You know what they say, a healthy mole is a happy mole! Well, maybe "they" don't but we certainly do. Getting to know your moles is the best thing you can do to look after your skin - it'll help you see changes that might need investigating, early detection is key in the fight against skin cancer!
Skin cancer awareness often comes with the sharing of images and descriptions of "bad" moles, but it's important to remember that not all moles are bad. They're perfectly natural in fact.
But how do you know if a mole is okay? Knowing what’s normal for you, can make it easier to identify something that needs investigating further.
To identify signs of a healthy mole, we flip our ABCDE melanoma detection acronym upside down (we think it’s a little less daunting this way)
Here are you signs for a healthy mole:
- Symmetry - Your moles may not be perfect circles or ovals, but can you identify a centre line that you might be able to fold it in half? Think Trapezium... it's not perfect, but its symmetrical
- Border - Does the spot have clear outlines? Where you can tell clearly where the mole starts and your 'normal' skin meets.
- Colour - Is each mole/spot consistent in colour throughout? Different moles might be different shades, but each healthy mole should have a pretty consistent colour within itself.
- Diameter - Are your moles sitting around half a centimetre or under? At least these guys would be easy to spot! Get your ruler out for fun, familiarise yourself with the size of your larger moles, they're usually the ones to watch.
- Evolution - Has that mole been with you for donkeys years? If it has and there's looked/ felt that way for ages then that's likely to be good news but keep an eye on it all the same. Look for any changes.
Regular skin checks
Did you check out some moles while reading this? If not, now's your chance! Checking your skin takes a few minutes out of your day and could save you a whole lot of issues. We also recommend getting an annual skin check by a professional too - there are often free clinics available and some Doctor's do bulk bill for it.
Pro-tip for checking your moles
If you're going to the (minimal!) effort of checking your own skin, you should definitely make the most of it by documenting your findings. We recommend creating a new album on your phone and adding photos of the moles you looked at today. With iCloud shared albums, you can add notes next to the photo's when you add them in (yes we are obsessed and we're not sorry about it either!). Alternatively, upload the photo's in your notes app. Whatever works for you.
If you're worried about a mole or haven't had a skin check in a while, get one booked in - it really is a case of better safe than sorry. If you're struggling to find a clinic, let us know and we'll see if we can help. There are great organisations like Skin Check Champions who often have pop-up clinics too.
Stay safe!
