Everything You Need To Know About 'Moles'

Far from being something to ignore, mole observation should be as much a part of your skincare regime as SPF or cleansing. Monitor their appearance and health – and, if in doubt, get checked out

- Maria Lally, Illustration- Eve Llloyd Knight

When she appeared on the cover of Vogue China earlier this year, supermodel Gigi Hadid stirred up something of a social media storm. The normal scattering of moles over her stomach was gone. One Instagrammer asked, “Why did they remove your freckles? They make you you.” Another said, “Would have looked so much better if they didn’t Photoshop her moles out. The reason people like Gigi is because she’s a natural beauty and her moles make her relatable to lots of young girls.”

“Most adults have 10 to 40 moles, which are collections of pigment cells,” says dermatologist Dr Nick Lowe from the Cranley Clinic (www.drnicklowe.com). “These cells develop in babies in utero, so moles are genetically determined and run in families. Some people have a few, others a large number. They multiply in puberty and pregnancy, but don’t tend to develop after the age of 30. The key thing about moles, however, is to know whether they’re harmless or not.” Here’s exactly how…

STAY MOLE SAFE

“There are two types of skin cancer – melanoma and non-melanoma,” says Dr Anjali Mahto, consultant dermatologist at the Cadogan Clinic’s specialised Mole Clinic (