Keloids get worse with repeated injury, sun exposure, inflammation, friction, and infections, often growing larger or darker, especially in genetically predisposed individuals, with high-tension skin areas being particularly vulnerable. Key aggravators include excessive scrubbing, scratching, tight clothing, and new skin trauma like piercings or tattoos, as these prolong the inflammatory healing response, making the scar grow disproportionately.
Protect your skin from injury.
Try to avoid injuring your skin. Consider not getting body piercings, tattoos and elective surgeries. Even minor injuries — such as ingrown hairs, cuts and scratches — can incite a keloid to grow.
Researchers know that the body produces more collagen than its needs to heal the injured skin. That's why the keloid scar grows bigger than the wound that caused it.
Avoid irritating the keloid with clothing or other types of friction or injury. Protect your skin from the sun. Sun exposure might change the color of your keloid, making it more noticeable. That change might be permanent.
Keloids are most common in people younger than 30. Black people, Asians, and Hispanics are more prone to developing keloids.
The topical application of moisturizing oils works to keep the tissue soft. This may reduce some of the daily painful symptoms of having a keloid scar, but will not remove it entirely.
Avoiding Pro-Inflammatory Foods
Inflammation can hinder the healing process and exacerbate keloid formation. To support keloid therapy, it is advisable to limit or avoid pro-inflammatory foods such as processed meats, sugary snacks, refined grains and alcohol in excess.
Generally, they contain relatively acellular centers and thick, abundant collagen bundles that form nodules in the deep dermal portion of the lesion. Keloids present a therapeutic challenge that must be addressed, as these lesions can cause significant pain, pruritus (itching), and physical disfigurement.
Prevention is often more effective than treatment, as removing a keloid often causes another skin wound, leading to potentially developing another keloid. “Since we don't understand keloids themselves, treatment can possibly stimulate more keloid formation,” says Dr. Hsia.
Clinical observations and published investigations have noticed that persistent stress is common among keloid patients and their symptoms tend to deteriorate under stressful conditions.
Accordingly, low serum and tissue 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and deficient tissue vitamin D receptors contribute to the pathogenesis of keloids. This can be partly mediated by dysregulation of the antimicrobial peptide; koebnerisin.
The effect of sex hormones has been postulated as the reason for activated keloid growth during adolescence and/or pregnancy.
Keloids on your ear usually don't hurt. However, they may itch or feel tender if you touch them, especially as they're growing. They may become irritated if you accidentally touch them or they rub against your clothes. Ear keloids may also make you feel self-conscious or insecure about your appearance.
Anecdotal reports claim that vitamin E speeds wound healing and improves the cosmetic outcome of burns and other wounds. Many lay people use vitamin E on a regular basis to improve the outcome of scars and several physicians recommend topical vitamin E after skin surgery or resurfacing.
Fried foods and ultra-processed items are often high in trans fats, unhealthy oils, and preservatives. These ingredients increase oxidative stress and inflammation in the body, delaying the wound healing process.
Don't use abrasive or rough washcloths for skin care and wound healing. Don't scratch dry, itching areas. Scratching can cause further skin damage and increase the risk of infection, which can impede the healing process. Don't apply tape of any kind to dry, sensitive, fragile skin.
Smoked meat: Can cause loss of vitamins and minerals needed for cell regeneration. Eggs: During the wound regeneration phase, new skin is gradually forming. Since eggs have the property of promoting the proliferation of collagen fibers, eating eggs will form keloid scars on the wound.
Bulk– scar massage may help flatten certain bulky scars; nevertheless, keloid scars are unlikely to benefit.
Sun Protection: Protect healing scars from sun exposure, as UV rays can worsen scarring. Use sunscreen with a high SPF on the healing area when exposed to sunlight. Avoidance of Body Piercings: If you are prone to keloids, consider avoiding body piercings or tattoos, as they can trigger excessive scar tissue formation.
If you get keloids, you may want to avoid body piercings, tattoos, or any surgery you do not need. Keloid scarring can happen after these procedures.
Histological studies of keloid tissue have demonstrated high concentrations of inflammatory cells, including mast cells, macrophages, lymphocytes, and neutrophils, and Th2 cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13, which are also involved in itch (6–8).