Piercing Bumps: A Comprehensive Guide to Keloids, Hypertrophic Scars & Irritation Bumps
If you’ve recently gotten a piercing and noticed a bump forming near the jewelry, you’re not alone, and it’s natural to be concerned. One of the most common questions new piercees have is whether they’re dealing with a harmless irritation bump or a more stubborn keloid or hypertrophic scar.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation on the internet that mistakenly refers to irritation bumps as keloids or hypertrophic scars, with some posts even detailing special oils and ointments to apply to these bumps. At Urban Body Jewelry, we’re here to explain the difference between keloids, hypertrophic scars, and irritation bumps, help you understand the causes of each, and explain how to treat each.
What Is a Keloid?
A keloid is a type of benign scarring that occurs when there is an overgrowth of collagen and granulation tissue at the site of a healed or healing wound, like a piercing. Keloids are much larger than irritation bumps tend to be.
A keloid’s appearance will vary depending on a person’s skin tone, and it will typically feel rubbery or firm. The following symptoms often accompany keloids:
- Itching
- Pain
- Swelling
- Tenderness
Current studies indicate a high likelihood that keloid scarring is a genetically inherited disorder, especially amongst those who have higher melanin content in their skin. Keloids are amongst the most difficult to remove piercing bumps.
How Do You Get Rid of a Keloid?
One thing about keloids is that there is no easy treatment for them. They must be surgically removed. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that the keloid won’t return, as they have a very high likelihood of regrowing and returning after removal. If they return or regrow, your dermatologist may suggest using a topical scar cream and steroid injections to help shrink the keloid before attempting removal again.
What Is a Hypertrophic Scar?
A hypertrophic scar is similar to a keloid in that it is the result of too much collagen production during wound healing. However, it is different from a keloid on a cellular level.
Hypertrophic scars, like keloids, are areas of thick, raised, dense tissue near the wound or piercing site. However, unlike keloids, the tissue doesn’t extend beyond the original wound or piercing site.
Hypertrophic scarring occurs much more in people experiencing wounds after surgery or burns. But it is much less common than irritation bumps on piercings.
How Do You Get Rid of a Hypertrophic Scar?
There are various methods and treatment options when it comes to getting rid of a hypertrophic scar. However, it’s always best to consult with a dermatologist, who can help you with the specific course of treatment that’s right for your body and scar tissue.
Standard treatment options for hypertrophic scarring include:
- Silicone gel sheets
- Corticosteroid creams
- Cotorocteroid injections
- Cryotherapy Laser therapy
- Scar massage and compression
- Pressure therapy
If no other treatment is successful, sometimes it does take surgical removal to get rid of hypertrophic scarring.
The chances of the bump near your piercing being a hypertrophic scar are also really low. If it’s not a keloid and it’s not a hypertrophic scar, then what is the bump near your piercing? It’s probably an irritation bump.
What Is an Irritation Bump?
An irritation bump is a raised area of tissue that can develop around a piercing at any point during the healing process, and sometimes even after a piercing has fully healed. These bumps are relatively common, especially with industrial, cartilage, and nostril piercings.
Irritation bumps can vary in size and appearance. Most are small to medium in size and range in color from pink to a reddish hue. Some may look moist and shiny due to fluid buildup, while others appear dry and flaky with peeling skin. In some cases, the affected area may be darker due to hyperpigmentation or, conversely, lighter than the surrounding skin.
These bumps may form on just one side of the piercing or completely encircle it. While many irritation bumps are painless, some can feel tender or uncomfortable when touched. It’s also common to notice some discharge, typically clear, off-white, or pale yellow, which may dry and leave crusty debris around the site.
How Do You Get Rid of an Irritation Bump?
Irritation bumps, on the other hand, are much easier to remove and go away. The first step is to figure out what’s causing the irritation in the first place. This is the time to reach back out to your piercer for assistance with troubleshooting.
During troubleshooting, your piercer will ask you some questions to help determine the cause of the irritation bump. Common causes of irritation bumps include:
- Hitting, snagging, or bumping your piercing
- Low-quality metal jewelry is causing a reaction
- An incorrect angle that is causing pressure
- Hair products and hair dye that get clogged in the piercing channels
- Sleeping on the piercing
- Over cleaning
- Under cleaning
- Not actually having the proper anatomy for the piercing
- Moisture buildup
- Improper aftercare, such as using products containing harsh chemicals
- Going swimming while the piercing is healing
- Changing jewelry too soon
Each cause of the irritation has a different solution. This is why it’s so important to see your piercer or a reputable piercer for help with diagnosing the cause of the irritation. For example, if you’re not using the right aftercare products, your piercer will help you obtain the correct products and begin a proper aftercare routine. If the irritation is due to a bad angle, there’s no amount of aftercare that you can do that will make the irritation bump go away. Instead, your piercer will need to asses whether a better angle is possible and, if so, fix the angle.
Do not attempt to do anything at home or try to make it go away on your own. This is where we get into some of the internet-famous myths about things that make “keloids” go away.
What Not To Do
There are some people out there who say they can cure irritation bumps or “keloids” with special ointments and oils. Unfortunately, there’s no quick fix that gets rid of an irritation bump. Many of these myths online are unsafe for your piercing.
Asprin Paste
One of the most common suggestions online to “cure” an irritation bump is to use Aspirin paste. Essentially, the paste is created by crushing an Aspirin pill and mixing it with a few drops of water to make a quick paste. The paste is then left on the irritation bump.
Aspirin paste is essentially used to burn the irritation bump off using the salicylic acid in the Aspirin. It’s thought that the paste will help reduce swelling and dry out the bump, too.
However, this couldn’t be farther from the truth, and it is a terrible idea to put Aspirin paste on your piercing. Some of the reasons why include:
- It is too harsh for healing tissue
- It can cause more inflammation
- There is absolutely no scientific evidence whatsoever that the paste is safe or effective for piercing aftercare
- You could be allergic to Aspirin, and putting the paste on the piercing could end up causing contact dermatitis and making the irritation worse
Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil is a popular ingredient in most beauty and skincare products today, thanks to its antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties. It’s derived from the leaves of the Australian Melaleuca alternifolia plant and is commonly used to treat or manage a range of skin and scalp concerns.
Many people use tea tree oil as an acne treatment, to control oily skin, to soothe irritated scalps and dandruff, and to alleviate irritations and redness from bug bites, razor burn, and other conditions.
So it should be safe to put on an irritated piercing, right? Wrong! There’s no conclusive evidence about the safety of tea tree oil for topical use, and there’s even evidence that it has detrimental effects on puncture wounds.
Tea tree oil is extremely drying, making it seem as if the irritation bump goes away. Still, it will always return because it isn’t treating the cause of the irritation and could be irritating the piercing even more.
Additionally, the tea tree oil you will find in the homeopathic aisle of the grocery store or health food market will be undiluted, which is much too harsh to put on a healing wound. Used too frequently or on sensitive skin, it can cause redness, itching, and peeling skin, or even worsen the original irritation.
Some people are even allergic to tea tree oil, which could further irritate your industrial piercing.
Unfortunately, there just isn’t a magic cure for an irritation bump without getting to the root cause of the irritation.
How Do You Get Rid of a Bump on a Piercing?
As you care for your piercing, don’t panic if you notice a bump or two. First, acknowledge that it’s likely not a keloid or hypertrophic scar and is just your body reacting to something irritating the healing piercing wound.
It’s not uncommon to develop irritation bumps. Unfortunately, you should see a reputable piercer who can help diagnose the cause of the irritation and assist you in resolving it. There aren’t any magic products or solutions that will get rid of the bump easily. Sometimes, it’s switching up your aftercare routine, sometimes it’s avoiding sleeping on the piercing, and sometimes the piercing needs to be repierced at a better angle. Rarely will you have to remove the piercing altogether because you don’t actually have the proper anatomy for it.