While certain scar treatments are universal, many treatments are specific to certain skin tones. Scar treatment for African Americans focuses primarily on preventing keloid scarring, because this type of scarring is more common in people with darker skin tones according to the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Pressure Therapy
Keloid scars protrude from the skin, making them highly visible. Pressure therapy reduces the appearance of keloid scarring with the application of a silicone gel sheet. This clear sheet adheres to a person's skin, pushing down a bulbous keloid scar. According to the University of Michigan, the sheets are designed to be worn 24 hours a day. The pressure of the silicone sheet will eventually flatten the keloid permanently, but this requires at least four months of daily pressure therapy.
Steroid Injections
Many keloid scars burn or itch, making African American scar healing periods very unpleasant. Steroid injections are designed to reduce the pain and itchiness of keloid scarring. According to the University of Chicago Medical Center, steroid injections also reduce the overall size of keloid scars in some instances. Steroid injections are also known to reduce redness in at many keloid scar sites.
Cryotherapy
Many keloid scar growths can be completely removed using cryotherapy. During cryotherapy, the keloid is frozen off. While the bulbous keloid growth is frozen off, a surface scar is still left in its place. Cryotherapy is very painful, but the pain is only momentary, lasting just a few minutes during treatment. Cryotherapy is typically effective, though keloid scar tissue can still regrow in some cases.
Surgical Removal
If keloid scarring continually returns, surgical removal is a good option. During surgical scar removal, the scar site is excised and discarded. The surgical site is sutured closed, leaving a smaller surface scar. For large scar sites, a skin graft is sutured in place of the keloid scar. To prevent patient rejection of the skin graft, excess skin can be grown directly on the host using "tissue expansion." During tissue expansion, skin is stretched by placing a silicone balloon underneath the skin. This excess, stretched skin can then be removed for grafting.
Laser Therapy
Once keloid scarring is addressed, surface scarring can be removed using a laser. Erbium lasers work especially well on African American skin, according to the University of Michigan. Laser therapy destroys scarred skin layers using a high-energy beam of light. Once the scarred skin is burned off, healthier skin regrows in its place. After a laser therapy session, some slight scarring or discoloration is expected at the site, though this will be less visible than the original scar.
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