Scarred and Free

It’s that time again! Our annual celebration starts now. Welcome to National Keloid Awareness Month. We have a lot in store for you and can’t wait to share stories from our fellow warriors and educational content. Comment to show solidarity with all the warriors around the world.

Hello SOC Community!
The Skin of Color Community is excited to announce our next event: Managing Dark Marks and Thick Scars! We are privileged to have board certified dermatologist and expert, Dr. Jared Jagdeo () and Scar Advocate, Nicole Mechelle (keloid skin awareness]]) as speakers for the discussion on how to manage different kinds of scars. Join us on April 27th 2023 at 7pm EST. Register using the link in bio. You don’t want to miss out!

Dr. Jared Jagdeo is a board-certified dermatologist and Associate Professor of Dermatology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Dr. Jagdeo also serves as the Director of the Center for Photomedicine at SUNY Downstate. He received his medical degree from Brown University and completed his dermatology residency at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Dr. Jagdeo also completed a fellowship in Photobiology and DNA Repair at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute-NIH in Maryland. He founded the Laser, Aesthetics and Body Institute in 2018, which offers state-of-the-art laser technology and cosmetic services for dermatology patients. He is a leading expert in lasers and light-based medicine, with research interests in cutaneous photobiology, wound healing, and procedural dermatology.

Nicole Mechelle (keloid skin awareness]]) advocates for keloid skin awareness and founded the keloid skin awareness]] Instagram account as a global platform for activism, highlighting the stories of keloid warriors and challenging the current status of research, treatment, and funding. Her focus is on promoting self-love, authenticity, and visibility within the community and advancing the interests of keloid warriors.

Smile Warriors, we are on camera 😂People see you. I see you. We see you! It’s not always easy and we shouldn’t pretend that it is. But we are still here…rising and becoming. When you get a chance, take a second to smile. Upload a picture of yourself smiling and tag us! .11 went first. It’s your turn!

The Republic of Rwanda — located in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, a few degrees south of the Equator, bordered by neighboring countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo — is where you can find this warrior. We are worldwide.

“The keloid on my ear happened when I had my ears pierced at a younger age. My neck and chest keloid I vaguely remember, but I believe it started as a pimple. I had my keloid on my neck and ear surgically removed and had the steroid shots…but they grew back bigger.” -

“To be honest, I wish I was mentally stronger when I was younger and if I was, I would have applied that mindset in anything I had encountered.
That's it, that's all. Keloids have humbled me, change my outlook in life.” —

The relaunch is happening soon. Thai time, it’ll be community and activism like never before (on all platforms). Make sure you sign up for the newsletter to receive exclusive updates. Click the link in the bio.

Welcome to National Keloid Awareness Month — a 31 day celebration where we amplify keloid skin and the warriors who carry them.

The Scarred and Free community was built on three core principles: activism, transparency and visibility. We exist to shift the current landscape of keloid research, but to build community to help sustain our fellow keloid warriors.

In addition to confidence, this condition needs funding, research and better treatment modalities. It’s so important that we partner with individuals in dermatology/medicine while controlling the narrative of keloid skin.

Lastly, we deserve beautiful lives. All of us, whether we’re scarred or not. But I have a special connection with keloid warriors as I’m one. I know we deserve to be free, but we also deserve to represented and cared for in dermatology and healthcare.

So, here are my hands. I don’t want to be the face of a condition that affects more than 18 million of us. I won’t mask this condition, but I won’t deny the beauty in it either. It’s painful, but glorious. I’m simply here to be a vessel and a fighter. I’ll always be an activist and community builder…and I’ll always be scarred.

It’s go time ✨

Sunday’s glory.

Beautiful warrior ❤️

“BLESSED” that God gave me permanent accessories.
Love yourself even on the hard days ✨
Your scars don’t define you wether it’s a cut, burn or keloid.
BE KIND to yourself and others 💖
If you are new to my page then let me introduce me and my scars 🤗 I have been living with keloids for over 20 years now but I still feel and know I am beautiful which makes me the ultimate 😂💕
If you would like to educate yourself about keloids like and follow my fav pages &
Don’t forget to grab a “BLESSED” necklace on my website before you go 🌻
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Link in bio to shop 🛍
Https://sunflowersbeauty.com/

My niece, Kinsley, is starting her keloid advocacy at the age of 2 ❤️ she loves her cup!

Warriors, we have wrapped up National Keloid Awareness Month. I can’t believe the month is over. I did my best to give you all an experience you wouldn’t forget. But most importantly, I wanted to amplify our condition so that we can reserve the funding we need for better treatment options. Tonight, we will have a wrap up live session with .hodge_cur and a special video message from warrior ✨

There isn’t a cure for this condition and though some physicians praise certain devices/technology, recurrence is still likely. We are aware they are working with limited resources. We are fighting for them, too!

I hope everything that I’ve built will be used for good. Should there not be a cure or even better options during our lifespan, the community we have built will help guide the warriors to come. After all, most of them will be little Black and Brown children trying to navigate their way in this world, with a condition that carries psychological comorbidities. They will have what we didn’t have, and that makes me smile.

Job well done, warriors! We will keep fighting. Always! If you’re struggling with your mental health, I’ll tell you how I tell myself, we will win!

Love and light!

The keynote speaker for National Keloid Awareness Month is Jonelle Demby! I met Jonelle 5 years ago and she was the first warrior to post keloids on Instagram (way back in 2011) leading the way for digital keloid activism.

Like a true warrior, Jonelle has had her share of ups and downs. She still has her moments, but she learned a valuable lesson years ago — the public gaze is not one that should cause us to hide, but one that should feel honored that we are allowing ourselves to be seen.

Join us tomorrow at 1:00 pm CST/ 2:00 pm EST! ❤️

Also, the warriors boxes will be ready by end of month. 15 warriors will receive boxes! ✨make sure you check out the live session to find out more details!

It’s day 16 of National Keloid Awareness Month. Have you signed the petition? If not, click the link in the bio to support the warriors as we fight for funding, research and treatment. Here’s an info graphic to help spread the word ✨

March is National Keloid Awareness Month. If you’re on clubhouse, join us this Monday as we discuss keloid skin, a condition that affects more than 18 million people around the world! You don’t want to miss this.

Glory can be defined as “magnificence or great beauty.” So, once I connected with this warrior and learned his name, I knew I was in the presence of a supreme human being. He’s 21 years old and like most of us, he’s trying to find his way through life with keloid skin. ⠀
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He stated this community is helping him find his way.⠀
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Words from Glory: “Recently I'm able to go out more with my keloids on show because of all of the people I see that suffer with it and don't let it stop them, it gives me more confidence. Also, I've sort of come to terms that this may be my reality and I have to live with it. I'm started my steroid injections recently and it looks like it's going to work and they said there's talks of surgery after, but I've seen from others that it's not always the end after surgery, so just trying to prepare myself for anything but hoping for the best.” ⠀
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Glory, I’ve told you this privately and will tell you publicly, your skin will heal properly. I believe in you and all that you are, and as a warrior you need to know you are worthy of a beautiful life. Keep living my brother. ⠀
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Today, our post is dedicated to Natalie. ⠀
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I love that as a community we can discuss life and keloids together. I always said I didn’t want this platform to promote misery and self hate, but things filled with love, compassion and understanding. It gives me joy when warriors tell me they are ready to be seen. Surrendering to being seen is such a huge step for some of us. ⠀
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Last night, Natalie finally showed her daughter the scars she’s kept hidden for 17 years. ⠀
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Take it little by little, warriors. Even now, almost 8 years later, I’m still struggling with showing my scars, but with each warrior I meet, I’m closer to having my “seen” moment. ⠀
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Warrior love keeps me going. I hope it inspired you to keep going, too! ⠀
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Warriors, praying is a form of advocacy and there are times when I pray for us more than i engage on social media. I know it seems impossible, but i still believe in our skin’s ability to heal. I still have faith for that. It’s not that i’m unrealistic, but i believe that miracles (or the impossible) can happen for us. ⠀
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I had the pleasure of connecting with a new warrior. Her name is sarah. I pray her scars still to flatten and stop growing. I believe in life + love in abundance for her. I pray she never lose sight of her power and that she is restored, healed and refined. ⠀
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Sarah has been living with keloids for about 8 years. She had heat bumps and scratch them. The trauma led to several keloids. She has attempted to get them surgically removed twice but two dermatologist/specialist, but that made them worse. Her keloids, like most of ours, itch and causes her pain. She is trying to accept them and learn how to live with this condition. ⠀
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Love on a warrior today. Leave a positive word for someone to read in the comments. Let your love and light be a vessel. We are all trying to get through. ⠀
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If you want to help, here are four simple ways. The official keloid community newsletter will be sent out soon and you don’t want to miss it. I have several exciting updates! As always, I love you warriors! ⠀
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Also, I never go into any battle to lose, and this isn’t any different. When you are pushing for significant change, you will face opposition. It doesn’t matter. I’ll always keep going because I have 18 million people to fight for. There are other warriors fighting, too! ⠀
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“Maybe my future offspring(s) will know how to grow back their limbs, but for me, I’m just trying to get by day to day.” ⠀
⠀..and yet, she smiles.⠀
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Click my bio to donate to Jonelle’s GoFundMe⠀
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Shanouelka Hodge shares her journey with keloid scarring, island living and her desire to raise awareness. Click the link in the bio to hear our conversation with the one and only Sha Sha ✨ Follow Beauty and the Scar

There isn’t a savior in this community. There isn’t any competition either. We have connected to inspire and go in the direction of healing. My passion for this community runs deep. Deep enough to make me want to see changes for us beyond self-acceptance. Self-acceptance is key, but the lack of research, funding and treatment options isn’t okay and it never will be. As a collective, we must be diligent in this fight, but we must breathe and rest when our activism becomes too heavy. ⠀
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Not everyone desires to fight for change. Some are chosen, but the best thing about all of this is the fight is for all of us, whether in the United States or South Africa. The fight is a global effort. ⠀
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I want you to be inspired to lead and create change. I want you to be inspired to heal. The greatest thing any of us can do is inspire each other. Be inspired to fight and to live. I know sometimes living feels so hard, but keep going. You are worthy of a long, beautiful and healthy life...with the scars ❤️ I love you warriors, more than you’ll ever know ✨
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Remember to tell people about the petitions we created. There are 3. Check the links in , and bio’s! ⠀
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Click here to listen to our episode with Tony Perkins! https://m.soundcloud.com/scarredandfree/episode-4-with-tony-perkins

Episode 4 with Tony Perkins In-depth conversation with Tony Perkins about his struggles with keloids, treatment with Dr. Jones of LP Surgeons and his passion for kids.

Please sign and share our petition for keloid research, treatment and funding. http://chng.it/9SWXgDCD

Sign the Petition Global awareness, funding, research, and treatment for keloid skin.

Check us out on Instagram today at 6:30 pm ET/ 5:30 pm CT!! The founder, Nicole Solomon, will be going live with Pholk Beauty to discuss skin care and keloid skin. We can’t wait to see you there.