Scars

Scars

Scarring from a tattoo can happen to anyone. No matter how good the tattooist is, if you don’t take good care of your tattoo, it can scar. An inexperienced tattooist is more likely to scar a client. This happens when the tattooist goes too deep or tattoos in one area, overworking and chewing the skin. Also, if you pick the scabs of your tattoo, you can damage your still-healing skin, which will leave a scar and possibly leave a blank spot in your tattoo.

Certain parts of the body are more prone to scarring. Skin that is near or on a joint is often tricky to tattoo and can scar easily. The skin over your iliac crest, or your hip bone, is often a tricky spot to tattoo. Your pants or skirt will rest on this area and will rub against the tattoo while you walk. This makes for a diffi­cult healing process. Usually a piece of plastic wrap placed over the tattoo will block the friction of your clothes. If your tattoo scars a little, you can treat this by keeping it moist with vitamin

Many people want to have old scars covered up with tattoos.

 Scars are tricky to tattoo over. A scar occurs when the dermis layer of the skin is damaged. When the skin regenerates, the dermis can’t reproduce itself complete with sweat glands, hair follicles, etc. Collagen, a strong fibrous protein, is made by the body to replace the lost dermis, leaving behind a smooth, discolored patch of skin. Because the melanocyte cells, the melanin-producing cells mentioned previously, may not be replaced, scar tissue is more susceptible to the harmful UV rays of the sun. Let’s go over the different kinds of scars that are more common and find out how they occur.

Hypertrophic Scars

Hypertrophic scars are scars that heal a little puffy. They are raised up but not solid. With hypertrophic scars, the regenerating skin cells grow larger than they should. For all you weight lifters, this is similar to what happens to your muscles after training. You end up with larger muscles after an extended period of training. Hypertrophic scars can improve over time and don’t grow beyond the original wound. A hypertrophic scar can be tattooed over if it has healed. Usually about 6 months to a year is a long enough healing time, but you should ask your doctor before tattooing over.

Keyloids

Keyloid scars occur when the collagen made to repair the abrasion grows out of control. A keyloid scar is firm and rubbery, and can grow into a benign tumor. The scar can itch or produce a needle­like pain. If scratched, the keyloid can get worse, which makes removing it surgically a problem. Over 50 percent of keyloid- removal surgeries result in another keyloid. This makes tattooing over a keyloid dangerous, and it should be avoided.

People with dark skin are more prone to keyloids, particularly people who are of African descent. Keyloids are used in many tribal cultures as a form of body modification and rites of passage. The skin is lacerated on certain parts of the body to create a puffy skin pattern. This is popular with the Nuba women in Sudan.

The puffy keyloid scars depict the passages of life. Unfortunately, this may become extinct due to the atrocities occurring in that country