Warts can form in a variety of shapes, sizes and types; however, regardless of what type they are, a development of a wart on the face can be inconvenient and embarrassing. When a wart develops on the face you have several options available for removal.
Step 1
Freeze the wart. Although wart-freezing products can be purchased over-the-counter, it is not recommended that you use these products on your face. Using them one on the face could result in a loss of skin pigment, especially in people with darker skin. When treated by a dermatologist or health professional, using liquid nitrogen (cryotherapy) to freeze the wart can be effective. Because these professionals have special training and more advanced equipment, there is less chance of leaving a permanent scar from the procedure. The treatment itself, as well as the blister that forms after treatment, can be painful. This is important to keep in mind when deciding on a treatment method.
Step 2
Use salicylic acid. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, using an over-the-counter wart removing product containing salicylic acid may help in removing warts from the body. The salicylic solution should contain between 15 and 20 percent salicylic acid and requires daily application for the product to be successful.
Step 3
Try laser therapy. Laser therapy for the removal of warts requires a pulsed dye laser. The laser targets the warts roots and destroys the growth in one to three sessions. Laser therapy can be painful and usually requires a shot of local anesthetic before the procedure is performed. Laser therapy can also leave scarring or in some cases a change in pigment at the laser site.
Step 4
Inject the wart with bleomycin. When a wart is particularly difficult, some doctors may recommend the injection of the anticancer drug bleomycin. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, injections can be quite painful,and must be injected into each wart separately. Bleomycin may also leave scarring or color pigment changes at the injection sites.
Step 5
Try imunotherapy. According to the Mayo Clinic, imunotherapym is the process of turning the body's own immune system into a weapon to fight off a wart. This process involves creating an allergic reaction to a specific substance and then painting (or in some cases injecting) that substance onto the wart. The body in many cases will respond harshly to the allergen and target not only the allergic substance, but the entire wart.
Step 6
Ask your doctor about retinoids. Retinoid therapy can be done at home and involves the use of acitretin (Soriatane), which is derived from vitamin A. The application of retinoids to the skin stops the process of keratinization, which is the thickening of the skin which forms the shell of the wart. This stops the wart's skin cell growth.
