Halo naevus

What is a halo naevus?

A halo naevus is a benign (non-cancerous) melanocytic naevus (mole) with a white ring around it that tends to arise in older children and young adults. They are uncommon over the age of 30.

What does a halo naevus look and feel like?

• There can be one but frequently multiple
• A halo naevus can arise anywhere on the body but are seen most frequently on the trunk (chest, abdomen, or back)
• A uniformly-coloured brown or pink, evenly shaped, round or oval central naevus (mole) with a white ring (halo) around the outside
• A halo naevus undergoes four stages:
  • Stage 1 - a rim of pale skin surrounds the mole
  • Stage 2 - the mole starts to lighten or turn pink and eventually fades away
  • Stage 3 - a circular or oval white area persists
  • Stage 4 - the affected skin gradually returns to its normal colour

What causes a halo naevus?

A halo naevus results when a normal mole undergoes an inflammatory change. While the exact reason for this is unknown, the process is likely to be autoimmune - where the body’s defence cells attack the mole. Occasionally, the onset of a halo naevus may be triggered by sunburn or local trauma.

Make an appointment at your GP surgery

Halo naevi are harmless and require no treatment.

A halo naevus is uncommon in an adult; if you develop a white halo around a mole as an adult and/or have a white area within a mole you must seek an urgent appointment with your GP.  

For information on what normal moles and skin cancer look like please click here. 

Referral to a specialist

If your health professional is not sure whether or not your mole is normal you will be referred urgently to a specialist.

What will happen when you are referred?

The appointment may be face-to-face (the person attends a clinic), or a teledermoscopy referral (a picture of your mole is sent to the specialist). If you are seen in clinic the specialist may occasionally decide to remove the mole using local anaesthetic (i.e. you will be awake) and send for analysis.

Helping with other skin conditions

If you, a family member, or friend have an undiagnosed skin condition; or you want to learn more about how to treat skin conditions, please view our short video on how to get the best from this website.