What is the difference between a keloid and hypertrophic scarring?
Both hypertrophic scars and keloids are a result of the over growth in tissue during the healing process. Both can appear on the enter or exit points of the piercing. However, the main difference is hypertrophic scarring supposedly goes away over time while keloids are permanent and need to be professionally removed by a dermatologist or plastic surgeon. Also, hypertrophic scars do not extend past the wound hole while a keloid does. People who are not prone to keloids will generally not get them from a piercing unless it is an extremely serious case. (I got a keloid from tearing open my helix piercing when it got caught on my comb as a teenager — ouch!). You would probably known if you are prone to keloids if you have developed them before in minor cases, such as from picking a scab or from chicken pox. Judging from your description of your bump, my guess would be that it was hypertropic scarring. They are usually pinkish in color (unlike keloids which are skin colored) and look like
