Hello, and welcome to another deep-dive scientific review into one of the most misunderstood and misdiagnosed issues that the piercing industry faces: the Keloid.
Some piercings will experience some kind of lump or bump in their healing process- It’s the body’s natural first response to any snag, knock or mistreatment. Irritation to the piercing can come from many sources such as incorrect or low quality jewellery, pressure, snags, or incorrect aftercare. If you want to read about lumps, bumps and how to solve them click here. However a keloid is a medical issue and won’t go away on it’s own. This review simply goes into specifically what a keloid is, and how they can be treated and managed by a medical practitioner such as your GP or a dermatologist. Your piercer is not the person to ask for true keloid treatment.
An irritation bump, normally caused by poor quality jewellery and incorrect aftercare. These bumps are more common, and easily sorted out by a high-quality piercer. They do go away!
How To Remove A Piercing Bump
Keloids are large, firm, asymmetrical round lumps that will grow outside of the initial wound boundary. They are often slightly tender to the touch and will not go away on their own! Keloids do not stop growing, and do not shrink in size without medical treatment. Keloids, unfortunately, will often recur once surgically removed.
Keloids occur in all races, sexes and ages, but are most common in people between the ages of 20 and 30. Studies have shown that dark-skinned people usually of African descent are the most likely to get a keloid- 6-16% of these populations will experience a keloid in comparison to only 0.9% of White British people. This is not to say that you are guaranteed to get a keloid or are protected from them by your race!
Keloids are strongly linked to genetics- If you have a strong family history of keloid formation, you are much more likely to get keloids of your own.
Dealing With Piercing Lumps And Bumps. — Piercings By Tim
If you look back to my previous review on the wound healing process, you will remember that the Maturation or Remodelling phase is the third and final phase of healing. Collagen is grown and the skin slowly softens and returns to its normal state. In keloid formation, collagen is synthesised at up to 20x the normal rate. This overproduction of collagen can be a cause of the fast-growing nature of a keloid. In addition to this, fibroblasts that produce the scaffolding on which new skin is developed are upregulated- Fibronectin (the scaffolding protein) is produced at a rate of up to 4x greater than in normal scar healing.
Growth factors are chemicals produced by immune cells within the healing tissue to promote wound repair. One in particular, TGF-beta, is really important for this process. In normal wound healing, this factor is carefully controlled and is turned off completely once the wound is healed. In keloid formation, TGF-beta is uncontrolled and is not turned off once the wound is healed and so is allowed to run riot within the tissue. In addition to this, the fibroblast cells found in keloids have many more receptors for TGF-beta and are therefore much more sensitive to it’s effects!
Keloids will not go away on their own- If your ‘keloid’ went away with better aftercare, then it wasn’t a keloid! Unfortunately keloids often require surgical intervention. If you remember, keloids are caused by overreaction to a wound, so surgery alone will often result in recurrence of the keloid. Surgical removal is often part of a multi-angle response including steroid injections, pressure plates upon the area, and sometimes even laser or radiotherapy. If you think you have a keloid, we highly recommend getting it checked out by a doctor or dermatologist.
Keloid On Ear: What It Is, Piercing, Removal, Scar, Behind Ear
One interesting treatment which has very recently emerged is the use of Interferon injections. Interferons (IFNs) are chemicals naturally secreted by cells within the human body in response to viral infections. One happy side effect they have is that certain IFNs such as IFN-α2b decrease the surrounding tissues ability to produce collagen, and directly block the binding of TGF-beta to the fibroblast receptors in order to prevent them from producing excess scarring!This treatment type could be used more commonly in the future.
So there you have it, a good overview of what a keloid is, why we get them, and what can be done about it. Again if you think you have a keloid, it’s important to get it checked out by both your trusted piercer and a doctor or dermatologist. We see a genuine keloid perhaps once a year, but the vast majority of lumps are not keloids at all! Most bumps we see are simply due to irritation of some kind and can be treated simply and easily with quality jewellery and gentle aftercare.
Berman B, Duncan MR. (1989) Short-term keloid treatment in vivo with human interferon alfa-2b results in a selective and persistent normalization of keloidal fibroblast collagen, glycosaminoglycan, and collagenase production in vitro. J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. 21:694–702
How To Get Rid Of Keloids On Piercings
Gauglitz, G.G., Korting, H.C., Pavicic, T., Ruzicka, T. and Jeschke, M.G., 2011. Hypertrophic scarring and keloids: pathomechanisms and current and emerging treatment strategies. Molecular medicine, 17(1), pp.113-125.
Murray CJ, Pinnel SR. (1992) Keloids and excessive dermal scarring. In: Woundhealing, Biochemical and Clinical Aspects. Cohen IK, Diegelmann RF, Lindblad WJ (eds.). Saunders Elsevier, Philadelphia, pp. 500–9
Niessen FB, Spauwen PH, Schalkwijk J, Kon M. (1999) On the nature of hypertrophic scars and keloids: a review. Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 104:1435–58
Nose Piercing Bump: How To Get Rid Of It
Wolfram, D., Tzankov, A., Pülzl, P. and PIZA‐KATZER, H.I.L.D.E.G.U.N.D.E., 2009. Hypertrophic scars and keloids—a review of their pathophysiology, risk factors, and therapeutic management. Dermatologic surgery, 35(2), pp.171-181.Scarring is a common concern for people who are thinking of getting a body piercing. Though, not every type of scarring is the same.
One type of scarring you might not know much about is known as keloid scarring. Keloids are unusually prominent and visible scars that can form when your skin is healing from a piercing or other types of wounds.
A keloid is a raised scar, but what makes it different from other forms of scar tissue is that it doesn’t just cover a wound. Instead, it spreads beyond it, usually growing much larger than the injury itself.
Keloid Formation After Ear Piercing
Keloid scars are also unique in how long they take to form. While a wound will scar over fairly quickly, a keloid scar might only appear months after the skin had been initially injured. Once it has appeared, it can also grow larger, sometimes spreading further across the skin surface for years.
They also vary in their coloring. Some are very light pink, while others will have a far darker pigment, often much darker than the rest of your skin.
There are multiple ways to get rid of keloid piercing scars, but which one you use will depend on a few factors. You should consult with a Board Certified dermatologist. They will help you decide on the best procedure based on the keloid’s location, the size of the scarring, and how long you’ve had it.
Bumps Around Ear Piercings: Causes And Treatments
One of the least invasive and lowest impact ways of treating keloid bumps is by regularly applying moisturizing oils to it, such asavocado oil.
These oil treatments, if effective, will soften the scar tissue and make them appear less prominent. Note, however, that they will not eliminate keloid scar tissue. The strategy is to massage the oil into the scar tissue to help break it up and soften it.
As this just makes the keloids a bit more discrete rather than getting rid of them, they’re best suited for small ones, like the ones that form as a result of acne. Cryotherapy is not the treatment of choice for anyone with skin of color as it also damages pigment cells and can cause a white scar.
Lumps & Bumps On Piercings
Several medications can be injected into the raised scar tissue to treat keloids, including interferon, verapamil, fluorouracil and various forms of steroid injections. Their effectiveness and use in treating keloids, however, has not been studied extensively.
Corticosteroids are the only medicines that have been subject to a lot of studies and are commonly used to treat keloid scars. These steroid injections are often used alongside another treatment, like cryotherapy.
Cutting away the keloid scars, however, will leave you with a surgical incision that can itself cause a larger keloid to develop if you are prone to them. To prevent keloids from reoccurring after surgical treatment, follow the advice in the section below on ‘preventing keloid formation.’
Here's How To Get Rid Of Cartilage Piercing Bumps [must Read]
Radiation therapyis another option for treating and eliminating keloids. This, however, is considered a bit more extreme than the alternatives. Due to the risks of cancer that come with radiation therapy, it’s usually offered only as a last resort, after all other methods have failed to significantly reduce the scar tissue.
There is no sure-fire way to get rid of these types of scars, no matter how big or small. Treatments can minimize their appearance, but even then it’s common for them to return to a piercing site after they have been treated.
While there aren’t any clinically proven home remedies that can fully remove keloid scars, there are a select few treatments
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