Keloids are skin-covered outgrowths that occur at sites of injury. They are warm, itchy, pink and at times painful. It is estimated that 15 to 20% of the population are keloid prone. In the keloid prone, the chemical signals that regulate fibrocytes may be defective and the deposition of new fibre does not stop when it must. This results in the accumulation of a large heap of fibres covered by epidermis. This growth is visible to us as a keloid.
When skin is injured, fibrous tissue, called scar tissue, forms over the wound to repair and protect the injury. In some cases, when there is a cut, bite, scratch, burn, or acne, the body produces a structural protein called collagen which forms a scar. The scar pales off after some time as the wound heals. But some scars grow further invading healthy skin and becomes bigger than the original wound. These are known as keloid scars. Keloids take three months or even years to develop forming smooth, hard growths much larger than the original wound. They’re most commonly found on the chest, shoulders, earlobes, and cheeks.
