Piercings, especially ear piercings (both lobe and cartilage), are the most common cause of keloids because they create skin trauma, with cartilage piercings being particularly prone to them. Other risky areas include the belly button, nose, and anywhere with deep injury or inflammation, with darker skin tones and family history increasing overall risk.
Ear piercing is one of the major risk factors for keloid formation. The majority of piercing is performed through the soft tissue of the earlobe only (zone 1).
The "3-2 piercing rule" is a popular guideline for creating a balanced ear piercing arrangement, suggesting three piercings on the lobe and two on the upper cartilage for a harmonious, curated look, or applying a 2:3 ratio of piercings to space for overall balance, often pairing small studs with statement pieces for a chic, "undone" style that avoids overcrowding and emphasizes personal anatomy.
Pay close attention to your ears after getting a new piercing. If you notice the skin on an earlobe start to thicken, you may be able to prevent a keloid if you act quickly. At the first sign of thickening, immediately remove the earring and start wearing a pressure earring instead.
First, it's important to realize that a keloid often does not occur immediately after the skin injury. Therefore, it may take months after your piercing for one to develop. The primary and most obvious sign is a thick, irregular scar, which often occurs on the earlobes.
The percentage of people from these groups who develop keloids ranges from 4.5% to 16%. The likelihood of keloids forming increases during times of hormonal change, like pregnancy and puberty. People with a family history of keloids are also at increased risk, but we don't know exactly which gene might cause this.
What are the Symptoms of Keloids?
The GP can recommend treatments to improve how it looks. Getting treatment early may help stop the keloid scar growing.
Collagen — a protein found throughout the body — is useful to wound healing, but when the body produces too much, keloids can form. Keloid growth might be triggered by any sort of skin injury — an insect bite, acne, an injection, body piercing, burns, hair removal, and even minor scratches and bumps.
What can I expect in terms of keloid removal cost? The total cost varies, depending on the size of the keloid, the location of the scar, the area of the clinic, the doctor and the method used. The average cost of keloid removal anywhere from $350 to $2,500.
The top five most painful piercings often cited include the Industrial, Rook, Snug, Industrial, and sometimes genital piercings or dermal piercings, with ear cartilage piercings (especially those through thick cartilage like the Snug or Rook) frequently ranking high due to nerve endings and thickness, while genital piercings are considered extremely painful by many. Pain is subjective, but cartilage piercings like the Rook, Industrial, and Snug are consistently ranked high, sometimes reaching a 9/10 on pain scales.
The "earring rule" for guys typically refers to social norms or personal preferences regarding which ear to pierce. Traditionally, in some Western cultures, piercing the left ear was thought to signify heterosexuality, while the right ear was associated with homosexuality.
However, even if you're brave and want to do a whole bunch of piercings at once, it's recommended that you don't get more than three at a time so you don't overwhelm your body during the healing process.
A keloid scar (keloid) is a raised scar that grows larger than the wound that caused it. These scars tend to grow slowly — they can take months to years to develop after a skin injury.
Your healthcare provider may suggest one or more of the following to help you get rid of a keloid on your ear:
Wearing silicone sheets or gel over the scar.
This can help flatten the keloid.
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.
Onset & Timing: Piercing bumps tend to show up soon after the piercing, usually within a few weeks. Keloids, on the other hand, often take months to develop. It's uncommon to get a true keloid only days or weeks after a piercing; most keloids become noticeable 3-12 months post-piercing.
Keloids tend to run in families and some ethnic groups. The tendency to form keloids is found mainly in people of African, Asian, and Hispanic descent. Individuals of African ancestry are 20 times more likely than individuals of European ancestry to get keloids.
Should I remove my piercing if I have a keloid? You should remove your piercing if you have a keloid. Continuing to keep a piercing in where you have a keloid can continue to cause inflammation and cause that keloid to persist and to grow.
Conclusion: Keloids never completely disappear to leave skin with normal texture, however they can resolve (flatten and soften) so they no longer burden patients in approximately one third of cases. Scars resolving spontaneously do so early in the disease. Those that don't may resolve after many years of treatment.
They occur most often in patients in their teens and 20s, although they can happen at any age. Black patients are more likely to develop keloids than other patients of color; they occur least commonly in White patients. They can sometimes occur within families.
Texture often hard and rubbery or soft and doughy
When you touch a keloid, you're most likely to feel one of these textures. A few keloids have a texture that's somewhere in between hard and soft.
In fact, they once misdiagnosed a 9-year-old's malignant tumor as a keloid! A skin condition called cutaneous scleroderma can also resemble keloids or hypertrophic scars. This condition is characterized by thickened skin and darkened keloid-like lesions.
Applying a prescription strength corticosteroid cream can help ease itchiness. Injected medicine. If you have a smaller keloid, your doctor might try reducing its thickness by injecting it with cortisone or other steroids. You'll likely need monthly injections for up to six months before seeing the scar flatten.