What should you know about keloid hair?

A keloid is scar tissue that extends beyond the original injury and stays raised. Hair itself does not create a keloid, but repeated trimming, waxing, threading, scratching, tight headwear, or a trapped hair can irritate the surface. This may cause itch, soreness, redness, or a sensation of pulling. A new lump after shaving or a piercing may also be another type of skin lesion, so appearance alone cannot confirm the diagnosis.

Avoid picking, squeezing, or deliberately cutting through the scar. Reduce friction from collars, helmets, and hair accessories, and use gentle cleansing without scrubbing. If hair removal is needed, discuss the least irritating method with a clinician before treating the area. A dermatologist may consider steroid injection into the skin, laser treatment, freezing treatment, or surgery depending on the scar's size, position, symptoms, and previous response. Keloids can return after treatment, so follow-up matters.

Book a dermatology review for a scar that keeps enlarging, catches on clothing, bleeds, becomes increasingly painful, or changes in colour. Seek prompt medical attention if the area becomes hot, rapidly swollen, increasingly red, or produces pus, because those features can signal infection rather than ordinary scar irritation.

Ask whether the lump fits a keloid or another skin condition, whether shaving or other hair removal should pause, which treatment matches its location, and how recurrence would be monitored.