Vascular Spot · Red Mole · Pacific Plaza
A cherry angioma is a small, benign knot of capillaries that shows as a bright red or purple dot, and it is what most people mean by a "red mole". This guide covers why these spots multiply with age, how to tell them from other red spots on skin, which changes need a doctor's look, and how Dr Sin Yong at Atelier Aesthetics plans removal.
A cherry angioma is made of tiny blood vessels in the upper layers of the skin. Its colour comes from blood, not melanin, so it looks ruby red to deep purple rather than brown. It holds no pigment cells: it is not a true mole and does not turn into melanoma.
Other names are Campbell de Morgan spot, senile angioma and cherry haemangioma. They range from a pinpoint to a few millimetres, flat or domed, mostly on the trunk and upper arms.
They cause no symptoms, though a spot nicked by a razor can bleed briskly for its size.
Age
Age is the main driver. Cherry angiomas become steadily more common from about forty, and published estimates put them in roughly three in four people over seventy-five. Acquired changes in two genes, GNAQ and GNA11, are found in the vessel cells of many.
Less often, new spots have been linked with pregnancy, some medicines and chemical exposure. No cream, supplement or diet has been shown to shrink them.
A slow trickle of new dots over years is the expected pattern. A sudden shower of many new spots, or spots that appear while you feel unwell, is worth showing to a doctor.
Look-Alikes
Most red moles are cherry angiomas, but not every red spot is. Under a dermatoscope, the magnifying light used at examination, an angioma shows sharply edged red-to-purple pools with no pigment network, while a pigmented mole shows a brown network or dots. This helps most with dark purple spots.
Fine red lines on the nose and cheeks are covered on the facial telangiectasia page, and leg vessels on the varicose and spider veins page.
| Spot | What it tends to look like | Usual next step |
|---|---|---|
| Cherry angioma | Bright red to purple dot or small dome, smooth, often on the trunk | Left alone, or removed for appearance or snagging after examination |
| Spider angioma | Red centre with fine radiating vessels; fades when pressed | Several together are worth mentioning to a doctor (pregnancy, liver disease) |
| Pyogenic granuloma | Red lump that appears within weeks and bleeds easily | Examined promptly |
| Angiokeratoma | Dark red to almost black, rough, often on the legs | Examined with a dermatoscope |
| Petechiae or purpura | Flat spots in crops that do not fade when pressed | Seen by a doctor: a bleeding question, not a growth |
| Red or pink skin cancer | Rare; little pigment; new or growing | Tissue diagnosis or referral, never burnt off unexamined |
When To Book
A spot that bleeds after a knock or a razor nick is behaving like an ordinary angioma. These changes point the other way, and the spot is examined before anyone treats it:
A dated phone photo beside a ruler records change better than memory. The same logic applies to brown and skin-coloured growths, as set out in diagnosing skin growths before removal.
Removal
Once a spot is confirmed as a cherry angioma, removal is a choice. Wait if a spot has recently changed (until it is examined), if the skin over it is broken or inflamed, or if you have a fresh tan, which holds any laser.
Any method can leave a mark. A blinded randomised study of freezing against electrosurgery for common benign growths, cherry angiomas among them, noted colour change and, now and then, a small dent in some of the spots treated. Facial spots are planned more cautiously, and in Asian skin a treated site may darken for a while or, now and then, leave a pale dot.
At Atelier
The first step is an examination, not a device. Dr SY looks at the spot that worries you and the ones around it with dermoscopy, and sorts them: confidently a cherry angioma, something else with its own plan, or a spot whose tissue needs examining.
Confirmed angiomas are usually treated with the vascular laser, with settings matched to each spot's size, height and site and to your skin type. Some clear in one session; larger or domed ones may need another session or a different method, so one session is never promised. Anything atypical is not lasered: it is removed in a way that keeps tissue for histology, as on the mole removal page, with referral to a dermatologist where that is the right route.
Sites are numbed with a cream or local anaesthetic. A small crust may form; leave it to separate, keep the area clean and shaded from the sun, and see post-laser scab care. Repeated bleeding, rising pain, spreading redness and warmth, or slow healing should be reviewed. Removal clears today's spots, not the tendency to form new ones.
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