Mole removal?

[Snowy]

Okay I have this mole on the left side of my head around the temple area. It's HUGE (about 6mm diameter) which is about the size of a pencil eraser. It's very slightly raised, but I don't know how deep it is.

 

I've had this mole pretty much since I was born. (Well as far as I can remember as a child)

 

Since it's on the side of my face, I'm very self consious about it.

 

I've been to my doctor and he has told me it doesn't look cancerous since the colour is even throughout and the shape is round.

 

Is it a good idea to remove this mole? Has anyone ever gotten facial moles removed? I've heard that laser mole removal has no pain/no scars? The thing is, I wouldn't want to remove the mole only to have a worse looking scar to replace it.

 

Any feedback would be appreciated. Or if anyone has gotten big moles removed, please share.

 

BTW, I'm a pretty moley person. Apart from this big one, I have like 15+ tiny moles on my face. I don't have any moles on the rest of my body. THEY'RE ALL ON MY FACE...-.-"

[GettingBetter]

I had one removed in exactly the same location. I'm not sure why, but for me using a laser wasn't an option. Maybe it was too big? Or too close to the eyes? I don't know.

 

Anyways, having a mole removed from your scalp is very painful. The skin is already stretched pretty thin, and it ends up being stretched quite a bit tighter after it's removed. My whole face was sore, even a little bruised, for several days.

 

Also, I do have a scar, but it is slightly under my hairline. The hair never grew back there, either. I always have to point it out to my barber or hairstylist whenever I get my hair cut.

 

I know there are some surgeons who specialize in removing moles from the face and head area. They tend to be more expensive, and since it's not cancerous, I'm not sure how that would work with insurance. But, if you decide to get it removed, and deal with only a few days of soreness, then I would say it is well worth it to pay the extra money and see a specialized surgeon.

 

Good luck! Just remember, 15 minutes of sunlight exposure a day is healthy, but anything more and you should use UV protecting sunscreen. Non-cancerous moles can still turn cancerous, especially with age, so be sure to visit your dermatologist periodically.

[Snowy]

Thanks for your info!

 

My one is not in my scalp lol. It's nowhere near any hair.

[Seraphim]

I wouldn't. I have one on my neck that I love. My grandfather had the exact same one in the same place. My mom's dad was the greatest guy. Because I loved him I love that part of me that is like him. I have two really large ones, one in my hair line at the back of my neck and one pretty large one on my back. I am not bothered by them. To me the possibility of a scar would be worse, especially on your face. May be you can learn to love it as part of you?

[Ariel85]

I'd get them all removed, actually.

 

Do you normally scar badly? Only you would know. The silicone gels, like scarfade, work really well also.

 

Anyway, I don't have any moles on my face, but I had a few on my back from suntanning, and my derm just froze them off. Painless, and the eventually fall off on their own.

 

I would consult a Derm.

[rocio]

Go to a good, highly reputable cosmetic dermatologist. Find out whether they can use liquid nitrogen to remove it. It must be done by someone who knows what they're doing, to prevent scarring. But if this method will work for your mole, it is quick, painless, cheap, and mine was literally healed within 3 or 4 days. (No scar, no scab, couldn't tell it had ever been there.)

[lavenderdove]

I had a friend who had a big mole about that size on the side of nose. It was in an awkward place and distracting to look at, and she finally got the courage to have it off and found a good laser surgeon, and it healed perfectly, not even a scar!

 

They can do wonders with laser surgery these days in terms of fast healing and reduced scarring. So i'd find a doctor who has experience using laser to remove moles. I've known people who've had them cut out surgically the old fashioned way with a scalpel and most said that was painful/scarring potential.

 

The smaller ones can be taken off with liquid nitrogen, or all with the laser if you find a good doctor.

[rocio]

The smaller ones can be taken off with liquid nitrogen, or all with the laser if you find a good doctor.

 

It's not even so much the surface area that matters, as whether it has roots or not. I don't want the OP to assume that because he feels it's "huge", he shouldn't even explore the possibility of liquid nitrogen. A dermatologist would be able to tell him in 5 seconds flat whether it would work or not.

[Hanyou]

I had one about that was larger, near my eyebrow so the scar is pretty much covered up, but the scar itself was very minimal. Mine was done with a simple scalpel removal, 20 mins in-out.

 

I would have it removed too, as Ariel85 mentioned, only because you're very self conscious of it. The scar will probably be easier to blend in with your skin tone.

 

Why is this one causing you so much grief as opposed to the others if their all on your face?

[Snowy]

I wouldn't. I have one on my neck that I love. My grandfather had the exact same one in the same place. My mom's dad was the greatest guy. Because I loved him I love that part of me that is like him. I have two really large ones, one in my hair line at the back of my neck and one pretty large one on my back. I am not bothered by them. To me the possibility of a scar would be worse, especially on your face. May be you can learn to love it as part of you?

 

Well it's on my face, and it can be quite distracting when people look at me. It's not life and death whether I get it removed or not, but I prefer it to be gone. First impressions matter.

 

I'd get them all removed, actually.

 

Do you normally scar badly? Only you would know. The silicone gels, like scarfade, work really well also.

 

Anyway, I don't have any moles on my face, but I had a few on my back from suntanning, and my derm just froze them off. Painless, and the eventually fall off on their own.

 

I would consult a Derm.

 

I don't scar too badly, but most of my scars do leave a different pigment for a long time, but I only really have gotten scars when my wounds were infected badly during healing.

 

Go to a good, highly reputable cosmetic dermatologist. Find out whether they can use liquid nitrogen to remove it. It must be done by someone who knows what they're doing, to prevent scarring. But if this method will work for your mole, it is quick, painless, cheap, and mine was literally healed within 3 or 4 days. (No scar, no scab, couldn't tell it had ever been there.)

 

Okay thanks for the info. I'll look into that.

 

I had a friend who had a big mole about that size on the side of nose. It was in an awkward place and distracting to look at, and she finally got the courage to have it off and found a good laser surgeon, and it healed perfectly, not even a scar!

 

They can do wonders with laser surgery these days in terms of fast healing and reduced scarring. So i'd find a doctor who has experience using laser to remove moles. I've known people who've had them cut out surgically the old fashioned way with a scalpel and most said that was painful/scarring potential.

 

The smaller ones can be taken off with liquid nitrogen, or all with the laser if you find a good doctor.

 

I've heard that laser only works on shallow moles?

 

The one on your friend's nose was probably pretty shallow since there aren't much skin underneath it?

 

But I'll go to a derm and get it checked out to see if mine is deep or not.

 

I had one about that was larger, near my eyebrow so the scar is pretty much covered up, but the scar itself was very minimal. Mine was done with a simple scalpel removal, 20 mins in-out.

 

I would have it removed too, as Ariel85 mentioned, only because you're very self conscious of it. The scar will probably be easier to blend in with your skin tone.

 

Why is this one causing you so much grief as opposed to the others if their all on your face?

 

I wouldn't risk scarring doing the surgical removal. All my other moles on the face are tiny, but this one is quite big.

[mfan]

I had four moles removed from my cheek 20 years ago, including one big one. The procedure was: A shot of local anesthetic into each one (which stung but didn't last long), then the dermatologist scooped each one out with a knife and stitched it up. The procedure was painful for various short intervals during which it was as if he was cutting parts beyond where the anesthetic had reached. I went back a week or so later to have the sutures removed. There were no scars. Even if there had been a scar, it would have been 1,000,000 times better looking than the original moles. And the moles didn't grow back, either. It's awesome.

[charity]

i had two removed, one on my temple and one on my neck. they were not huge but they were sticking out and starting to gross me out to be honest. i had them frozen off. it took 5 mins for the procedure (slightly painful but manageable). after a couple of days they fell off BUT then they grew back. the doc advised me that this may happen. however they never grew back as big so now i have two small sexy moles so i'm happy.

[guynextdoor]

Got one on my siderburn which was frozen off. However mine did grow back and I had the derm froze it again and it flaked off. I do notice a slight discoloring of my skin but not too noticeble.

[Snowy]

I had four moles removed from my cheek 20 years ago, including one big one. The procedure was: A shot of local anesthetic into each one (which stung but didn't last long), then the dermatologist scooped each one out with a knife and stitched it up. The procedure was painful for various short intervals during which it was as if he was cutting parts beyond where the anesthetic had reached. I went back a week or so later to have the sutures removed. There were no scars. Even if there had been a scar, it would have been 1,000,000 times better looking than the original moles. And the moles didn't grow back, either. It's awesome.

 

How big was the big one? Diameter?

 

i had two removed, one on my temple and one on my neck. they were not huge but they were sticking out and starting to gross me out to be honest. i had them frozen off. it took 5 mins for the procedure (slightly painful but manageable). after a couple of days they fell off BUT then they grew back. the doc advised me that this may happen. however they never grew back as big so now i have two small sexy moles so i'm happy.

 

Got one on my siderburn which was frozen off. However mine did grow back and I had the derm froze it again and it flaked off. I do notice a slight discoloring of my skin but not too noticeble.

 

Well it sounds like there's a greater chance of the mole growing back if you chose to freeze it off?

[kirkbenoit]

If you want a mole removed, you must first meet the doctor who will perform the surgery. The doctor will discuss several important factors you should consider, such as how much money you'll pay, what you expect from the day of surgery, and how to prepare for surgery.

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[Gingersmaps]

It's not a huge mole, but it's been there on the side of my head in my hair line ever since I can remember. I've always been freaked out to remove it because i'm afraid the hair won't grow back, or they will have to shave off the hair to remove it. Also I'm scared that it will hurt to remove it because it's been there for so long. So your not alone. If your mole is bothering you then I would remove it, but if it's livable then just let it go and move on

[HolderCandy]

laser mole removal before and after Is Not Impossible Anymore. As with any surgical procedure, there are side effects you must be aware of if you’re considering mole removal using lasers. Although the procedure is quite safe and inexpensive, there are always possibilities of negative side effects. For more info visit: link removed