Tattoos for many millions of years adorned the bodies of people and were an integral part of human culture. Tattoos at different times were used for decoration, identification and expression. In modern society, it is far from uncommon when a tattoo is applied for one specific purpose: closing scars with a tattoo on the arm or any other part of the body.
Due to various life circumstances and situations, such a part of the body as the hand is often subjected to injuries and injuries. At the same time, there are several methods for solving cosmetic problems on such an important and almost always open to view surrounding parts of the body.
How to hide scars on the arm: alternative methods
In fact, there are other ways to hide unwanted handprints from prying eyes. To understand the benefits of a tattoo, they should definitely be considered.
Physiotherapy is a procedure prescribed by a doctor. The scar eventually resolves due to the action of specialized drugs like Lidase, which are administered by microinjection or electrophoresis. The method is contraindicated if the patient has allergic reactions to drugs. In addition, physiotherapy can only reduce the scar and make it less noticeable. You cannot completely remove the scar in this way.
Cosmetology - laser removal is practiced in conjunction with procedures to stimulate tissue regeneration, peeling, resurfacing and dermabrasion of the scar. The complete removal of traces of the scar is possible, but the process itself is very long, painful and expensive.
Plastic surgery - in this case, the doctor cuts a scar with a scalpel and sutures the wound as accurately as possible to minimize the risk of a new scar. Postoperative care takes quite a long time, you need to regularly use healing ointments and go to the procedures for grinding the scar. Not everyone is ready to "go under the knife" or find enough funds to help the surgeon.
The use of tattoos to mask scars
Unlike the methods described, tattoos on the scars on the arm look preferable due to several factors at once:
- The speed of the tattooing procedure. It depends on the size of the scar, for small scars sometimes only one session is enough.
- The relative painlessness of the process. Depends on the pain threshold and the location of the tattoo. The closer the scar and the place of the future pattern is located to the bone (the smaller the distance from the skin surface to the bone itself), the more painful.
- A wide selection of drawings, illustrations, patterns or inscriptions to cover the scar, the possibility of applying a color or black tattoo.
- The cost of the services of a tattoo master and a small number of contraindications to the procedure compared to other methods of removing scars.
What scars can be tattooed?
Before visiting a tattoo parlor, it is recommended that you consult a doctor to find out the exact type of scar. If the hand has a normotrophic scar having a flat shape, light color and noticeable only when tanning, then you can safely apply a tattoo on top of it. Basically, such scars remain on the hands from cuts, if they were not too deep. It is possible to get a tattoo with atrophic scars obtained from acne, chickenpox, minor operations or burns.
However, it is not recommended to visit a salon with hypertrophic and colloidal scars. The first are very embossed, and the overgrown fibrous tissue can absorb dye, which will complicate the process of the master. The second can not be done at all, because there is a high probability of the appearance of even more scar tissue due to the tendency of the skin to form colloids.
When can a scar be tattooed?
Without exception, all tattoo artists will say that they will start work only after the healing of the injured place. As a rule, the healing process lasts from several months to a year. A healthy layer of the epidermis should completely cover the damaged area. An insufficient level of healing will cause additional pain when applying a tattoo.
Scars on the hands are quite common, in almost every salon they have encountered skin defects, so you should immediately ask which of the masters has experience in tattooing scars on his hands.
Choosing the right image (plot)
It completely depends on the wishes of the client, but, of course, it is worth consulting with experienced employees in the salon. Among the general recommendations for the best concealment of the scar, the following can be distinguished:
- A color image is preferable to a solid color.
- It is advisable to use at least 3-4 of any colors.
- Elements like shadows, penumbra, transitions and highlights perfectly hide any scars.
In some situations, you cannot apply tattoos that cover the scars. A scar with a relief and volume is not always possible to hide due to poor fixing of the coloring pigment or doctor’s instructions. Then an experienced master will help you come up with such a plot for a tattoo that even a very noticeable scar will fit perfectly into.
Possible complications during and after
Usually there are no difficulties with barely noticeable normotrophic scars, the process of applying a tattoo to a scar on a hand in this case takes place most often in one session and does not cause uncomfortable sensations.
But scars with hollows or bulges are unlikely to completely overlap in one session. In addition, applying pigment to the area around the scar tissue will be a bit more painful than to areas with healthy skin.
It is very important to accurately determine the sketch, since mixing tattoos from scars is extremely undesirable and it is unlikely that specialists will undertake such a dangerous job. Another nuance is that the pigment on the scars may to some extent differ in color from the original idea.
Invisible tattoos hiding scars
If it is not possible to get a tattoo due to some difficulties, whether it be strict rules at work in the office or psychological difficulties due to public censure of the tattoo, you can go the other way. Basically, people with scars on constantly open parts of the body: on the face, neck and arms, resort to this type of tattoo. Especially often you can see scars on the wrists.
For the procedure you need to find a very good master, who definitely has experience in such work. He will select a pigment that will completely match the color of the skin around the scar. But on overly visible scars with uneven relief, this type of tattoo will be ineffective. A tan will also do its part and immediately give out a sharply pale area with a scar.
For those who do not want to decorate themselves and stand out from the crowd, the option of applying an invisible tattoo to the scar is still recommended. On the arm, for example, on its inner side, such a tattoo will not be very noticeable during tanning. On the contrary, damaged areas on the lips and eyebrows should not be blocked with any tattoos. The most appropriate option in this case is the use of special tattooing.
Contraindications to tattooing scars
Unfortunately, there are a number of clear restrictions on masking scars, namely:
- The master will refuse to work with not fully healed scars.
- Colloidal scars can be identified by appearance - the master will also refuse such work.
- Allergy to dyes used in tattooing.
- The presence of diabetes mellitus is a compensated type, since the healing of tissues damaged during the process will be extremely long and with possible complications. The recovery period for even non-injured skin will take 40-60 days, which is twice as much as usual.
- In diabetes of a subcompensated or decompensated type, there is a chance of death, so a session is impossible in principle.
- Pregnancy and lactation, as well as the period of menstruation in women.
- Being in a state of alcoholic or drug intoxication.
It should be recalled that it is definitely impossible to apply tattoos for asthma, hemophilia, thrombocytopenia, fibrinopenia, immunity disorders, hepatitis, oncology at any stages and HIV infection.
A brief plan before visiting a tattoo parlor
To begin with, it is worth remembering when the very incident happened, due to which an unfortunate scar appeared on the arm. It will also be useful to check with the specialist in the clinic what type of healing the scar is. On the Internet you can find hundreds of interesting sketches, save them and show the master when visiting the salon.
At the preliminary session, the master will examine the “front of work” and offer the best option for applying a tattoo to a scar on his arm. After clarifying the details of the sketch, its refinement and other nuances, it remains only to wait for the appointed time before the session.
It is not recommended to drink or use other substances at least for several days, which the master himself will certainly warn about. Such a ban and appointment of a session after 2-3 days is given not only because of poor health and a weakened body (respectively, and the rate of tissue regeneration), but also for the possibility of sober thinking about your desire to get a tattoo.
It is also undoubtedly beneficial to re-read the list of permanent and temporary restrictions on tattooing both on scars and in the general case.