How often should you photograph your moles?

Regularly photographing your moles is key to detecting changes early. But how often should you actually do it? The answer depends on several factors — most importantly, your individual risk level.

General recommendation: every 3–6 months

For most people, a photo session every 3 to 6 months is a good balance. It's frequent enough to catch the evolution of a mole (the "E" criterion of the ABCDE rule), yet not so frequent that it becomes a burden.

J-Skin sets a default reminder for 6 months after your last photo. You can adjust this individually for each mole.

When should you photograph more often?

Some people should monitor their moles more frequently — even every 1–2 months:

• Fair skin that burns easily in the sun
• A large number of moles (more than 50 on the body)
• Atypical moles — irregular, multicoloured, or larger than 6 mm
• Family history of melanoma (parents, siblings)
• History of severe sunburns in childhood
• A new or rapidly changing mole — check every 2–4 weeks in that case

When is less frequent enough?

If you have darker skin, few moles, and no family history of melanoma, a session every 6–12 months may be sufficient. What matters most, however, is sticking to a consistent schedule — regularity is more important than the exact interval.

How J-Skin helps you stay consistent

• Automatic reminders — the app sends a notification when it's time for your next photo. Each mole has its own counter.
• Ghost overlay — when taking a new photo, you see a semi-transparent preview of the previous one. This helps you position your phone exactly as you did before.
• Auto-alignment — even if the new photo is slightly off, the algorithm automatically aligns it to the previous one.
• 4 comparison modes — slider, press-and-hold, blink, and change heatmap make it easy to spot differences.

What to look for when comparing

At each session, pay attention to:

1. Change in size — J-Skin measures automatically in millimetres
2. Change in shape — have the edges become less regular?
3. Change in colour — has a new shade appeared? Is part of it lightening or darkening?
4. New symptoms — itching, bleeding, crusting

Even a small change visible in photos — but not noticeable to the naked eye — is a good reason to show the mole to a dermatologist.

Summary

• Standard: every 3–6 months
• Elevated risk: every 1–3 months
• New or changing mole: every 2–4 weeks until you see a doctor
• The key is consistency, not the perfect interval