5 surprising things I learnt during a mole mapping appointment

What treatment did I choose when I was invited to the swanky Montrose Clinic in London’s Belgravia? A vampire facial perhaps, or a bit of Botox to sort out the numerous fine lines that seem to have sprung up since having kids? Much less glamorous I’m afraid – I went for the full body mole mapping, and honestly, it was fascinating.

The process involved stripping down to my underwear – I was very proud of myself to discover it was matching – and having photographs of my entire body taken with a powerful camera. It was actually a bit like having a spray tan, given all the weird positions you had to adopt. The nurse then used a special microscopic device to zoom in on individual moles, allowing a detailed photo to be taken, which could then be used in future to identify any changes.

Far from finding the experience awkward, I had a great time grilling the nurse on all my skin health questions, and learnt several very useful things...

1. You should always look for the ‘ugly duckling’

I had assumed that a worrying mole is one thats big, asymmetric and generally scary looking. However, that’s not necessarily true – what the Montrose team said you should look out for is an ‘ugly duckling’ mole, one that simply looks different to the rest. In my case, this was a tiny mole on my forearm that was much darker and more defined than the other; the only one to raise minor alarm bells. We took a close-up photograph and the team advised checking again in three months time, to see if there have been any changes.

2. Treat mole mapping like a smear test

Before the appointment I had assumed that there were two types of moles: normal, harmless ones, and cancerous ones. However, it turns out there are quite a few stages in between, including dysplastic nevus – atypical moles containing tissue that isn’t cancerous, but has potential to develop into cancer. Skin cancer is one of the few cancers you can literally see developing, so I wondered aloud why more people don’t have mole mapping to monitor any changes in their skin. ‘I wish people would treat it like a smear test; a regular thing they do for their skin’ agreed the nurse I saw. With skin cancer rates up by a third since 2009, I certainly will be taking her advice.

3. Sun exposure isn’t the whole story

One thing I’ve often wondered: if you have a lot of moles, is it because you’ve been slacking with the sun cream? After all, we know the link between sun exposure and skin cancer – a report from Cancer Research UK suggested 17,000 melanoma cases every year are preventable, with almost nine in 10 caused by too much ultraviolet (UV) radiation. However, while SPF is obviously advisable, having lots of moles isn’t necessarily a sign you’ve done a bad job at slapping it on. Genetics play a huge part as well, with some people prone to developing moles even if they spend most of their time covered up and out of the sun. It’s largely down to your skin type.

4. A rather gross sign your mole is probably healthy

We’ve all found ourselves in conversation but feeling rather distracted by the hair sprouting from the other persons mole – haven’t we? Apologies for the image, but the good news is this could actually be a positive sign of a healthy mole. While it’s not definitive, as a general rule hairs are unlikely to grow from tissue that is cancerous – so while you might not love your hairy mole, be pleased that it’s probably a healthy little chap.

5. Think carefully about removal for cosmetic reasons

While it’s advisable to have moles removed if they are showing any worrying signs, getting them lopped off purely for cosmetic purposes is not quite as straightforward as Id assumed. Partly this is due to the risk of keloid scarring – according to the team at Montrose Clinic, the way that skin handles scars is individual to each person. Also, with a larger mole you may need quite a wide and deep incision, which could leave scar that’s more noticeable than the mole itself. Got a skin mark thats not a mole? If so alternative removal options exist – skin tags can be ‘shaved off’ (yelp!), while burst blood vessels can be targeted with laser treatments to help fade them.