Chest Keloid Treatment: Q&A With A Patient From New Jersey

Last updated: September 22, 2026

The following Q&A features a man from New Jersey, U.S. who is undergoing chest keloid treatment. As of August 2026, he is using Eclar Plaster and receiving Kenalog steroid injections.

Chest Keloid Treatment with Kenalog Steroid Injections and Eclar Plaster: Questions and Answers

Answers may have been edited for brevity and clarity.

Question: What caused you to form your first keloid scar and how old were you?

Answer: Around the age of 16, I started to get acne in the center of my chest. Uninformed at the time, I constantly prodded and scratched at the pimples, which eventually ‘hardened’ into pustules under my skin. I continually tried to pop them, not knowing about keloids at the time.

Question: Were you on any acne medication at the time you started to develop the chest keloid scars?

Answer: I was not on any acne medication at the time.

Question: What is your ethnic background?

Answer: I am half Chinese (paternal) and half Puerto Rican (maternal). On my Chinese side, both my father and his sister are keloid-prone. Out of four siblings, I am the only one who inherited keloid prone skin. On my aunt’s side, she has two daughters, one of whom is also keloid prone.

Question: When acne formed on your chest, can you describe how a new keloid scar would develop? How long would it take to go from a pimple to a small scar? What was the pattern? Are there any details you can share about what happened for the acne to turn into a scar? 

Answer: The acne that would appear on my chest, which stemmed from ingrown hairs, would eventually harden into nodules under the skin. I observed that if I left the acne alone (as most dermatologists would recommend), the acne would eventually form a keloid regardless of whether I attempted to pop or excise the pus. After realizing this, if the pimple seemed fully drainable, I would try to pop and drain the pimple in an attempt to mitigate damage. While sometimes successful, I can definitely say I’ve made my share of mistakes over the years, and new keloids have formed.

Question: How long after you got keloids did you try your first treatment and what was that treatment?

Answer: At the age of 19 (2017), I went to a dermatologist who noticed my ‘hardened pimples’ and informed me that they were in fact keloids. I started to get monthly Kenalog injections, which I noticed slightly softened the keloids, and definitely helped with the itching! Due to costs (and lack of noticeable improvement), I stopped and resumed monthly Kenalog injections in 2024.

Question: Where did you buy the Eclar plaster, and how much did it cost?

Answer: I have purchased Eclar Plaster twice from Dispensing Pharmacy KITAOKA. At the time, a pack of 50 cost $130.

 Question: How long have you been wearing the Eclar plaster? What are your thoughts about its effectiveness?

Answer: I have been wearing Eclar Plaster continuously for the past two years. Each sheet lasts me about a week because I cut it into smaller pieces to cover my keloids, replacing the pieces every 24 hours after showering. In tandem with Kenalog injections, I’ve found them helpful in slowly flattening my keloids and reducing itchiness. In my own personal experience, I haven’t noticed much effectiveness using Eclar plaster ONLY, but have noticed improvement when using them in addition to Kenalog injections at the dermatologist.

Question: How many dermatology visits have you had so far where you received Kenalog steroid shots? What concentration of Kenalog are you getting?

Answer: I go to the dermatologist semi-consistently every 4 weeks for injections. There are occasional times when I miss a month due to work/life conflicts. I’ve been getting 10 mg/mL of Kenalog.

Comments from the editor are below:

Here is the website he purchased the Eclar Plaster from: Eclar Plaster Kitaoka Website

I’ve also written an article on Eclar Plaster. You can check it out here:

Eclar Plaster for Keloid Scars

How Acne Can Lead to Keloid Scars

It’s no secret that one of the leading causes of keloids on the chest, shoulders, back, and jawline is acne. For keloid-prone individuals, monitoring your acne closely and keeping it moisturized is very important. Similar to this man in the Q&A, I also had shoulder and chest acne as a teenager that caused me to form keloids. The key is to get the acne to come to a head so it can be drained. If your acne dries out and never comes to a head, it can turn into a keloid scar within a matter of days.

I wrote an entire article on how to prevent acne from forming into new keloid scars. The link is below, but here is the short version.

Can Acne Cause Keloids? A Prevention Guide

1. Dry skin and dry acne are major accelerators for those prone to keloid scarring.
2. If a pimple forms without a whitehead, keep it moisturized and soft so it does not harden and turn into a keloid scar.
3. Keeping the pimple moisturized and soft helps it form a whitehead or pus beneath the surface.
4. How do you keep the pimple moisturized? Apply lotion, let it absorb, and attach a silicone or hydrocolloid patch to cover it. You can use Hypafix tape to secure the silicone sheet or hydrocolloid patch.
5. After wearing the patch for a day or so, the pimple may soften and develop a visible whitehead or pus beneath the surface. Drain it and then keep it moisturized for the next few days to help the healing process.

Kenalog Steroid Injections for Keloid Scars

If you have keloid scars on your chest, back, or shoulders, this is especially relevant to you. If you’re going to invest the time, money, and effort to see a dermatologist every four to five weeks for steroid injections, you have to be getting the right concentration of steroid injections. 

A common issue with keloid treatment is that dermatologists often inject the keloid scars with a steroid concentration that is too low to have an impact. Whether this is out of caution or simply a lack of experience treating keloids, I can’t say. But dermatologists will often start and continue with Kenalog at a concentration of 10 mg/mL if you don’t request a higher concentration. Keloid scars are not going to be flattened with a concentration of just 10 mg/mL.

He began treatment in 2017, about nine years ago. Had a dermatologist used the appropriate concentration of Kenalog, his existing keloid scars could have flattened significantly if not entirely, while new keloids also could have been prevented from forming or growing larger. 

Based on my experience, if your keloid is located anywhere on your body other than your face, opt for undiluted Kenalog 40 mg/mL. No saline or lidocaine. This simply means asking your doctor not to mix the Kenalog with anything else. In other words, the Kenalog would be injected undiluted, directly from the vial into the keloid scar. 

A dermatologist may push back on the 40 mg/mL concentration and caution that atrophy or skin thinning is a possibility with Kenalog 40. Thank them for their caution, but insist on the 40 mg/mL. Not only is skin thinning unlikely, but even if it does occur, it still is a FAR better outcome for the patient than the keloid itself. Go back every four to five weeks for treatment until it’s flat. Apply lotion daily, and if you’re willing to go further, apply silicone sheets as well. 

For further information about using triamcinolone acetonide (steroid injections for keloids), you can check out this article:

Kenalog Steroid Injections for Keloid Scars

For information on how I personally treated my keloids, check out this article: 

Chest Keloid Treatment: What Actually Worked