Looking for suggestions for tattoo to cover up scar on knee (includes pics)

Yitzhak Rabin

Hi everyone,

I was in a pretty bad car crash close on two years ago. Its left me with an ugly scar on my knee that I would like to have covered up. I'm just looking for suggestions on what type of tattoos people would suggest I get in order to cover up the scar, perhaps even including the scar as part of the design.

I've attached a few photos of my knee so you can get an idea of the size and area I'm talking about.

I know people would probably like me to give suggestions of what type of thing I like etc. , but I'm very green when it comes to tattoos. I don't know the names of the styles etc. I like the a lot of the "Japanese type" ones when they are done well, and I think some of the moari tribal leg tattoos, but not sure if it would look well on my pale skin, and I don't recall seeing any of those two on the knee area.

Also, I'm guessing the knee is going to be a pretty painful area to get tattoo'd, compounded by the fact that the scarred skin is very sensitive, but provided it was safe (I will consult a doctor first) I can deal with the pain.

Thanks in advance,

yekahS













(it looks weird up close :eek: )

Will

I imagine most places would prefer you to wait until the scar goes back to a more skin tone type of colour, still looks pretty fresh in the picture. If you want to speed up the process I suggest moisturising it with vitamin e oil or bio oil once or twice a day for a few months to a year. Should greatly improve the skin tone and make it blend in a lot more.

I've a bit of a weird sense of humour and i'd put little suture marks like it was stitched on either side of the scar, that's just me though

Yitzhak Rabin

Will wrote: »

I imagine most places would prefer you to wait until the scar goes back to a more skin tone type of colour, still looks pretty fresh in the picture. If you want to speed up the process I suggest moisturising it with vitamin e oil or bio oil once or twice a day for a few months to a year. Should greatly improve the skin tone and make it blend in a lot more.

Yeah I get ya. Its been almost 2 years now though and the last time I spoke to the Doc he reckoned it may get slightly better, but he couldn't say it with any confidence. I'll try the bio-oil, and see if I can improve things.

I've a bit of a weird sense of humour and i'd put little suture marks like it was stitched on either side of the scar, that's just me though

Haha. The suture marks took long enough to fade, I'm not going to bring them back.

Anyway, my hope is to hide the tattoo not highlight it!

Will

Well really the sky is the limit with what you want to do with your knee, only limited by how big you want to go. You will need a piece that is big enough to cover your knee and then some so you can detract attention from the scars by luring peoples eye to another part of the tattoo.

username123

Ive a larger knee scar than that, mine is surgical and shaped differently to yours but similar width and over time all the colour has gone from the scar. It takes a number of years - my scar is over 20 years old. It still had some purpley/pink in it even 5 years later. Its now completely white.

If I were you Id (a) speak to a doctor about having the scarred area tattooed in terms of pain, causing more scar tissue etc... and (b) speak to a tattoo artist as regards how well the scar tissue will hold the ink, will the colour in the tattoo change as the discolouration in the scar tissue changes, and will colour look different on the scar than it does on the surrounding unscarred skin?

You may need to think about the depth of the scar tissue compared to the surrounding areas - is the skin there a lot thinner? (ask a doctor).

But if there are no medical issues and a tattoo artist thinks it will cover well then I say go for it!!!

Id advise going for something with a good amount of detail and not just blocks of colour/black as the scar tissue has a different texture to the surrounding skin and the idea is to disguise it so keeping a varied pattern/picture on and around it will help with that.

Elbow

I've had a scar inked over and i was told by my artist at the time that the chances of the ink staying put are dramatically reduced, so any major detail in the area was a big no no.

He ended up working the scar into a shaded area so that if the ink bleed it wouldn't be as noticeable.

Yitzhak Rabin

Yeah, that is something I'd worry about, so I wouldn't even mind working the scar into the tattoo so to speak. I could include it as a sort of centre piece with the actual tattoo branching out either side. I'm just not in anyway artistic, so can't think of what I'd like.

I've seen before where a girl who had an appendix scar, used the scarline as the stem for a rose tattoo and it looked quite well.

Elbow

yekahS wrote: »

Yeah, that is something I'd worry about, so I wouldn't even mind working the scar into the tattoo so to speak. I could include it as a sort of centre piece with the actual tattoo branching out either side. I'm just not in anyway artistic, so can't think of what I'd like.

I've seen before where a girl who had an appendix scar, used the scarline as the stem for a rose tattoo and it looked quite well.

After having a quick google, covering up an appendix scar seems to be pretty popular

Finding an artist who's used to dealing with scars will make a huge difference, If you get the right artist you'll end up with an amazing piece of art and no one will even cop you have a scar there