Keloid Scar Removal – Do I Have a Keloid or Some Other Kind of Scar?

The two most serious kinds of scarring are keloids and hypertrophic scars.

Keloids are raised, reddish and painful. They can be very large and disfiguring. A scar is made of gristle-like fibers  to hold the wound closed. With keloids, fibres continue to multiply even after the wound is filled in. Keloids form large mounds of scar tissue.

A hypertrophic scar is more common. They don’t get a big as keloids, often remaining no larger than the original wound. They are more likely to fade over time. They occur in all racial groups. Bad acne scarring or a pronounced scar from skin piercing can be hypertrophic, but not keloid.

Operating on a keloid usually stimulates more scar tissue to form, so people with keloids may have been told that there is nothing that can be done to get rid of them. A Keloid scar treatment would then involve topical silicone cream to fade and reduce the size and appearance of the scar.

Both keloids and hypertrophic scars respond to topical scar treatments.