The cause of keloids is genetic and we are unlikely to be able to prevent keloids until gene therapy develops in this century. Now there exists in the US and Paris a research project to map out every gene in the human body. This project, known as the Human Genome Project, will hopefully identify the gene that codes for keloids. Blacks and Keloids Most often, keloids are found in people of African descent. I have also seen keloids in Indians and Chinese, and more rarely in Whites.
Keloids tend to run in families.
If your parents or siblings have keloids, you are more likely to have them as well. Keloids have been noted in Africans throughout history. One of the theories that has been postulated for the predominance of keloids in Blacks is the fact that when keloids are developed they become insensitive to pain. In Africa, men would put scars on their bodies in order to develop keloids. The keloids would then become a sort of natural armor, giving some protection.