recommend Apothecary tea tree oil. That is our top-rated natural remedy.