About 1% of individuals are born with one or more congenital melanocytic naevi. This is usually sporadic, with rare instances of familial congenital naevi. Melanocytic naevi that appear during childhood (aged 2 to 10 years) tend to be the most prominent and persistent throughout life.

Home mole removal methods sound pretty easy and convenient. You might be tempted to try one of these techniques to avoid a visit to your dermatologist’s office. Yet there’s no evidence that home treatments for mole removal work, and some of them could be dangerous.Severe, blistering sunburns: People who have had at least one severe, blistering sunburn have an increased risk of melanoma. Although people who burn easily are more likely to have had sunburns as a child, sunburns during adulthood also increase the risk of melanoma. Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that begins in melanocytes. It is potentially dangerous because it can invade nearby tissues and spread to other parts of the body, such as the lung, liver, bone, or brain. The earlier that melanoma is detected and removed, the more likely that treatment will be successful. Personal history of melanoma: People who have had melanoma have an increased risk of developing other melanomas. Then a scan of the mole(s) or pigmented lesion(s) will be taken using a ScreenCancer dermatoscopic imaging device Moles are small collections of pigment producing cells that sit on the top layer of your skin that are usually nothing to worry about, unless they change size, shape or colour.

Most melanocytic naevithat appear in childhood remain forever. Teenagers and young adults tend to have the greatest number of naevi. There are fewer in later life because some of them slowly fade away.Goodson AG, Grossman D. Strategies for early melanoma detection: Approaches to the patient with nevi. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 2009; 60(5):719–738. [PubMed Abstract]