What is an ear keloid?

An ear keloid is a firm, raised scar that keeps growing after the skin has closed. It can start on the earlobe after a piercing. This page explains what a keloid is, how to tell it apart from other bumps, and why it can return after it is removed.

What is a keloid, exactly?

When skin is injured, the body lays down new tissue to close the wound. Usually that process slows down and the scar settles. In a keloid it does not stop. The scar keeps growing and spreads past the edges of the original wound.³⁵

Keloids feel firm or rubbery. They often itch, and some are painful.³⁵ On darker skin they tend to be darker than the skin around them. On lighter skin they are often pink or red.³

They are not cancer and do not spread into other tissue. One dermatology review describes them as growths that can enlarge over many years without invading anything around them.⁵

How is a keloid different from a normal scar?

A normal scar stays inside the line of the wound and fades over time. A keloid behaves differently in three ways:

• It grows past the wound. A keloid spreads beyond the original cut or piercing.³
• It does not shrink on its own. Keloids rarely shrink on their own, and they can keep growing for years.³⁵
• It can appear late. Most keloids show up in the first three months after an injury, but some appear up to a year later.³

Is a bump on my piercing a keloid?

A raised scar at a piercing is not always a keloid. A hypertrophic scar is also thick and raised, but it stays within the area of the injury and usually flattens over 12 to 24 months.⁵

So two questions help. Is the bump spreading past the piercing hole? Has it been there for a long time without getting smaller? If the answer to either is yes, it may be a keloid. Only a doctor can tell you for sure. Dermatologists mainly diagnose keloids by looking at them and asking how they developed.⁵

Who gets ear keloids?

Anyone can get a keloid, but they are much more common in people with darker skin. One review cites rates of 6 to 16 percent in African populations.³ Another describes keloid disease as mainly affecting people of non-European ancestry, especially those of sub-Saharan African descent.⁵

Keloids tend to run in families.³⁵

Age plays a part too. One review notes that keloids appear more often during puberty and pregnancy.³ In one US study of 94 children and teens who had surgery for earlobe keloids, the average age was 14.⁴

What causes an ear keloid?

A keloid starts with an injury or inflammation in the skin of someone who is prone to them.³⁵ Common starting points include surgical cuts, burns, piercings, inflamed hair follicles, and acne.³

In one US study of children and teens who had surgery for earlobe keloids, piercing was the most common cause.⁴ The earlobe is one of the places keloids form most often, even though the skin there is under very little tension.³

Why do ear keloids come back?

This is the hard part. Removing a keloid with surgery creates a new wound, and a new wound can form a new keloid.³ One review reported that keloids returned in 50 to 100 percent of cases after surgery alone, with no step afterward.³

For that reason, surgery is rarely used on its own. Doctors usually add a step after removal, such as steroid injections, pressure on the ear, or in some cases radiation.³ Even then, keloids can return. In the US study of children and teens, keloids came back in 28.7 percent of patients, and the median time before they returned was 23 months.⁴ In a large study from a hospital in Korea, keloids that had already been treated elsewhere were more likely to come back.¹

The takeaway is that follow-up matters. A keloid that looks gone at six months can still return later, so keep your follow-up visits.

When should I see a dermatologist?

See a dermatologist if:

• a bump on your ear is growing, or spreading past the piercing
• it itches, hurts, or bleeds
• it has not shrunk after several months
• you have had keloids before, or they run in your family, and you are thinking about a new piercing

Bring a few photos taken over time if you have them, so your dermatologist can see how fast it has changed.

Where Keloid Buds fit

Keloid Buds are magnetic compression discs designed for the ear. They were not tested in the studies cited in this article. If you and your dermatologist decide pressure belongs in your plan, ask whether a kit like this suits you. See what is in the kit.

This article is general information, not medical advice. Talk to your dermatologist.