Self-check monthly; professional checks yearly if higher-risk (fair, many moles, family history, tanning beds, heavy sun), every 1-3 years otherwise. Any changing, bleeding, or new-after-40 spot overrides the schedule: book within weeks.
The self-exam, per the AAD: head to toe in good light, mirrors or a partner for the back and scalp, hunting the ABCDEs and the ugly duckling, the spot unlike your other spots. Higher-risk means fair skin that burns, 50-plus moles or atypical ones, personal or family melanoma history, blistering sunburns or tanning beds, heavy lifetime sun, or a weakened immune system. The prompts that mean do not wait: a mole changing, growing, bleeding, or itching; a sore that will not heal in a month; a repeatedly scabbing spot; a dark streak under a nail. The visit itself: 10 to 20 minutes, a dermatoscope scan, maybe a small numbed biopsy. The payoff: melanoma caught early has a survival rate above 99%, and that drops sharply when caught late, which makes this the highest-value 20 minutes in preventive care. Daily sun protection lowers the stakes for all of it.
What to do
Common questions
When should I get a skin check?
Two layers answer this: self-checks and professional checks. Self-checks: the American Academy of Dermatology recommends examining your own skin regularly, monthly is the practical cadence, head to toe in good light with a full-length mirror plus a hand mirror (or a partner) for the back, scalp, soles, and between toes, and you are looking for the ABCDEs (asymmetry, border irregularity, color variation, diameter growth, evolving) plus the ugly duckling, the spot unlike your other spots. Professional checks: there is no single universal schedule for average-risk adults, but the working guidance is: yearly skin exams if you are higher-risk, meaning fair skin that burns easily, many moles (50-plus) or atypical moles, a personal or family history of melanoma or other skin cancers, a history of blistering sunburns or tanning-bed use, significant lifetime sun exposure, or a weakened immune system; every 1 to 3 years (or at least once) is a reasonable baseline for average-risk adults, especially past 40, since melanoma risk climbs with age. The prompts that override any schedule and mean book promptly, within weeks: a mole that is changing, growing, bleeding, or itching; a new, unusual, or growing spot after 40; a sore that does not heal within a month; a spot that repeatedly scabs; or a dark streak under a nail. What the appointment involves: 10 to 20 minutes, fully clothed to gown, a dermatologist scanning head to toe with a dermatoscope, and possibly a quick biopsy if anything looks off, which is a small numbed sample, not surgery. Why bother: melanoma caught early has a survival rate above 99%, and caught late it drops hard, which makes this the highest-value 20 minutes in preventive care. And the habit that lowers the stakes: daily sun protection, since UV is the main avoidable driver of all three major skin cancers.