Types of Skin Growths

Red moles, or cherry angiomas, are common skin growths that can develop on most areas of your body. They’re also known as senile angiomas or Campbell de Morgan spots. They’re usually found on people aged 30 and older. The collection of small blood vessels inside a cherry angioma give them a reddish appearance.

Dermatofibromas are small, noncancerous (benign) skin growths that can develop anywhere on the body but most often appear on the lower legs, upper arms or upper back. These nodules are common in adults but are rare in children.

Dermatosis papulosa nigra is a skin condition that most often affects individuals with darker skin tones. It involves dark skin growths on the face and neck that are similar in appearance to skin tags. While the condition itself is harmless, there are several treatments used for removing these skin lesions.

Are freckles (Ephelides) considered a type of skin growth? Characteristics: Freckles are characterised as tiny, flat, circular spots and not necessarily growths per se. Freckles develop as multiples on sun-exposed skin (usually the upper body areas such as the face – the nose and cheeks, as we as the shoulder and arms).

The condition involves the appearance of pale brown to dark brown spots on the skin called solar lentigines, liver spots, or age spots. Age spots are flat, usually oval areas of the skin that have increased pigmentation.

A dysplastic nevus is a type of mole that looks different from a common mole. (Some doctors use the term "atypical mole" to refer to a dysplastic nevus.) A dysplastic nevus may be bigger than a common mole, and its color, surface, and border may be different. It is usually more than 5 millimeters wide (1, 3).

Sebaceous hyperplasia occurs when the sebaceous glands become enlarged with trapped sebum. This creates shiny bumps on the skin, especially the face. The bumps are harmless, but some people like to treat them for cosmetic reasons.

Figure 1: Click to Enlarge Seborrheic keratoses may be the most common benign tumor of the skin. Typically, they are scaly (hyperkeratotic), brown (hyperpigmented), often somewhat greasy plaques that vary in size and thickness and often appear to be stuck onto the skin surface .