Hair Removal from Moles & Birthmarks

There’s lots of mystery and confusion about whether hair can safely be removed from moles. If you ask facialists to remove the hair, most will ask you to bring a note from your dermatologist. If that happens to you, show your facialist this episode.

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Let me start by reminding you that in this episode when I say moles, birthmarks or nevi, they all mean the same thing.

So is removing hairs from moles safe or not? That’s easy… absolutely yes… but… here’s the issue… it’s safe and ok if, and only if, it’s a normal mole… not an abnormal or precancerous mole. So how do you or your facialist know the difference? Well, that’s actually pretty easy.

As I discussed in the DermTV episode, “What is a Mole”, of the three common types of moles., two are key here.

First are the flat moles that often look like freckles and are actually the most important ones because those are the ones that have the greatest potential to become melanomas. But the good news is they NEVER have hairs growing out of them.

But it’s the other type, the intradermal moles that almost always are the ones that have hairs growing out of them, and they practically NEVER become precancerous or cancerous. These moles are always raised, usually dome shaped or bumpy surfaced, and are skin colored or have tan or brown pigment on the surface. And these are the ones which when they’re on your face, are the little hairy beasts you want the hairs removed from.

So if the issue of safety of hair removal from moles reduces to… Is the mole normal, and if almost all the moles you want made hairless are raised intradermal moles… and if intradermal moles are almost universally not precancerous… then the answer is… YES! Go for it!

Ok, a few caveats.

Since most of these moles are on your face and you’ve been looking at them for years, if they appear essentially unchanged to you, tell that to the facialist. If not, and you think it’s changing, then like any changing mole, regardless of hair, show it to a dermatologist. And of course, if there’s any question in your mind about any mole, show it to a dermatologist as well.

Additionally, it’s safe to remove hairs from normal moles ONLY if the hair is removed safely! Never pluck the hairs. This can cause an ingrown hair in your mole, which can cause the mole to become inflamed or infected, which can ultimately lead to nasty scars. So hair removal from a mole, whether by laser or electrolysis should only be done by a trained professional.