How to Remove Keloids – Keloids are an ugly and embarrassing problem for a lot of people. Any keloid scarring that is located on your face, neck, back or chest area will be nearly impossible to hide from the public. If you’re unfortunate enough to have a keloid scar in these areas then you have to learn how to get rid of keloids fast because they can be extremely painful and irritating.
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What are keloids?
Keloids are a type of raised scar. They occur where the skin has healed after an injury. They can grow to be much larger than the original injury that caused the scar. They are not at all common, but are more likely for people who have dark skin.
Anything that can cause a scar can cause a keloid. This includes being burned, cut, or having severe acne. Keloids can also develop after you get a body piercing, a tattoo, or have surgery. Keloids sometimes show up 3 months or more after your skin is injured. Some continue to grow for years.
Symptoms of keloids
Keloids can have the following characteristics:
- Appear and grow slowly. It can take 3 months up to a year before you see the first signs of a keloid. Then it takes weeks or months for it to grow. Sometimes, they continue to grow slowly for years.
- Begin as a raised pink, red, or purple scar. A keloid is usually a raised scar with a flat surface. The color tends to darken with time. It usually ends up being darker than the person’s skin, with the border being darker than the center.
- Feel different than the surrounding skin. Some keloids feel soft and doughy. Others are hard and rubbery.
- Cause pain, itching, or tenderness. When they are growing, some keloids may be itchy, tender, or painful to the touch. These symptoms usually stop once the keloid stops growing.
Keloids can form anywhere on the body. They are most common on the neck, shoulders, chest, back, and ears. They can range in size from smaller than an inch to 12 inches or more.
What causes keloids?
After your skin is injured, your cells try to repair it by forming a scar. In some people, the scar tissue keeps forming long after the wound heals. This extra scar tissue causes the raised area on your skin that is called a keloid. Doctors still aren’t sure why some people’s skin scars this way.
Many different types of skin injuries can lead to a keloid. These include:
- cuts
- puncture wounds
- surgical scars
- severe acne
- chicken pox
- insect bites
- injection sites
- piercings
- tattoos
Some people are more likely to develop a keloid when they scar. You are more likely to develop a keloid if:
- You are Black, Latino, or Asian.
- You are younger than 30 years of age.
- You are pregnant.
- You are a teenager going through puberty.
- You have a history of keloids in your family.
People who have darker skin are 15% to 20% more likely to develop keloids.
How to Remove Keloids
Method 1 of 3: Getting Medical Treatment
- Talk with your doctor about treatment options. There are a variety of different medical options for treating keloids including topical ointments, laser treatment, steroid injections, surgery, etc. Your doctor can help determine which option is best for your. For example, some treatment options only work on newly formed scars and keloids. Other treatments are costly and invasive and may not fully remove the keloid.
- Use topical retinoid ointments. Drugstores sell ointments, creams, and gels that are formulated to reduce the appearance of scars over time. Retinoids work to help regulate collagen production, which can reduce the appearance of keloids. These creams can also reduce itching associated with scars. Ask your pharmacist for a recommendation.
- It may take several months for the treatment to work.
- Apply the ointment, cream, or gel as directed on the bottle for the recommended period of time.
- Try steroid injections. These injections may help reduce scars that are raised above the surface of the skin. They are usually given every two to six weeks, until the scars begin to improve. In some instances this can take several months. This treatment will help to shrink the keloids and reduce any swelling.
- While steroid injections may help flatten these scars, they cannot permanently remove keloids.
- Get laser treatments. Laser treatment is a popular form of scar removal and has been successful for reducing keloids as well. Pulsed dye lasers and the long pulsed ND:YAG laser are considered the most effective in treating keloid scars. However, these lasers are not as effective on dark skin. Laser treatment can be quite costly because a specialist is required and it will take several treatments before noticeable results are achieved.
- The side effects associated with laser treatment include redness and mild irritation.
- Talk to your doctor about silicone sheets. Silicone sheets work best if applied to the infected area before a scar has developed. They work by keeping the area hydrated and preventing the development of scar tissue. A silicone sheet is tightly wrapped around the scar tissue and is worn for days or even months following the injury.
- Silicone sheets are one of the only treatment options available for children.
- Have keloid scars surgically removed. If you want to completely remove the keloid, rather than just reduce its appearance, you can try surgical removal. This is an invasive procedure, but will likely remove the entire keloid. The only issue is that surgeries often cause the development of new scars.
- Surgical treatment of scars can be expensive, but it may be the most effective way to significantly reduce their appearance.
- You can immediately treat the post-surgery scar using topical retinoids and compression therapy to reduce the chances of another keloid developing. Some surgeons use radiation after the procedure, too, but this is controversial.
- But keep in mind that surgery is risky and may trigger the formation of an even bigger keloid.
- Try cryotherapy on newly formed keloid scars. This type of treatment works by freezing the skin tissue at the site of the keloid with a substance similar to liquid nitrogen. It is often used in combination with other treatments, most notable steroid injections, to reduce the visibility of the scar. Cryotherapy will flatten the keloid but it may also leave the skin site darker.
Method 2: Using Natural Scar Treatments
- Try pressure therapy treatment. This treatment involves the compression of the wound or injured skin to reduce skin tension. Experts believe that compression will reduce cell production and flatten scars. This type of treatment works best on newly developed scars. You will need to wear a compression wrap or tape all day for several weeks or even months.
- If you have a keloid on your ear as a result of a piercing, you can wear special compression earrings to treat the scars.
- Try Aloe Vera gel. Using aloe can help reduce keloids, especially if the scar is relatively fresh. Buy a bottle of Aloe Vera gel or use fresh aloe from the plant. Apply the gel at least twice a day.
- Similarly, you can mix 2 teaspoons of aloe with 1 teaspoon of vitamin E oil, and 1 tablespoon of cocoa butter. Apply a thick layer to the damaged area and leave on your skin for 30 minutes. Then, wipe any excess of the skin and allow the rest to dry naturally.
- Apply lemon juice to the area. This natural scar treatment lightens the top layer of skin cells, causing the scar to look less noticeable. Rub a few drops of fresh lemon juice over the scar twice a day for best results.
- Use onion extract. Research has demonstrated that the quercetin in onion is a powerful antioxidant that inhibits collagen production and reduces the appearance of keloids. Purchase onion extract gel at a local health store and apply several times each day until you notice a reduction in the scar tissue.[10]
- Try vitamin E. This natural substance is said to help reduce the appearance of scars by fostering healthy skin growth. Buy a cream containing vitamin E, or purchase vitamin E capsules that contain an oil you can rub over the keloids.
Method 3: Reducing the Likelihood of Getting Keloids
- Avoid tattoos and piercings. The development of keloids may be hereditary, so the best way to reduce your likelihood of developing a keloid is to avoid certain scar-inducing procedures. For example, many people will develop keloids after received a piercing or tattoo.
- Avoid elected cosmetic surgery. Another way you can prevent the development of keloids, is by avoiding any type of elected or cosmetic surgery. This is especially true if you are prone to keloids.
- If surgery is medically required, talk with your doctor in advance so that steps can be taken to treat the scar tissue with steroid injections before a keloid develops.
- Resist the temptation to pop or squeeze pimples. Severe acne can also cause scarring and may lead to the development of keloids. If you suffer from acne, make sure to treat it immediately. This will reduce the likelihood that scars will develop. You should also avoid popping or squeezing pimples because this can damage the skin and cause scarring.
Living with keloids
Keloids are not harmful to your health. But having keloids can be upsetting to you. You may be embarrassed about how they look. This can hurt your self-esteem. Most people who get treatment for keloids do so because they don’t like the way they look. Luckily, the treatments that are available can improve the way the keloids look, even if they don’t get rid of the scars completely.
Questions to ask your Doctor
- Why did I get a keloid?
- I’m having surgery. What can I do to avoid keloids?
- What is the best treatment for my keloid?
- Will I need surgery to get rid of the keloid?
- Will an over-the-counter cream help?
- Should I avoid getting body piercings or tattoos?
- Will I need to take any medicines?
- What side effects could I experience from the medicine?
- Am I at high risk of developing keloids?
- Could the keloid come back?
Conclusion
Keloids are completely harmless. Having them shouldn’t affect your health. Their impact is purely cosmetic. They result from an exaggerated form of natural processes of scarring in the body.
Home remedies can help quite a bit with keloids. They can reduce size and pigmentation, making them less noticeable. This is especially the case if you use home remedies right after getting a wound, puncture, or burn.