What are Seborrheic Keratosis (Seborrhoeic Keratoses)?

Seborrheic Keratosis can also be known as Seborrheic warts or basal cell papillomas. The lesions are very common, harmless and are often pigmented growths on the face or body.

What Causes Seborrheic Keratosis?

Although their name suggests otherwise, seborrheic keratosis are nothing to do with sebaceous glands or viral warts. They are benign growths (sometimes confused with certain mole types), that are caused by a build-up of ordinary skin cells that usually start to appear over the age of 40 years. Most older people have a few and for some people there can be many of these lesions. They are not infectious and cannot turn into skin cancer.

Are Seborrheic Keratosis Hereditary?

They are not hereditary, but the tendency to have large numbers of seborrheic keratosis can run in the family.

What are the Symptoms of Seborrheic Keratosis and can they be treated?

They are harmless but can often be an unsightly deep brown or quite a dark and scaly lesion on the surface, especially if they are larger in nature. They do tend to grow fairly rapidly once they appear on the skin. However, Seborrheic Keratosis can be safely treated non-surgically. The most common method of treatment for this cosmetic procedure is by using Cryotherapy. The best version of Cryotherapy is the CryoPen and is a simple procedure carried out at professional skin clinics such as Skin Revision in Beaconsfield.

What does Seborrheic Keratosis look like?

They have a rough surface and range in colour from a golden brown to almost black. They can affect any skin tone or skin type but for those with darker skin tones, they can appear as multiple small dark brown or black bumps, especially on the face and neck (this is referred to as dermatosis papulosa nigra -DPN).

The size of the Seborrheic Keratosis can vary from less than one centimetre to several centimetres across. They give the impression that they are stuck to the surface of the skin, however some can look like pigmented skin tags or even moles. Seborrheic Keratosis most often appear on the trunk of the body but they are also common on the back and face, including the scalp.

How are they diagnosed?

Seborrheic Keratosis are much more common than skin cancers; however, very dark keratosis can look like melanoma. It is therefore important for a GP or a professional skin clinic such as Skin Revision to check over the pigmented lesions by using a dermascope.

Can Seborrheic Keratosis be removed permanently?

The lesions can very much be treated successfully using CryoPen at a professional skin clinic such as Skin Revision. However, it is not possible to stop new Seborrheic Keratosis from appearing or even the return of the once removed original lesion.

Who should be contacted if you have suspected Seborrheic Keratosis?

The NHS cannot treat Seborrheic Keratosis as they deem it to be a cosmetic procedure. The most effective treatment that does not leave a scar is the non-surgical CryoPen cryotherapy freezing. This is performed regularly at Skin Revision in Beaconsfield.

They can be contacted through email info@skinrevision.uk or by calling 01494 341262