Why do we have moles?

We, humans, have between 10 and 40 moles, on average. You can either call them moles or beauty spots, depending on where they are placed and what sense they give to your appearance. You can name at least one famous mole/ beauty spot. Yep, that of Marilyn Monroe! You might have been jealous of that mole and also unhappy with your not-so-famous ones. From this to the question of why we have moles there’s very little space. So, if you’ve ever asked yourselves that, then now it’s the time to find the answer. One less unanswered question in our lives, right?

Why do we have moles?

We have moles because the pigment that gives our skin colour is not evenly spread out throughout our body and at places, it would cluster and form moles. Basically, moles appear in places where the melanocytes – the skin cells that give our skin colour – clustered. Everybody has moles and they are quite harmless. They typically form during childhood and adolescence, but it is not impossible to acquire new moles during adulthood as well. Moles are believed to be provoked by direct exposure to the sun, while the UV light is held responsible for unusual and dangerous moles.

Moles can vary in size, appearance and colour. They can be rather smooth or a little bumpy to the touch or they can be completely flat and would only reveal to you when you look upon them. As far as shape is concerned, moles can have neat edges, like a circle or ragged, uncircular edges. Moles are browner or darker than the skin because of the agglomeration of skin pigment in that region, but there were cases where moles were just of a normal skin colour.  There are also other rare kinds of moles, like the ones circled by a white ring. This white place circling a mole has a very simple explanation: there was so much concentration of melanin in one place that the margins have lost their colour.

Are moles dangerous?

Moles are considered one of the triggers of skin cancer. This is why you should keep them under close observation. It’s not like you need to check them every day in the mirror and there’s nothing you should worry about. If something happens to one of your moles, you will most probably notice it. When you notice it, then you should go see a doctor because this way, cancer can really be prevented. What should you be looking for?

Well, moles shouldn’t change over time. It’s true, sun exposure and hormones can make them go darker, raise of flattening, but this should not happen quickly. It should happen so slowly that you won’t notice it. But when a mole is rapidly changing colour and shape and you see that from one day to another, then it’s good to see a doctor. Signs are: it grows rapidly, it changes shape into a fuzzy strange mole, there are edges developing or it starts bleeding easily. These are alarming signs that you need to see a doctor. The sooner you see a doctor, the better. Moles can be safely extracted in these kinds of situations and thus further complications removed.