Private Mole Check London 2026. What a Skin Cancer Assessment Should Include, What It Costs, and the Moles People Miss
Last updated July 2026. Medically reviewed by GMC-registered doctors at The Online GP by The Wellness.
A private mole check in London is priced as a consultation before anything is done about the mole. Consultant dermatology mole consultations are quoted at £250 to £400 depending on the consultant, dermatology clinic mole checks at £285 to £300 for a thirty minute appointment, and full-body mole mapping at £325 to £650, with biopsy, removal and laboratory analysis all charged separately on top. At The Online GP by The Wellness, dermoscopic assessment is included in the price of the procedure, so a mole is examined, removed and sent to an accredited laboratory in a single visit from £595, with biopsy from £495 including the report and histology from £295 per specimen. Anything suspicious is referred urgently on the NHS skin cancer pathway rather than treated cosmetically. Book and pay online in minutes, with same-day appointments across London.
Enquire about a mole assessment on WhatsApp or email team@thewellnesslondon.com. You can also call +44 20 3951 3429.
What should actually happen at a mole check
A useful mole assessment has four parts, and the price you pay should tell you how many of them you are getting.
The first is the history, which is more diagnostic than most people expect. How long the mole has been there, whether it has changed and over what period, your sun exposure, sunbed use, previous burns, family history of melanoma, and any immunosuppressive medication all shift the level of concern before anyone picks up an instrument.
The second is examination with a dermatoscope, a magnifier with polarised light that sees through the surface of the skin to the pigment patterns beneath. Dermoscopy in trained hands substantially improves accuracy over looking with the naked eye, and it is the difference between an opinion and an assessment.
The third is the decision, which is one of four. Reassure and leave alone. Photograph and review in three months. Remove and send to the laboratory. Or refer urgently because the lesion has features of skin cancer.
The fourth, and the one that separates services, is whether that decision can be acted on in the same visit or whether you leave with a recommendation and a second appointment to book somewhere else.
What does a mole check cost in London
At the top of the market, standalone consultant dermatology mole consultations are quoted between £250 and £400 depending on which consultant you see, before any procedure.
Specialist dermatology clinics charge £285 to £300 for a mole check appointment of around thirty minutes, again as a consultation only.
Full-body mole mapping, which photographs and catalogues your moles for future comparison, runs from £325 at dedicated screening clinics to £350 or £450 for digital dermoscopy packages, and up to £650 for comprehensive packages including follow-up. Mapping is a surveillance tool rather than a treatment, so biopsy, removal and histology are always charged separately.
The pattern across all of these is the same. The consultation buys an opinion. Acting on it costs more, and often somewhere else.
At The Online GP by The Wellness, dermoscopic assessment by a GMC-registered doctor is included in the price of the procedure. A suitable benign mole is assessed and removed by shave excision from £495 or surgical excision from £595, a diagnostic biopsy is £395 including the accredited laboratory report, and histology on removed tissue is £250 per specimen. A patient who arrives worried about one mole and leaves with it removed and in a laboratory has spent less than the consultation fee plus procedure fee at most Harley Street pathways, and has an answer arriving in two to three weeks rather than a second appointment in the diary.
Send a photograph of the mole on WhatsApp or email team@thewellnesslondon.com.
How to check your own moles, and what actually matters
The ABCDE rule remains the most useful self-check. Asymmetry, where one half does not match the other. Border irregularity, meaning ragged, notched or blurred edges. Colour that varies within the lesion, particularly several shades of brown, black, red, white or blue. Diameter, with anything over about six millimetres deserving attention, though small melanomas certainly exist. Evolving, which means any change in size, shape, colour, sensation or surface over weeks to months.
More useful still is the ugly duckling sign. Most people's moles look broadly like siblings. The one that looks unlike all the others, whatever its individual features, is the one worth showing to a doctor. That single observation catches lesions that pass every letter of the ABCDE test.
Two symptoms should never be watched and waited on, which are a mole that bleeds without being knocked and a mole that itches persistently or has become raised and firm when it was previously flat.
The moles people miss
Melanoma is not evenly distributed across the body, and the places people cannot easily see are the places where it is found late.
The scalp is the classic blind spot, particularly in men with thinning hair, and scalp melanomas are found later and behave worse for exactly that reason. The back accounts for a large share of melanomas in men and is impossible to self-examine properly without a second person or two mirrors. The soles of the feet, the spaces between the toes, and the palms are frequently overlooked entirely.
That last point carries an important equity dimension. Acral melanoma, which occurs on the palms, soles and under the nails, represents a much greater proportion of melanomas in people with brown and black skin, and the persistent belief that darker skin does not develop skin cancer contributes to diagnosis at a later stage and worse outcomes. A new dark streak running the length of a fingernail or toenail, particularly if it is widening or the pigment spreads onto the surrounding skin fold, is not a bruise and needs examining.
Mucosal surfaces, the genital area and the eye can all be sites of melanoma, and none of them are covered by a mole mapping camera.
Why a suspicious mole must never be removed cosmetically
This is the most important paragraph on this page. If a mole has features suggestive of melanoma, it should not be shaved off, frozen, lasered or treated at a cosmetic clinic. Laser and cryotherapy destroy the tissue, which means there is nothing left to send to a laboratory and no diagnosis can ever be made, while a superficial shave of a melanoma removes the visible part and leaves the depth unmeasured, and depth is precisely what determines prognosis and treatment.
The correct pathway for a suspicious lesion is urgent referral for specialist assessment and excision with defined margins, in line with NICE guidance on suspected cancer. That is what happens at The Online GP by The Wellness, where a lesion with concerning features is referred rather than treated, and it is why the assessment happens before any instrument is chosen.
For benign moles, the reverse logic applies. Excision with histology is the option that leaves you with both the cosmetic result and a definitive laboratory diagnosis, which is the main argument for choosing a doctor-led removal over a laser clinic.
Ask whether your mole needs urgent assessment on WhatsApp or email team@thewellnesslondon.com.
Who should have their moles checked regularly
Risk is not evenly spread, and some people genuinely benefit from surveillance rather than one-off checks. Those with fair skin that burns easily, red or blonde hair and freckling. Anyone with more than fifty moles, or with several large or atypical ones. A personal history of melanoma or non-melanoma skin cancer. A first-degree relative with melanoma. A history of sunbed use, which raises melanoma risk substantially and more so when it starts before the age of thirty-five. Anyone taking immunosuppressive medication or living with a transplanted organ, in whom skin cancer risk rises considerably. And anyone with heavy occupational or recreational sun exposure, from builders and gardeners to skiers and sailors.
For these groups a yearly examination is reasonable, and photographic monitoring of specific lesions is often more useful than repeated whole-body mapping.
Why patients choose The Online GP by The Wellness
The Online GP by The Wellness is a doctor-led private medical group in London. Every mole is examined with dermoscopy by a GMC-registered doctor before any decision is made, and that assessment is included in the price of the procedure rather than charged as a separate consultation. Suitable benign moles are removed in the same visit from £595, tissue goes to an accredited laboratory with histology from £295, diagnostic biopsy including the report is £495, and lesions with suspicious features are referred urgently on the NHS skin cancer pathway rather than treated cosmetically. Blood testing and ultrasound run from the same clinic where the wider picture needs answering. Same-day appointments are routinely available, the clinic holds more than 187 five-star reviews, and appointments are booked and paid online in three taps.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a private mole check cost in London? Consultant dermatology mole consultations are quoted at £250 to £400, dermatology clinic mole checks at £285 to £300, and full-body mole mapping from £325 to £650, all as consultations or surveillance with removal and laboratory analysis charged separately. At The Online GP by The Wellness, dermoscopic assessment is included in the procedure price, with removal from £595, biopsy from £495 including the report, and histology from £295.
What is the difference between a mole check and mole mapping? A mole check is a clinical examination with dermoscopy leading to a decision. Mole mapping photographs and catalogues your moles to create a baseline for future comparison. Mapping is a surveillance tool and does not diagnose or treat anything on its own.
What are the warning signs of melanoma? Asymmetry, irregular borders, varied colour, diameter over about six millimetres, and any change over weeks to months. The ugly duckling sign, meaning the mole that looks unlike all your others, is often more useful than any single feature. Bleeding without trauma and persistent itching should always be examined.
Can a suspicious mole be removed cosmetically? No. Laser and cryotherapy destroy the tissue so no diagnosis can be made, and a superficial shave leaves the depth unmeasured. A lesion with suspicious features needs urgent specialist assessment and excision with defined margins under NICE guidance.
Do darker skin tones get melanoma? Yes. Acral melanoma on the palms, soles and under the nails accounts for a far greater proportion of melanomas in people with brown and black skin, and the assumption that darker skin is not at risk contributes to later diagnosis. A new or widening dark streak in a nail needs examining.
How quickly do I get results? Histology through an accredited laboratory is typically reported within two to three weeks, and the doctor who removed the lesion explains the report to you.
Book a doctor-led mole assessment in London
The Online GP by The Wellness examines moles with dermoscopy, removes suitable lesions in the same visit from £595 with histology from £295, offers diagnostic biopsy from £495 including the laboratory report, and refers anything suspicious urgently.
Enquire now on WhatsApp, email team@thewellnesslondon.com, or call +44 20 3951 3429.
References
NICE. Guideline NG12. Suspected cancer, recognition and referral. Updated 2023. NICE. Guideline NG14. Melanoma, assessment and management. Updated 2022. British Association of Dermatologists. Patient information on melanoma and mole checking. Updated 2024. Cancer Research UK. Melanoma skin cancer risk factors and statistics. Updated 2025. Primary Care Dermatology Society. Pigmented lesions, assessment and referral. Updated 2024.
