i'm sorry! i don't have too much experience with keloids :/ i know hypertrophic scars can be treated with silicon sheets. most of the talk on this forum is for atrophic scars... as i understand it a keloid is a form of hypertropic scar. i would mention silicon sheets to the doctor but i do think steroid injections are often used to treat hypertrophic scars, although i am not sure about keloids. maybe call the local medical school and speak to the dermatology department about it. i think a doctor will be best suited to help you and your brother in this case. sorry i cannot be of more help and i hope everything works out!!!

I'm pretty sure you can use silicon sheets on keloid scars but they're most effective in preventing keloids when the skin is still healing.

I just found out today that the "pimples" on my back were really keloids x.x I think its a hereditary thing because my father and my cousins have them. So it made me more susceptible in them occuring on my body. Unfortunately, he told me there are no cures for it. There are treatments for it that will shrink them but there is always the chance of them reoccuring in the same spot. Also, you need to be careful about the treatments. Many of them involve injecting the keloids with steroids or other antibacterial stuff I believe and they could actually make the redness worse =\

One thing I cannot stress enough: surgery or any cutting on them will definately make it worse. My dad made that mistake on a keloid that was very small about 12 years ago and its still brutal. Check out this website for treatment options.

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Hope I helped!

Hi, I have really bad Keloid Scars on my back and shoulders too. I have I want to say more than twenty. Some big some small. I have actually been getting injections for about 6 years minus 6 months in the middle from my first course of accutane. My first derm injected them for about 4 years with no luck. He had me using the sheets and those never helped. I wouldn't recommend them at all. They suck because you have to make the sheets the size of the keloid and some of mine were small. I started acctuane with another derm so they could monitor me closely since I am at college. After accutane they started to inject them and it worked but I think they used a strong steroid because the keloids were indented in 6 months and they did each side of my back every other month. They were going to do laser treatment but my keloids werent itching so they didn't do it. I was mad and switched to a different derm. I have actually had keloids appear out of no where and I just found a new one. My new derm wanted to put me on accutane to try to prevent more from forming and then they are going to do laser treatment.

The freezing doesn't help either. My first derm said it would help so the injection wouldn't hurt. Ya right. It didn't help them go down either.

I just wanted to tell you how hard it is to get rid of these. My second derm told me surgery can make the keloid worse. Someone on this forum actually sent me a pm about Bleomycin. It's an anticancer drug but it has been used to flatten keloid and hypertrophic scars. I have been trying to do some research on it but I have been busy. The article he sent me was from Turkey. I don't know if they have done it in the U.S. yet. I want to talk to my derm about it but I want to see more information on it first. After my finals are done and before my appoitment I am going to look some more on it. THe article said it is supposed to help prevent new keloid scars from forming. I will put it on here after I find it on my computer.

Oh, I will tell you this. My derm said I should not get a tatoo because I will get a keloid scar from it. Not like I would anyway I hate needles especially since I have had them stuck into my back for years. I just wanted to let you know. Some of my friends are like oh look at this tatoo and I will say it's really neat and then they will tell me I should get one and I actually have a reason to tell them no.

Tell your brother to hang in there and that he is not the only one. He shouldn't not do things he love because of these scars. Heck I played tennis and softball and the scars were always showing. In my opinion when people watch you in sports they are more worried about how you play and do then your appearance. Now that I am in college it's all different though. I don't go out much or where my cute tops much because of the keloids. I hate going swimming anywhere but my grandmothers. One night I was at a party and some guy lifted the sleeve of my shirt and I saw my keloids and I started to cry and went to be by myself till a friend found me. I showed her and she talked to me forever. I put makeup on them to cover them up but the ones that are bumpy you can still see the bump. I have never had a boyfriend because I am shy and the fact that I am embarrassed by the keloids. Who wants a girlfriend with scars all over her back. My mom wishes I could find someone but it's hard. I am 20 years old. My sister was 14 when she had her first serious boyfriend.

Okay, I will wrap this up. Sorry I went on and on. It's just that I know how he feels. Sorry I wasn't totally able to answer your question about if anything worked. I was able to tell you what didn't work though. If your brother does not have keloids scars just appear out of nowhere and there was no acne or injury where the keloid is tell him he is lucky.

I have keloids on my back and shoulders as well. As far as I know, keloids rarely respond to anything, methods of removal sometimes make them grow back worse, and no solution is permanent. :/ I suppose if your brother's keloids are really bumpy you could apply pressure bandages as they will help flatten them but not make them go away completely. One thread on a keloid forum mentioned someone's progress with Mederma after several months--his facial keloids were flattened and the color faded when massaging the product for 3-5 minutes. I think I might try that one... Someone else recommended tea tree oil, too, and I do have a bottle of that laying around so I might as well use it up.

I wish there were more answers but we seem to be in the dark ages when it comes to keloids.

I'm so happy to see people actually discussing this problem for once, I have been trying for ever to get people to talk about acne scars on the body, not the face. I have pretty extensive scarring on my back and chest. I'm not sure what type of scars I have on my back, it seems to be a veritable grab bag of everything. I don't think they really are keloids though because they aren't really raised, they just like melted skin or something. I have a few keloids on my chest, I got those injected with cortisone a week ago today and have noticed results. The scars that were injected have softened up and don't seem to be as raised as they were before. Hopefully we can flatten these bad boys out.

I got off accutane about 7 months ago, I'm getting very mild acne on my face, just a little bit. I want to go back on the tane eventually, but these scars are my number one priority, I can't stand it. I would do anything to go swimming. The person before me who talked about getting with a boy and then having to go and cry about the scars, I feel your pain. I never had a girlfriend until a month ago because I was way too afraid to show anyone my scars. I still haven't really showed her. I let her feel some of the keloids on my chest because there was a big one, so hopefully those will be gone. It really sucks though. When we get intimate I really make sure the room is dark before my shirt comes off. Sex during the day is definitely a no no for me. I want to be able to be confident. I want to swim. I would pay a lot of money for a procedure that works, so why isn't there one out there? It's really ridiculous that this sort of market inefficiency can occur.

To the original poster: Don't let your mom make such a big deal about your brother's scars. It's bad enough that we have to look at our own scars with disapproval but to have your own mom criticizing and feeling bad for you would be awful. I don't think I could handle it. I understand swimming being a problem, but rugby should be no big deal. I've played rugby all through college, the only problem with the scars there is you don't get to take your shirt off after the game like everyone else, but who cares, just run to the locker room and put something on or whatever.

I'm going to try a dermaroller, retin-a, and laser therapy on my back and chest to see if I can't relieve this problem. The industry is advancing, so hopefully the procedures will get better soon (within a couple years). But we aren't young people in here anymore, a lot of early 20's, we won't be young forever it's not fair for us to miss out. It sucks and it's incredibly emotionally draining. I would do anything to like my skin.

Here are a few things I tried:

Cortisone injections - did make the keloid smaller, however, it did not last and the scar became raised again.

Bioskinrepair, scarzone and Meladerm - a little progress, not much.

I came across this website - [Removed] similar to acne.org that suggest home remedies. For Keloid treatment they suggested the following:

Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and make a paste with the 3%hydrogen peroxide. Cover with pressure for a few days. (This is the one I am trying right now, it's been a 1 day and it's smaller.)

Buy 100% lavender oil and 100% tea tree oil mixed at 50 - 50 ratio and apply on the keloid scar. It should noticeably reduce within a couple of hours.

NIVEA CO Q10 Daytime wrinkle defense cream

Interestingly, some treatment may not work depending on the cause of the scar (Ex. Fungal) Most people will response well to one of the treatments, but not the others.

Hope this helps somebody!

Hi... I would like to try the baking soda and 3% peroxide one.

I had this one on my ear from a piercings and the Dr told me he wanted to remove it but it would probably come back larger. 10 years later its almost not even noticable... i dont know why it shrunk so much i never did anything to it.

:

 

Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and make a paste with the 3%hydrogen peroxide. Cover with pressure for a few days. (This is the one I am trying right now, it's been a 1 day and it's smaller.)

 

Buy 100% lavender oil and 100% tea tree oil mixed at 50 - 50 ratio and apply on the keloid scar. It should noticeably reduce within a couple of hours.

 

NIVEA CO Q10 Daytime wrinkle defense cream

Anyone tried this?

hey..

i have 4 pretty bad keloids on my jawline.. i have been getting steriod injections once a month for a year and a half and they have flattened out a bit... i have also been applying contractubex on them... its a gel i found on ebay.. i would say 1 has flattened out completely, 2 have flattened approx 50% and 1 is stubborn.. i would def suggest to continue doing the injections and perhaps adding in a topical scar gel.. i use Contractubex but i think mederma is similar (not 100% sure though).. anyways keloids are def depressing.. not only did we have to deal with the acne but now the aftermath is somewhat worse... argh.. i hope someone finds a cure one day because i hate these scars...

hey..

i have 4 pretty bad keloids on my jawline.. i have been getting steriod injections once a month for a year and a half and they have flattened out a bit... i have also been applying contractubex on them... its a gel i found on ebay.. i would say 1 has flattened out completely, 2 have flattened approx 50% and 1 is stubborn.. i would def suggest to continue doing the injections and perhaps adding in a topical scar gel.. i use Contractubex but i think mederma is similar (not 100% sure though).. anyways keloids are def depressing.. not only did we have to deal with the acne but now the aftermath is somewhat worse... argh.. i hope someone finds a cure one day because i hate these scars...

There is a cure in 2 maybe 3 years. They remove the keloid and inject (I think) something that makes your body stop producing bad scars.. I will try contractubex. How long did you have your keloids b4 they got better? I've had mine a looong time..

Have you guys heard of the vinegar experiment for hypertropic scars? Look it up within the website....apparently it works, although seems too good to be true....

I had a circular keloid on the face and was excised by my plastic surgeon followed by radiotherapy in the most famous hospital on Hong Kong Island.

The surgery left a very long hypertrophic scar on my face that is almost as worse as it was before the surgery. If I had known this happening, I would not do the surgery.

The surgeon had tried 3 steroid injections to me but its results was poor. The surgeon then told me that the results would be unsatisfactory after more steroid injections and told me to excised the keloid with radiotherapy followed. He mislead me by saying that he had cured a keloid on another's chest during my steroid injections.

Don't be fooled. Keloid should never be excised with or withour radiotherapy.

I suspect that the doctor did not use a steroid strong enough to flatten my keloid.

HI everyone,

Im new to this forum but not new to the acne game. Although I dont have any solutions for keloid...yet....I am trying all sorts of things and Id be really happy to keep u all posted. I have covered up for over a year with keloids now and I have tried several thimgs with varying results.

But...i do urge a couple of things....PLEASE DONT DO CORTISONE INJECTIONS AND WORSE YET...ACCUTANE.

These work wonders, but create a heap of issues....particuarly since these methods have no long term safety studies. Cortisone can actually cause permanent damage to the cells.

Im not trying to scare anyone...or dampen anyones hopes. I just want to warn of these dangerous things....THERE IS A WAY OUTTA OF THIS.... NATURALLY.#

I am currently studing natural therapies and theres a few things that may or may not work...I want to try them and then update.

care should be taken with tea tree...sometimes it may have a reverse effect and make the bacteria/virus worse. It may also burn the skin.

I will keep everyone updated. Lets do this together.

hey guys..just wanted to know if anyone has any success keloid stories yet? do you guys know if there are any laser procedures that help with keloids? im still doing the kenalog injections and they have flattened out my scars drastically but they still bulge out and look weird bc they are on my jawline.. any suggestions/advice?

Wow I can relate so much to what has been discussed thusfar, I'm a girl with a keloid on her chest and it sucks. It's so conspicious and I refrain from swimming, wearing low cut tops and dating. The chest ones are stubborn. I've had smaller ones on my chest and back and after lasering, they've flattened out and started to fade. I think the sooner you treat it the more likely it'll heal. I've gotten so many steriod injections and numerous lasering sessions on my chest, but the largest keloid is still there. It's not as itchy after laser treatment but it does become very tender while it heals. I wish there was more hope out there for fixing this problem. It seems like such a toll on the psychological well being. Sometimes I'm so tired of this and wish I could just wish it all away. But of course that's not gonna happen, problems don't just magically disappear. We gotta stand and fight, 'cause this is war.

got quite a few on my jawline, which oddly enough sting sometimes because my beard is there.

im trying sudocreme and cocoa butter together to see if it does any thing.

its getting worse and theres no acne there!! there never was!

Hi all, I'm a 25 year old gal with ~12 shoulder keloids, which are bulky and painful, and which I've had since I was 19.

In my opinion, nothing we have right now can "cure" keloids. I even did 2 years of every 3 months 5-fu/triamcinolone injections with Dr. Fischman in NYC (although it flattened inactive keloids, the 5 active ones have raged after I stopped treatment)--$300 per shot btw. ~$2K later, I still have huge disfiguring keloids that I'm still learning to deal with (I think injections anger the keloids more).

Anyways, it's been rough, but I've been hanging in there, and luckily, met a loving and wonderful man (college sweetheart who stayed with me through developing these huge scars) who could see past my scars and love me. I got married Memorial weekend '08 in a stunning Monique Lhullier dress with open back and lace clasping at my neck--covering all my keloids yes! You can find love too!

It's so difficult in this day and age, where one is immediately judged by looks (especially in the summer), but personally, I think that the world's values are superficial, and choose to surround myself with people who see past outward appearances.

I struggle every day with my introversion and anxiety because of this hidden disfigurement, and was once extroverted (and superficial too...a "mean girl") but I believe that God gave me this "thorn" to humble me, and to make me a much more beautiful person inside.

I'm praying for us all! Keep posting and sharing, and hopefully a "cure" will come soon! Like, I'm a nurse practitioner and I often wonder if there's a way to take a huge needle, suck out all that crazy collagen, and pull the skin together and seal it in a non-traumatic way.

I also happen to have a theory that perhaps keloids only happen to those who grew up in climates with cold seasons (like I grew up in NJ) b/c of hyper stress response stuff. Hehe--do you all think this is true? I guess African tribes get keloids though right?...anyways, I'm babbling. Goodnight and keep posting!

Hi all, I'm a 25 year old gal with ~12 shoulder keloids, which are bulky and painful, and which I've had since I was 19.

 

In my opinion, nothing we have right now can "cure" keloids. I even did 2 years of every 3 months 5-fu/triamcinolone injections with Dr. Fischman in NYC (although it flattened inactive keloids, the 5 active ones have raged after I stopped treatment)--$300 per shot btw. ~$2K later, I still have huge disfiguring keloids that I'm still learning to deal with (I think injections anger the keloids more).

 

Anyways, it's been rough, but I've been hanging in there, and luckily, met a loving and wonderful man (college sweetheart who stayed with me through developing these huge scars) who could see past my scars and love me. I got married Memorial weekend '08 in a stunning Monique Lhullier dress with open back and lace clasping at my neck--covering all my keloids yes! You can find love too!

 

It's so difficult in this day and age, where one is immediately judged by looks (especially in the summer), but personally, I think that the world's values are superficial, and choose to surround myself with people who see past outward appearances.

 

I struggle every day with my introversion and anxiety because of this hidden disfigurement, and was once extroverted (and superficial too...a "mean girl") but I believe that God gave me this "thorn" to humble me, and to make me a much more beautiful person inside.

 

I'm praying for us all! Keep posting and sharing, and hopefully a "cure" will come soon! Like, I'm a nurse practitioner and I often wonder if there's a way to take a huge needle, suck out all that crazy collagen, and pull the skin together and seal it in a non-traumatic way.

 

I also happen to have a theory that perhaps keloids only happen to those who grew up in climates with cold seasons (like I grew up in NJ) b/c of hyper stress response stuff. Hehe--do you all think this is true? I guess African tribes get keloids though right?...anyways, I'm babbling. Goodnight and keep posting!

WOW i felt as if it were me writing this!

I am also 25 yrs with alot of shoulder keloids, as well as a pelvic one, which is the worst of the lot.

I have become such an introverted person because of these keloids and really hate lookin in the mirror at myself.

The first keloid I got was the pelvic one from ingrown hairs from shaving. I so regret having that first surgery done. It is now maybe 5 times the size it originally was.I have done a few surgeries on it over the years as well as steroid treatment and nothing helped.

What made matters worse is that I had surgery on it JUST before finding out I was pregnant...So I stopped treatment...ALL my keloids grew twice or three times their original size during pregnancy! I had a few really tiny ones on my arms that were barely visible, and they just kept growing and are unsightly now.

I really don't know what step I should take next on any of them because surgery makes them grow back larger, and steroids does nothing but soften them temporarily.

I feel so ugly. My boyfriend looks past my scars but looking at yourself and seeing these disfiguring scars, can really depress you.

I pray someone finds a cure for keloids.. I'm praying my daughter does not have to go through this when she gets older

Wow I can relate so much to what has been discussed thusfar, I'm a girl with a keloid on her chest and it sucks. It's so conspicious and I refrain from swimming, wearing low cut tops and dating. The chest ones are stubborn. I've had smaller ones on my chest and back and after lasering, they've flattened out and started to fade. I think the sooner you treat it the more likely it'll heal. I've gotten so many steriod injections and numerous lasering sessions on my chest, but the largest keloid is still there. It's not as itchy after laser treatment but it does become very tender while it heals. I wish there was more hope out there for fixing this problem. It seems like such a toll on the psychological well being. Sometimes I'm so tired of this and wish I could just wish it all away. But of course that's not gonna happen, problems don't just magically disappear. We gotta stand and fight, 'cause this is war.

hey girl! i recently stumbled upon this site and your post.. and i just wanna say that i relate to you too, i have one smack in the middle of my chest as well, and right by my boob, it makes me so self conscious to wear anything that shows chest.. so I feel your pain. I def agree it's a mental pain as well, and I cant tell you how many times I've wished it would just disappear too.. blah!

My friend had a keloid scar on his arm (not from acne though, but that doesnt matter I think) and he got it treated with a Co2 laser.

Why is nobody talking about this treatment?

I just did keloid/hypertrophic scar treatment yesterday. I am going to do steriod injection/5-FU injection combined with v-beam(upgraded version) can't remember the name. My doc told me i have to get treated 4to5tmes and 80-85percent improvement on my scar. Hopefully it works...

my keloid/hyper scars are brused up

oh yah, i heard Co2 laser deepFX helps on keloid/hyper scars also! im planning to do that later also!

Hey guys,

I'm 23 and when i was 18 i got both my ears pierced, and everything was great. One day after labor day parade(september 09), i fell asleep with this huge earring on my left ear. Which left my ears swollen. So i figured it would go down.

Now its turned into a keloid. The size of it resembles a Marble but the keloid is behind my ear.( This whole winter i've been covering it up with a hat.) I went to go see a Dermatologist about it she said she would have to cut it off (surgical procedure) The keloid is sometimes painful during showers and very itchy 3 times a day about.

My question is since this is going to be a surgical procedure regarding my appearance. Would i let my dermatologist do the surgery or a cosmetic surgeon?

How would i find the right doctor? i live NY

How much would the procedure cost cause i dont have insurance

All info would be helpful, if you have any knowledge on picking the right doctors help me plz

I am going to get steroid injection and v-beam treatment today. it's my third treatment.... best me luck!