If you’re looking to get a tattoo after your tummy tuck, you might be wondering if it’s possible. The answer is yes—but there are a few things to consider before making the decision. In this guide, we review the aspects of Tattoo Cover Up For Tummy Tuck Scars, how to cover tummy tuck scar, What happens to tattoos after tummy tuck, and Is it hard to tattoo over scars?

Here, we’ll go over some of the most important aspects of tattoo cover up for tummy tuck scars, including how to cover tummy tuck scar, what happens to tattoos after tummy tuck, and whether it’s hard to tattoo over scars.

The size of your tattoo can make a big difference in terms of how long it takes and how painful it is. The more ink you have on your skin, the longer it will take to heal and the more discomfort you’ll experience during the process. If you have multiple tattoos or a large one in an area like your chest or back then this may require more sessions than usual which could increase costs significantly!

Tattoo Cover Up For Tummy Tuck Scars

A tummy tuck is a cosmetic surgery procedure that can get rid of “extra skin” from the abdominal area.

A Tummy Tuck is a Cosmetic Surgery Procedure

A tummy tuck is a cosmetic surgery procedure. It is not a medical procedure and it does not involve any internal organs. A tummy tuck can be done under local or general anaesthetic.

A Tummy Tuck Can Get Rid of “Extra Skin”

A tummy tuck can get rid of the extra skin that is left after weight loss. This may be a motivator for you, but keep in mind that you might need to have multiple surgeries if you want to achieve the desired results.

You will also have an improved abdominal profile and a more even waistline. The muscles in your stomach are tightened and flab is removed through this procedure, which helps with overall body contouring.

A tummy tuck can get rid of the “extra skin” that is left after weight loss.

It can create a youthful belly button.

The best time to have a tummy tuck is after you have had all the children you are going to have, because you will be in better shape and avoid scars from additional pregnancies.

A tummy tuck can create a youthful belly button.

A tummy tuck can create a youthful belly button. It’s true! A tummy tuck can give you a flat and firm abdomen, which can make your belly button look like it belongs on a younger person. The procedure also removes skin and fat around the navel, making it appear more mature.

A female who wants to look young will have an attractive stomach after surgery with minimal scarring or stretch marks across their midsection. The same is true for males who want to look younger but don’t want to undergo plastic surgery on their face or neck area as well as getting rid of wrinkles from aging skin around their eyes or forehead creases by using Botox injections every few months instead of having cosmetic procedures done at once all over different parts of their body such as their arms/legs/face etcetera so that they don’t need recovery time before going back into work again because those areas aren’t affected at all except for maybe some bruising which disappears within a few days after getting treated properly (i’d recommend using Arnica Montana Plus Cream).

The best time to have a tummy tuck is after you have had all the children you are going to have.

It is important to note that if you want more children after the tummy tuck, then it is best to wait until after the tummy tuck. This way, your body will be in as good condition as possible for having children.

In some cases, a tummy tuck can be covered by insurance.

In some cases, a tummy tuck can be covered by insurance. Tummy tucks are often not fully covered due to their status as a cosmetic surgery, but if yours is done as part of gender reassignment surgery or other medically necessary procedures (such as after an abdominal hernia repair), then it may be partially or fully covered.

The best way to find out what your insurance will cover is to call them up and ask!

Sometimes a tummy tuck can be used as part of a gender reassignment procedure.

While a tummy tuck isn’t a requirement for gender reassignment, it is sometimes used as part of a larger procedure. If you are considering gender reassignment and you have scarring from previous surgery, your surgeon may recommend that you undergo the tummy tuck to ensure that the scars look as natural as possible.

In addition to being used in conjunction with other procedures, there are also instances where a tummy tuck can be performed on its own as part of a gender reassignment procedure. Although not every insurance provider will cover this type of surgery under their policy (since it’s not medically necessary), many companies do offer coverage for medically necessary treatments—and some will even cover elective procedures if they’re deemed “medically necessary.”

If your financial situation allows you to pay out-of-pocket for your surgery and recovery, then consider asking your doctor about whether or not this might be right for you!

how to cover tummy tuck scar

According to the Plastic Surgery Statistics Report, more than 123,000 Americans decided to trim and smooth their waistlines with Tummy Tuck Surgery (abdominoplasty) in 2019. Tummy Tucks are consistently one of the most requested plastic surgeries from year to year. Despite its popularity and high patient satisfaction, abdominoplasty does present a drawback for some people in the form of a significant scar.

“A Tummy Tuck has a dual focus. It removes excess skin and fat after weight loss or pregnancy, and corrects abdominal muscle laxity,” explains Dr. Robert Wilke, a board-certified plastic surgeon with Edina Plastic Surgery. “Because quite a bit of skin is typically removed, a long incision is required that will result in a scar after surgery.”

When your plastic surgeon assesses your abdominal area for Tummy Tuck Surgery, he or she is looking at the skin from the bottom of your rib cage to the crease of your groin. Generally, the scar that is left behind after surgery sits very low across the abdomen. This makes it easy to hide beneath the waistline of clothing or a bathing suit.

“How your skin scars after surgery is very dependent upon the skill of your surgeon, your genetics, and how you care for your scar after your procedure,” says Dr. Wilke. “A few weeks after surgery, after your skin has healed, patients can begin to use products at home that help lighten and fade their Tummy Tuck scar. After a few months, you can begin exploring in-office treatments that can make your scar even less noticeable. At Edina Plastic Surgery, we’re lucky that we have our Skin Artisans medical spa right next store to provide many of these treatment options.”

The Most Effective Treatments to Fade Tummy Tuck Scars

Abdominoplasty scars can be quite noticeable for up to a year following your procedure. Scars on lighter skin types generally turn pink first and then fade to a thin, white line. Darker skin types may heal dark and pigmented at first and then lighten over time. Although this scar will never entirely go away, here are some of the most popular and effective treatment options to minimize its appearance.

#1 – Taping

“We typically close abdominoplasty incisions with dissolvable sutures placed under the skin,” explains Dr. Wilke. “We then cover the incision with steri-strips/paper tape, which protects the incision and minimizes tension. The light pressure from the tape against the incision has been shown to help minimize scarring as well. We often have patients continue to tape the incision for about 6 weeks; changing the tape every 5-7 days.”

#2 – Scar Fading Creams & Topicals

“There are many scar creams on the market,” says Dr. Wilke. “None of them are a miracle cure for scarring, but, nonetheless, they can be helpful to minimize a scar. The simplest and least expensive option is using moisturizing cream with vitamin E. Some of the more advanced creams contain silicone, and some have hydroquinone or other skin lightening agents to suppress pigment cell activity. We usually don’t recommend using these creams until about 6 weeks after surgery.”

#3 – Laser and Light-Based Treatments

How your Tummy Tuck scar appears a year after surgery is, most likely, how it will remain without the aid of additional treatments. This is when you can begin exploring options like resurfacing lasers or intense light-based treatments to pull any pigment from the scar or fade residual redness. “Laser resurfacing treatments like HALO™ and Profractional can make scars less noticeable by smoothing their texture,” says Dr. Wilke. “Light-based treatments like BBL (Broadband Light) target darker pigment cells, which can lighten the coloration of a scar and reduce redness. In some cases, both treatments may be beneficial, but it’s important to realize that you will need multiple treatments to see significant improvement. At Edina Plastic Surgery, we believe in an all-inclusive approach to surgery that addresses our patients needs from start to finish. We’ve created a Post-Surgical Scar Treatment package to ensure that our patients have the best opportunity to heal with minimal scarring after any surgery we perform. This package includes a series of 6 BBL and Profractional laser resurfacing treatments performed 4-6 weeks apart as well as Stratamed Scar Recovery Gel.”

What happens to tattoos after tummy tuck

How Will a Tummy Tuck Affect My Tattoo?

Many of the men and women we consult with about tummy tuck surgery at our Washington, DC, practice are concerned about tattoos along the abdomen and how they may be affected by the procedure. Since tummy tucks largely focus on the skin, they can cause some changes in surface features like tattoos. This is something our team of plastic surgeons accounts for when they create custom surgical plans for each patient.

In this blog post, we’ll look at how a tummy tuck may affect a tattoo and review the precautions a skilled, experienced surgeon can take to minimize these changes.

The Tummy Tuck Procedure

A tummy tuck is designed to tighten abdominal skin and muscle to create a slimmer, flatter midsection. During the procedure, your surgeon makes a horizontal incision low on the abdomen, along a natural skin fold. There is also an incision around the navel. In many cases, liposuction is then used to sculpt the midsection and waist by removing excess pockets of fat. Your surgeon then tightens loose muscles, pulls down the skin, and trims away the excess to create a smooth, firm look. The incision is sutured closed, leaving a scar that can be hidden under a bathing suit or underwear.

For men and women who only want to address concerns below the belly button, we may perform a mini tummy tuck, which involves less stretching of the skin. Learn more about which option may be right for you in this blog post.

Location Is Important

How much the surgery will affect a tattoo mainly depends on the tattoo’s placement.

Large Tattoo Considerations

In addition to placement, size is another factor that can determine how much your tattoo will change after a tummy tuck. While smaller tattoos that are low on the abdomen might get totally removed when the excess skin is trimmed, larger tattoos are more of a challenge for the surgeon to work with.

For those considering a tummy tuck and are concerned about how it will affect their tattoo, a consultation with a plastic surgeon is the best way to get personalized information. There may be a way to adjust the incision site and the amount of pulling involved to avoid too much distortion of the tattoo.

Your Next Steps

To see real patient examples of how the abdominal skin changes after surgery, please visit our before-and-after tummy tuck photo gallery.

If you think you would benefit from a tummy tuck in Washington, DC, but concerns about tattoos are holding you back, request a consultation at Center for Plastic Surgery to learn more about how you can achieve your best body. Please contact us online or call (703) 560-2850 to make your appointment.

Is it hard to tattoo over scars?

Scars, everybody’s got ‘em and some even come with a good story. You show us yours, we’ll show you ours. If you are wondering about the possibility of covering up your scar or incorporating it into a tattoo idea, HUSH is here to help you figure out the best way to make it happen.

Why Cover Up a Scar?

There a so many reasons you might want to tattoo over your scar. Maybe you want to tattoo over it simply because you were planning to get a tattoo in that area anyway but a bicycle fall added some scar tissue to your real estate. Or, maybe you were never planning on getting a tattoo there but now that there is a scar, you would rather have some art to steal the show so you don’t have to keep telling the story of how you tried to use a butter knife instead of a can opener. You may be thinking about just getting a total cover-up, but some people think of awesome ways to incorporate their scars into a design, making the scar a part of the art. If your scar is an interesting shape or the idea sounds cool to you – chat with your artist about it. (Many artists love the challenge!)

Get an Artist With Experience Tattooing Over Scars

If you are looking to tattoo over a scar, you’re going to want to entrust that experience to an extra special tattoo artist. We recommend you find an artist who already has a good amount of experience tattooing scar tissue. Tattooing this kind of skin is much different than regular tattoos, and can even be painful depending on the scar type. Sometimes it’s not even recommended, but it takes the experience to know that kind of thing. So, when you start your search, be sure to have a good chat with the artists you’re looking into to make sure they’re comfortable tattooing over scar tissue — sending a picture can be really helpful here.

Types of Scars

A scar is the body’s way of healing a wound. Wounds come in many shapes and sizes, and scars do, too. Do you know what kind of scar you have? Did you know there are even different types of scars? Depending on your scar type, trying to get a tattoo over it may or may not be a good idea.

Keloid Scars

Keloid scars are a type of rounded scar that raises about the surface level of the skin, encompasses the wound, and surpasses the edges of the wound. Usually, they feel harder than your regular skin and can be darker in color. They are more common in dark-skinned people and redheads. The thing about keloids is that when you treat them, they usually come back and are sometimes harder. Also, if you are keloid-prone, be cautious about getting tattoos in general, as tattoos can heal into a keloid as well.

Can you tattoo over keloid scars?

If you have a keloid scar, we are going to recommend you leave that thang alone. It’s a tricky type of scarring that likes to act up. It’s possible that if you tattoo over it, it will grow bigger. Also, the skin is thicker and harder to tattoo compared to other types of scars. Now, this is not to say it hasn’t been done — some people like the rougher aesthetic, and if you think that might be you, go for it!

Hypertrophic Scars

Hypertrophic scars are also known simply as raised scars. Similar to keloids, they do raise above the surface level of the skin but they aren’t as aggressive-looking as keloids, and they keep to the area of the wound. These scars are more likely to subside over time but usually never go back to surface level.

Can you tattoo over hypertrophic scars?

We are going to say that hypertrophic scars are typically OK to tattoo over. The scar tissue is more like your regular skin and tends to be a bit easier to tattoo into than keloid scar tissue.

Atrophic Scars

Atrophic scars are also known as depressed scars — they are the opposite of hypertrophic scars. Depressed scars heal a bit below the surface level of the skin. If you’ve had chickenpox or acne, you might be familiar with what we’re talking about.

Can you tattoo over atrophic scars?

Typically, atrophic scars are also OK to tattoo over. They are similar to hypertrophic scars in that they usually disappear into the skin a bit and the scar tissue isn’t so dense.

Contractures

Contracture scars are irregular and tend to be a result of a larger injury. This kind of scar heals by grabbing onto the edges of the non-wounded skin and pulling them together. It causes a tight area of skin with less elasticity.

Can you tattoo over contracture scars?

These scars are more difficult to tattoo. The scar tissue is tight and can make what would be a regular amount of pain hurt even more because the area is so sensitive. It is possible to tattoo these areas, but also harder. You could start with a little test tattoo from a responsible artist, and if it seems like it could, work then grab some of our numbing gel and get that tat!

Stretch Marks

We’re not sure if stretch marks really count as a type of “scar,” but it’s a FAQ worth answering here. Stretch marks form when skin expands more rapidly than the skin can compensate for. They look like sexy tiger stripes for humans. The skin doesn’t differ much from regular skin, but some of the connective tissue can get damaged, which is why there’s a bit of skin discoloration.

Can you tattoo over stretch marks?

Yes! This is the easiest one to answer. This skin might be a little more sensitive, but besides that, it’s pretty straightforward to tattoo over stretch marks!

How Long Before You Can Tattoo Over a Scar?

Hold up, hold up! Before you get to covering up that scar, let’s take a minute and make sure your scar is fully healed. The healing time of a scar is going to depend on how large the injury is. Smaller wounds will take a few weeks to heal. Bigger injuries can take up to 18 months for the scar to completely heal and be ready to take some ink. Your scar should be totally healed and done with all of its changes before you even think about getting it tattooed.

How Does It Feel To Tattoo Over a Scar?

In general, tattooing can be painful and tattooing over a scar can amplify that pain, and unless you’re into that sort of thing (no judgment here 😉), scar tattoos can be intolerable for some people. That scar tissue sits in a different kind of way than regular tissue, so the pull and poke of the needle is going to feel different depending on how your scar is healed.

What Kind of Tattoo Can You Get Over Your Scar?

Design time! You’ve decided it’s a go for tattooing over your scar and now you need to figure out what you’re going to cover it with. Take a good look at your scar. Does it have texture? Does it dip or rise in certain places? Are those characteristics going to be able to realistically disappear under the tattoo? How about coloring? The coloring of your scar might also affect how the tattoo ink looks in the end. We’re sure your artist is going to be thinking about this as well. Just make sure you have realistic expectations when you are thinking up your design and imagining the end result. Certain styles of tattooing are going to work better over your scar, too. Straight lines and geometric shapes are going to be harder to do and might not end up how you imagine them. More flowy, organic shapes and designs will usually work better. They can incorporate the unique edges and textures of your scar tattoo.

Aftercare

If you’re a HUSH blog fan, you know we always make a point about tattoo aftercare. Well, that should tell you something about how damn important it is! When you tattoo over a scar, aftercare doubles in not triples in importance. You are wounding a healed wound, amigos! Make sure you treat that tattoo with extra love and sensitivity. Keep it protected with a bandage at first and then make sure you are moisturizing when it’s bandage-off time. Keep a hawk-eye on its healing. It shouldn’t be too different than a regular tattoo but it’s not a regular tattoo, so watch carefully, please!