Tattoo over scars - yes or no?

[Tattooname]

I didn't realise this board existed until a thread popped up in Active! I have name-changed as this is quite personal.

I have self-harm scars on my wrist and I am considering getting a tattoo to cover them. They have been there for almost two decades but have not really become any less visible. They are slightly raised lines that stand out white against my skin (I am white but the scars are like no-pigment bright white).

I don't have any tattoos at the moment, and I have a few questions - would a tattoo artist be willing to do it, as I know that it's hard to get them to agree to hand or face tattoos if you don't already have any tattoos? It wouldn't need to quite reach my hand, but it would need to extend right up to the hand/wrist boundary. Would the white areas take the ink, or would they stand out white within the tattoo? How painful would it be, and how long would it likely take for a design with a couple of colours over about 1.5 x 2 inches?

Thank you for any advice or experience.

Talk to an artist. Each artist will do different mine will tattoo over small scars but not big ones as the ink can run and not settle. But then another artist may have no issue at all.

I know a few people with these types of tattoos but the scars are just as visible. If anything they draw your attention more to the area so make sure that is something you would be comfortable with first.

Find a local tattooist and discuss.

There are many people who have incorporated scars into tattoo designs, but you would want a reputable tattooist to have a look and discuss how well or not yours would work with a design.

(Obviously in your post you aren’t after a design to ‘illustrate’ a tattoo, but a good artist will be able to design around any scar marks that would potentially be ‘hightlighted’)

Poppy smallhands on instagram specialises in this type of tattooing.

Thanks for your responses! A bit disheartening to hear that it could draw attention to them, as that's the last thing I'd want. From the location I think it might be possible to make them the "outer edges" of a geometric tattoo, which maybe would work to distract from them a bit. I will check out that artist on instagram.

Definitely do lots of research, and consider travelling to see a skilled artist instead of staying local.

I've had scars tattooed over and you can't tell they were there, one was quite large from an accident.

Speak to some artists, you'll be happy you did it.

Gamerchick..did the tattoos take longer to heal? Did the scar area hurt more/was it negatively affected by the tattoo? I have an very large skin graft I'd like tattooed, but I worry that it could be damaged by tattooing...

My girlfriend has a lot of self harm scars and has tattoos for this reason and whilst you can still see them it makes them a lot less obvious. For her it’s been really therapeutic too.

I've done this and the tattoo artist said you couldn't tell how the scar tissue would respond. For me it's been fine, no running or blurring. You can still see the scars because the skin is a different texture but the boldness of the tattoo sort of obscures them I think. But it did draw a lot of attention to my scars at first which I hadn't thought of, because you catch the attention of people who had never thought to look closely at your arm before. It meant I was showing people at work the very area I'd usually keep covered and everyone wanted a nosy at my new tattoo especially as I'd never had one before. It's not so bad now I've had the tattoo a few years but be prepared for everyone to be staring at your wrist for a while.

My friend did this. Lovely tattoos, and I don’t think they draw attention to her scars at all. I know she has the scars, but I don’t really notice them now. Talk to some tattoo artists about what might work for you.

Sorry just seen this. It was fine, no issues with healing.

You don't have to get it covered if you're worried, just turn it into something else maybe with a bit of imagination. A good tattooist should be able to help.

For eg from the www.

Genius