h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Can anyone tell me if it's possible to tattoo over scar tissue?

Depends on the scar tissue I believe. If it's raised, the tattooist will need to examine it - so like with any kind of body modification, you should go for a consultation, but even more so because you have a specific type of skin that needs to be tattooed. It shouldn't be a problem though. Nearly all tattoo artists are approached to cover damaged or raised skin, and nearly all know how to do it efficiently. Just make sure you talk it through first.

Hope that helps.

ta muchly!

Not wise to have a tattoo done over scar tissue.

Why not wise??

Ugly scar v pretty tattoo

No contest really. I just want to find out if it can be done.

How old is the scar tissue? I've a myriad of scars mainly due to the surgins blade, and ten years after having them done, they have only really in the last couple of years settled down to the end state, prior to which they were still healing/scaring/playing games...

When I had my tatoos I enquired about some scar tissue not being suitable for covering and I was told that they 'can' tattoo scar tissue but of course because of the difference in skin texture it may affect the overall look of the tattoo.....plus I don't know about anyone else but I accidentally scratched a scar and it hurt like hell for days.....not sure what the pain factor would be like with a needle...

I chose to have mine done on the healthy skin I have left

scar tissue is very tender and would be very painful to recive a totto to that area. Also the tattoo might not look as good as it would on healthy skin,
why would you want to hide a scar with a tattoo?

I'd want to hide a scar with a tattoo because the scar is imo unsightly and I'd feel better about it if I could disguise it.
It's quite a big scar & only happened about 5 months ago.
I wanted a tattoo anyway & wondered if I could kill two birds with one stone.

Seems reasonable enough, but no matter what’s said here, if you use a reputable tattooist then I’m sure they will discuss the possibilities of having it done on scar tissue, I dare say it’s not impossible just would hurt more than healthy scar tissue and require more attention while it undergoes it’s healing process.

I would wait until the scar is a little older if I were you...but it should be fine to cover up otherwise. Just make sure you choose the right design - don't want to have to get it removed or covered up again later in life.

I found this link for you, which has a really good answer on it - it gives great advice.
http://experts.about.com/q/3028/3158628.htm

If you want more info, then googling for 'tattoing over a scar' got me some good results.

Unfortunatly I can't do the links or google search cos I'm using a dig-box. anyway.

And I will be waiting a while yet to let scar heal some more before doing anything. Just wanting to do some "knowledge gathering" in the meantime!

Can i ask where your scar is?

FYI - my mother had a whole bunch of 20+ year old scars on her shoulder recently tattooed over, and it caused no problems. Hence why I am so wise on the topic.

My scar is up my arm. Just where I wanted a tattoo anyway! Will have to rework the design slightly tho.

I fell into a table of glasses so actually have a few scars but only one is bad.

Oh that sounds painfully, is it a big scar? Well i hope you manage to get what you want

Has any other researcher had tattoos done over scares and if so was it more painful and does it look as good as if it was done on healthy skin tissue?

Hi melody...

Yes, it was painful! Had to have 17 stitches in the big scar, the rest just needed a few steri strips.

It's healed loads better than I expected, just doesn't look very pleasant.

Ouch!! So what type of design are you after? My tattoos are all black tribal designs