Link: https://old.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/1utftrk/tifu_by_trying_to_remove_a_tiny_skin_tag_before/

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The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/CritlessWarlock on 2026-07-11 09:51:28+00:00.

This happened yesterday, although the consequences are very much still sitting on my face today.

I had a small skin tag just below my jawline for years. It was harmless, barely noticeable, and usually hidden by stubble. For some reason, the night before an important meeting with a potential client, I became convinced it looked enormous.

I kept checking it in the mirror from different angles until my brain decided everyone would stare directly at this 3 millimeter piece of skin instead of listening to anything I said.

A normal person would have shaved carefully, worn a collared shirt, and moved on. I searched online for “quick skin tag removal” at midnight.

I found several videos where people tied them off with thread, snipped them, froze them, or used various mystery liquids. I decided snipping it would be quickest.

I cleaned a pair of small scissors, pulled the tag away from my skin with tweezers, and cut.

At first, nothing happened. Then it started bleeding like I had opened a tiny emergency sprinkler system.

I pressed toilet paper against it, which immediately stuck. When I peeled that off, it started bleeding again. I tried a cotton pad, then another one, then held an ice cube wrapped in tissue against my neck while pacing around the bathroom.

Eventually it slowed down, but by then the area was red, swollen, and roughly five times more noticeable than the original tag.

I put a bandage over it and went to bed hoping my body would sort out my stupidity overnight.

It did not.

In the morning, the bandage was stuck, the swelling had spread, and the skin around it felt hot. I ended up going to urgent care instead of preparing for the meeting.

The doctor removed a small remaining piece, cleaned the area properly, and told me I was lucky I hadn’t cut deeper or caused a worse infection. Apparently, what I assumed was a basic skin tag should have been checked before I attacked it with bathroom scissors.

I joined the meeting online from my car afterward with a large dressing on my neck and told everyone I’d had a “minor medical procedure.”

Technically true.

The client didn’t mention it once, meaning I created an actual visible injury to solve a problem nobody would have noticed. I also paid $180 for the privilege.

TL;DR: Got insecure about a tiny skin tag before a meeting, cut it off myself, couldn’t stop the bleeding, ended up at urgent care, and made it 100 times more noticeable.