Every single Halloween you see these images of the wicked witches who have warts on their faces, usually their nose or chin.  Depending on how you look at it, these so called beauty marks may be ugly as the wicked witch of the west, or as beautiful as one of the most famous supermodels Cindy Crawford.

Wiccans are well known for their desire to be natural and steer away from vanity and superficiality.  But sometimes a dose of superficiality or shall I say paranoia, is prudent.  These growths can be a cause for concern.  Warts can be caused by a virus and beauty marks or moles can become precancerous or even develop later into melanoma.  Having had a family member cope with a melanoma scare,  I can say that vanity and paranoia about moles and their removal if they are atypical can be advisable. 

If you have a witches mole or wart on your skin that looks funny then follow the When in doubt, check it out rule of thumb.  Don’t just be purely natural, get these things checked out by a qualified dermatologist to make sure they are nothing serious.  If you want to stay natural and keep your warts or beauty marks, make sure they are benign is all I can say.

Dermatologists know that those wicked witch warts can be filiform warts which may appear not just on the face but on the neck, lips and around the eyelids.  These warts may not be evil in and of themselves but nevertheless they are often caused by the human papilloma virus or HPV infection.  Warts can appear when the immune system gets compromised and isen’t fighting off the infection.  For smaller warts you can try home treatment of wart medicine which has salicylic acid in it.  You might have to apply the compound w for months though for it to be effective.  If you want to get rid of it and home treatment isen’t working seek a dermatologist who can burn or freeze it off or surgically remove it if you want it gone.

Moles are another skin blemish that are often depicted on characterizations of evil witches.   Almost every adult has moles on their skin but you should know that these are sometimes things that you shouldn’t embrace as a natural part of your skin.  If you have fair skin and hair, sun exposure as a child or teen, or melanoma in your family tree, you should be concerned.  It pays not to embrace this natural beauty. 

Get regular skin checks and watch for moles that itch, grow, bleed, change or have irregular shapes, colors or borders.  Sometimes moles can be a place where melanoma starts.  It starts with the mole but them melanoma aggressively grows down through the skin where it can jump into the blood stream and lymph nodes and onward to other parts of your body.  If caught early, melanoma can be cured be just removing the mole.

Moles and warts might be part of the movie characterization of a witch, but these skin growths in real life  need to be monitored and taken seriously.  For one thing, the characterization of witches with moles and warts is remiss.  Wiccans can be completely beautiful and often are.  Many wiccans don’t like the sun and have fair maiden beautiful skin.  Because they don’t put caustic harsh chemicals on their face or body they can be beautifully, and naturally skinned women. 

If you do have skin blemishes, a little vanity can be prudent.  Watch out for changes and if anything looks odd or if you have a superstition or inkling that something is off be sure to get it checked out by a dermatologist.  Women’s intuition is a powerful thing, almost psychic in way, so if you don’t believe one doctor’s diagnosis always get a second qualified opinion. Go with your gut and be persistent. If a skin blemish proves to be a health risk then get it removed and checked for atypical cells. When it comes to your health, I don’t care what other wiccans say, I say be vain.