One of the questions that tattooists do before starting to work is whether we suffer from keloid scars. This is a question that sometimes comes as a surprise to many people who is getting their first tattoo, and the first thing they do is wonder What is it? Is it risky? Could it happen something if I say no because I simply don’t know? And surely the first thing we do is to call our mom to ask if we ever had it.
Well, people who have a scar of these do know what I’m talking about. Keloid scars, or sometimes called just “keloids” is a type of scar in which there is a large amount of collagen. Getting a scar while healing a wound is a completely normal process in the body, however, people who tend to generate keloids can have unpleasant results when getting a tattoo.
These scars are characterized by having a color lighter or darker than our skin and unusually smooth texture when compared with the rest of our skin. The easiest way to know if we have this is remembering how our skin has healed from previous accidents we’ve had.
I have keloid scarring, can I get a tattoo?
This is a question that cannot be answered so easily. This type of scarring occurs with varying degrees of “intensity”, so if your skin is very susceptible, it may not be a good idea to get a tattoo.
Of course, there are many tattoo artists who do perform these jobs with very good results; the key is to hurt the skin as little as possible. Be very careful in this regard as there are tattooists who say “Sure, I can do this “, even if they have never done it! A serious tattoo artist knows that the results may not be the most desirable and will analyze the client and most probably reject the work.
The safest thing to do is to attend to a tattoo studio and have a talk with the artist. Let him know what is your previous experience, and ask him if he has done some works like these before. It is important to mention what is the design we want to get tattooed and where.
What can happen if I have keloid and I get a tattoo?
The best scenario, is you find a fantastic tattooist who will do the work carefully and with a lot of patience, but otherwise, the result may end up pretty bad. It can end as a small dark spot (similar to a mole), or end up with a large and bad looking scar which messes all the tattoo.
Can a keloid be covered with a tattoo?
And just to finish, a classic question “Can you cover a scar with a tattoo?” The simple answer is yes.
In the case of scars this is really easy, although it is important to note that there will always be a slight mark of the scar that was covered (also, it depends on the size of the scar). The texture of the scar can still be seen with the reflection of light, and will always feel it. But a good tattoo may cover it nicely.
Keloids are more difficult situation, because there is a high risk of generating an even bigger scar in the process of wanting to cover it. Another detail is that these tattoos can’t be large or very complex, and that the place where there is the keloid will tend to have distorted color shades. But of course, there are some good guys out there who can do it, just check this piece:
