Remember that story I told you all about having my leg cut open? Well here’s something funny about it- even though a plastic surgeon closed my wound with a skin graft, I still am going to have a huge scar on my leg. Which begs the question- what would my scar have looked like if I HADN’T had a plastic surgeon? Well probably like this. Anyway, given that my insurance does not want to pay for the surgery I have already had with this fine man, I find it hard to believe they would cover a more cosmetic procedure. Or as he puts it, “I can do some work there and make it look like a simple line.” Sadly, unlike any self respecting plastic surgeon, he did not offer to increase the wound in size or firmness.
Although the tattoo idea had rattled around my head for a while now, it wasn’t until the visiting nurse was here yesterday that it really picked up speed. She is a wound care specialist and said that a lot of her clients have gone this route. She told me that in some ways it’s much less painful than other inking I may have had done because it’s basically being performed on hardened scar tissue.
I’m not sold yet. But I could be. My wife came up with the idea of a mouth (which will make sense once you see it) but I am not sure how I can get something cool and something that won’t freak out my kids…but also not be some sort of cartoon. As my friend Jodi noted, I’m looking for ‘family friendly badass.’
Of course you may have other suggestions. My friend Garnet suggested "Gampa Strohman"~ and if any of you get that, then you probably will understand why I discarded that suggestion. Garrison suggested a Dalek. Then a Cyberman. Then Willow (our cat) before returning to Cybermen. Sorry Garrison, but I don’t think those would look good on my leg.
Me? I of course think I should honor my tribal heritage and native American background. Except that I don’t have either. Any way- enough empty banter!
Now, as they say on every home improvement, dieting, cooking, cake making, car designing, modeling, and rodeo talent contest show: The big reveal.
Have at it people! And don’t be afraid to get creative. After all, it’s only my body, and it’s only a part that will be seen 8 months out of the year, and it’s only forever.
The wound is concave in nature- the darker spots are scab that will eventually fall away. You can look at the "clean" skin and get a good idea of what the canvas is. The scar is 7 1/4 inches long, and most of that is a 2 inch width.
I have hi-res ones if you'd like. Just msg. me your email. About 3mb in size.
2 comments:
hey, my friend lisa sent me a link to your page. i'm a tattoo artist in baltimore, i've been tattooing for almost 10 years. i just wanted to give you some info on scar camouflage from a true tattooer...
first and foremost, your scar looks fresh. i'm not sure if it's an old picture or if you just took it yesterday, but you cannot tattoo over a fresh scar. the longer you wait, the better your chances of getting a nice tattoo. the reason for this is that the skin under the top layers is knotted and knurled, this leaves small "pockets" almost for the ink to spread into. spreading is not good, it makes for an ugly tattoo. tattooing over a fresh scar can also cause more scaring because the skin is not healthy and healed enough to properly accept the ink.
your ideas that i read seemed very detailed, ie. a lot of fine line work. this is a terrible idea for scar tissue. it simply will not work unless it is a flat scar. when i draw out tattoos to cover up a scar for a customer, i focus more on color gradiations than outlines. so a more simple design with a more complex fill in. your scar is very large so you are looking at filling up that whole side of your leg if you properly want it covered.
i really recommend putting cocoa butter on your scar RELIGIOUSLY for at least 3 months before you get tattooed. i have done many scar camouflage tattoos and i always make my customers do this before i will work on them. from my experience, cocoa butter actually breaks up the scar tissue and makes the underlying skin layers flatten out. but keep in mind that even after doing this, there is no way for us to tell how knotted the skin is underneath... simpler is safer (design-wise)!
other customers i have worked with have wanted to keep their scar and commemorate the story more... i once did a gold leaf cameo frame around a knife wound. haha. but this can be easier because you are not working directly on the scar tissue.
hope this helps somewhat! good luck!!
-Nina
Thanks Nina!! That is great information! I'll get your contact info and give you more details if that's ok!
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