This is a FAQ composited from the Bella Body Art e-mail and message board forums on the related topics of scarring and keloid scar formation.

(scars during tattooing) I am interested in getting a tattoo, but have one concern. When I got the second hole in my ear and my belly button pierced, I developed scar tissue in the area. In any bad cut that I have had, scar tissue hasn't occurred in the area. I am worried that if I were to get a tattoo this might occur. Will you be able to tell me the likelihood of getting scar tissue in a tattoo and if you personally have ever heard of this happening?

I personally do not know of anyone who developed scars from tattoos after having piercings scar. I have seen a few examples of scarring in tattoos, and these were accompanied by a story of extreme skin trauma during the tattoo process. Piercings like noses, navels, and upper ears all have a strong tendency to develop scar tissue due to friction. These bumps are called keloids and can occur at any time during the healing of a piercing. They are often precipitated by local irritation, clothing snags or rubbing, or ill-fitting jewelry.

If all cuts or lacerations you ever got left prominent marks and formed scar tissue, then I would be concerned for that happening when you got tattooed. People of Asian and African descent are more genetically prone to large scale keloid formation. Basically you have to look at your own healing history, and sometimes that of close family members, to see if a trend to scarring exists.

(navel bump) I just got my belly button pierced about a week ago, and I stopped using the bacitracin and now I have this ring around the piercing that keeps getting bigger. It’s trying to heal around the piercing and looks like tissue. It is kind of white and thick on the top and bottom. Can anyone tell me what is happening please and what to do? Is this normal?

Try taking a few soaks in slightly salted water, as hot as you can stand it.

It could be a reaction to what you have been putting on the piercing, or it could be part of what is normal healing for you. Have you ever reacted to an antibiotic ointment at all? More and more people are sensitive to one or more of the ingredients in triple biotics these days.

Piercings heal from the edges in towards the center, and navel piercings take a long time to do this. The healing edge is not only growing new tissue, it has to turn and grow in and this phase of healing is often the hardest. It may be very sensitive for a few weeks or months.

(nose keloid) I had to take the nostril piercing out, I got a keloid that just wouldn't go away. I don't know if the keloid occurred because of the trauma my nose went though by getting pierced with a stupid gun or if it's just because it didn't like a foreign object in it..I do know I took proper care of it both pre-keloid and post-keloid..*Sigh* I just needed to know how to properly take care of the piercing area to avoid a huge amount of scarring. The inside of my nose there's a scabby type thing in the area of the piercing..that's normal, right?

The trick with most healing, pierced or not, is to be as gentle as possible or necessary, so as to minimize trauma. With a lot of piercings, what actually happens is part of your healing process, and you may or may not find others with the same reactions or symptoms that you have.

What I learned over the years getting pierced was how I heal, and I can now tell when I'm healing well vs when I'm not. can you compare any part of healing your nose piercing to any other skin injuries or piercings?

Scabbing usually isn't bad, although it can be unaesthetic or itchy, the two most common effects reported.

For body piercing aftercare, you might like Tattoo Goo Deluxe Tattoo & Piercing Care Kit or X-Pression & Blue Wave Piercing Aftercare Kit