52 times tattoos brilliantly covered up scars and birthmarks

Every scar has a story to share. You cannot deny the fact that in the beginning, it is really painful, regardless of the size.

Luckily, all these scars, birthmarks, and blemishes may possibly be covered up with another painful process which is designing a tattoo. Getting a tattoo could perhaps giving colorful meaning from past hurts and just embracing its own beautiful imperfections.

Go over and be surprised with these tattoo artists that are naturally creative to craft and share every story with their masterpiece!

1. Hakuna Matata

This colorful Disney-themed tattoo covers up some scars that look like they are from cutting oneself. I guess that is a good outlook on life that someone could adopt after such a harrowing past. If you take life one day at a time and don’t worry about things you can’t control, then you should be fine.

2. Ow!

My thoughts exactly! It does look like getting this scar hurt. Hopefully, getting this tattoo was less painful. I mean literally, this tattoo was a pain in the butt. At least it is a humorous take on this scar and makes it into a work of comic book art.

3. Tommy John’s Smile

Tommy John surgery is a very serious issue if you are a baseball pitcher. Luckily, this pitcher from the Detroit Tigers can take his surgery in stride. He even has a sense of humor about it, turning his scar from the surgery into a smiley face.

4. Ferocious Pride

Here is a ferocious-looking tattoo to go along with this woman’s ferocious attitude. The fact that she has the strength to get such a tattoo is inspiring to me. This tattoo is so well done that you can’t even see what scar it was covering up, to begin with.

5. Ankle Zipper

At least this person has a sense of humor about their scar. It looks almost perfect as it is zipping up what looks like a scar from surgery on their ankle. The hardest part about many individuals with scars is that they have a hard time accepting them, but it looks like this person has.

6. Stitches

The best way to take care of a cut is to sew it up, which is what this person was trying to get at with this apt tattoo. It doesn’t quite look like the sewer is quite done though. Is this an indication on the part of the scar bearer that there is still work to be done in life?

7. Dotted Line

At least the recipient of this tattoo has a sense of humor about his injury. I can see the correlation between the human body and a pack of meat that needs to be cut open with a pair of scissors.

8. Welded Joint

Here is a tattoo of an underwater welder closing up a tear in this person’s shoulder. It looks like he has had some kind of shoulder surgery, but is currently under repair. I love the work the tattoo artist put into the shading.

9. Boo Boo

People who get tattoos to cover up their scars often have a good sense of humor. Take this man for instance. He decided to cover up his scar with a simple band-aid.

Band-aid Tattoo — Tattoogrid
Source:

Tattoogrid

10. Laying Down a Bead

Here’s a neat little tattoo that makes this person’s scar look like the bead a welder would leave behind when welding. It is very well done as the artist also incorporated the light from the arc welder, giving it a blue tinge, which can also be seen in the visor.

11. Eastern Bluebird

This eastern bluebird is simply beautiful! The 18-year old lady is very brave to put something like this as a present on her birthday, as a way to regain her body after it had been irreparably damaged. The surgical scars were not cover up because they were and are a significant part of who she is now.

12. Tattooed Fingers

Here is an amazing tattoo. This person lost the top of the first two fingers on their hand. The tattoo artist had the skill to make the tattoos look like real fingernails, even giving them the shadow you might find under your real fingernails.

13. Shark Bite

This person turned a harrowing experience, a shark bite, into a work of art. The tattoo pays homage to the reason for the scar while injecting a little humor into what was surely a very scary situation at the time.

14. Match and Flame

Here is another tattoo that turns a skin condition into a work of art. This skin rash looks like smoke coming off of this match. It just goes to show that many bad situations in life can be made better by injecting a little humor.

15. From Stretch Marks to Butterflies

This woman turned her unsightly stretch marks into a beautiful display of butterflies. As a matter of fact, this tattoo is so well done that you can hardly tell there is a scar at all.

16. Scar-y

This tattoo is a little scary if you get my meaning. Speaking of meaning, many tattoos have significance to the owners. I wonder what the meaning is behind this tattoo, other than just covering a scar.

17. Magical

Here is a magical tattoo, so beautiful and delicate looking. Granted though, I am still trying to determine what exactly it is. It looks like a cross between a mushroom and a jellyfish. It is still pretty, regardless of what it is.

18. All Sewn Up

Here is a humorous way to tattoo a scar. This tattoo artist made it seem like this scar was all sewn up, with the needle still sticking in the skin. I hope that is not a portent of things to come.

19. Charmander

Charmander is one of my favorite Pokemon. Who needs Pikachu when you have someone who can breathe fire? I think this tattoo artist covered up this person’s scar perfectly with the flames coming out of Charmander’s mouth.

20. Flowers Make Everything Better

You know what they always say, flowers make everything better, including scars on your arm. This tattoo depicts beautiful flowers. The tattoo artist did a great job of covering up the scars on this person’s arm. it is almost as if they are not even there.

21. Scar Flowers

Here is another flower tattoo running part of the length of this person’s arm. Not only does the tattoo look good, it fully covers the scar on the back of this person’s arm, covering it completely.

22. Galapagos

This person turned their scar into a tattoo of a flower with a sea turtle. In a way, they transformed their body into wonderful work of art. It is in this way that a tattoo artist can help people not feel so self-conscious about their bodies, turning bad memories into good.

23. Fishing by Moonlight

What a clever way to turn a scar into something beautiful. This kind of looks like the DreamWorks logo, which was created as a way to remind others of Hollywood’s golden age by director Steven Spielberg and tattoo artist Robert Hunt.

24. Blooming Scar

This small patch of flowers does a lot to cover up this scar on this person’s arm. You can’t even see that a scar is there, meaning the tattoo has accomplished its mission. The artist doesn’t even have to add any color, as this tattoo looks perfect without it.

25. Help Me Zip Up

This person turned their surgery scar into a zipper. At least they took their scar in stride and decided to approach it with a little humor. Now, all she needs is someone to help her zip up.

26. Cat Scratch

This person wants to blame the cat for their wrist scar. They even went to the trouble of having it tattooed on their wrist. I wonder if they are just being silly or the cat really did do this to them. I think I would be scared to own a cat like that. Yikes!

27. Cello

Here is an artistic way to cover up a scar. According to the person with the scar, it is over 30 years old. The blue coloration of the tattoo and its almost translucent nature goes along perfectly with this person’s pale skin. Beautifully done!

28. Taking a Dive

This tattoo is on the lower calf and was added to take advantage of a longer scar. I’m assuming the scar is supposed to represent a cliff, maybe that is how the person got it, or the shadow of the diver.

29. Ryobi

What better way to show a thick scar above your kneecap than with a saw blade ripping through your leg? This person also seems to prefer Ryobi saws over other brands. It looks almost real. So, good job on the part of the tattoo artist.

30. Full of Stars

This tattoo takes advantage of a freckled section of skin to create a beautiful starfield. The tattoo artist even threw in a ringed planet and a few starbursts. What a great way to make what some might consider an embarrassing area of skin into something to be proud of.

31. Beautiful Flowers

This scar went from ugly to beautiful with just one tattoo. These pink flowers are so pretty too. You can’t even tell there is a scar underneath all that. The pastel colors make this tattoo look like a work of art.

32. What’s Up Doc?

If you like carrots, then here is a tattoo for you. The scar looks just like a carrot, so, it would stand to reason that the tattoo artists would turn it into the real deal. I just hope he doesn’t come across any rabbits.

33. Wild Flowers

What an interesting and creative way for this person to showcase the scars on their leg. These tattoos seem to go perfectly with the scars, so delicate and light. They look almost like wildflowers.

34. Fearless Girl

I wonder what the back-story is behind this tattoo. Depicted is the Fearless Girl statue that stood facing the large Charging Bull statue in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The statue is currently being moved to in front of the New York Stock Exchange.

35. Back and Sleeve

Wow, I’m just amazed at the ability of some of these tattoo artists. Here is a person who got a large tattoo on his back and a partial sleeve to cover up a massive section of scar tissue. He doesn’t even look like the same person, which goes to show the skill of the tattoo artist.

36. Tied Up With a Bow

This beautiful tattoo turns this scar into a beautiful lace ribbon. Hopefully, the tattoo can give this woman more confidence going forward in life. We should all strive to accept everybody regardless of their scars, and for those who don’t, we at least have these beautiful tattoos to cover them up.

37. The Ghost of Me

Here is another clever tattoo idea, this time in conjunction with a birthmark. As a matter of fact, this birthmark does look kind of like a ghost, which makes it even more hilarious to tattoo eyes, a mouth, and the word Boo above it that much more hilarious.

38. Chainsaw

Here is one awesome tattoo. This man took his chest scar and upped its intensity with the tattoo of a chainsaw ripping across his chest. He even has the year when the scar came about.

39. Wine Stain

This tattoo takes a large birthmark and makes it a part of the tattoo. Notice how the birthmark looks almost like an area of spilled wine. So, the addition of the wine glass makes it seem like a natural part of the overall tattoo.

40. Cesarean In Bloom

This woman took her cesarean scar and turned it into something beautiful. The tattoo artist covered it with a flowering vine topped by a beautiful flower. To me, a cesarean scar is nothing to be ashamed of, but at least for those who are, they can get a beautiful tattoo such as this one to cover it up.

41. Ethereal Figure

This guy is trying to cover a scar from his childhood dog bite. It may be a very traumatic event but still turned striking! Hopefully, he will still choose to love dogs despite the damage.

42. Forest Through the Trees

Here is a tattoo that started as a more simple design, but turned into something more elaborate. Maybe this was a tattoo that they regretted since it didn’t cover up the obvious scars. The improved version does a great job of doing just that to the point of incorporating the scars into the design.

43. Dem Bones

This person obviously had a major break in their arm and wanted to acknowledge that fact. Here is a tattoo of a bone with screws and some kind of plate to keep it in place. The tattoo itself is beautifully done.

44. Tiny Darth

This person turned this scar into an iconic character. This is either Darth Vader or Dart Stewie. I guess it could be either one. I do love how the tattoo artist incorporated the red scar as the light saber in the design.

45. Marlin

The artist of this tattoo turned a scar on a person’s arm into a Marlin. This tattoo doesn’t cover up the scar as incorporate it into its design. Regardless of whether you can see the scar or not, I think it is a job well done.

46. Fish Bone

Here is another fish tattoo that incorporates the scar as a part of the design. The stitch pattern even looks like fish bones. While not as active as the previous marlin tattoo, I think this tattoo does its job just as well.

47. Paw Prints

This person, who obviously likes dogs incorporated a mole into the design of her tattoo. I’m surprised that she so many paw tattoos done, on her arm no less. She must really like dogs.

48. Beam Me Up

This long scar on this person’s arm has been turned into a beam from an alien spacecraft beaming up a woman. As with most tattoos, this one must have some significance in this person’s life. I wonder if they are a believer in aliens or have been abducted themselves at some point.

49. Tattoo Supernova

Here’s a great tattoo helping to make this mole appear less intimidating. I only hope this person has had that mole checked out. Otherwise, it is a nice piece of artwork. I think the stars also help pull the whole piece together.

50. Breast Surgery Magic

This tattoo takes something that this woman is ashamed of and turns it into a definition of who she is. From the looks of it, the tattoo covering up her mastectomy scar is an extension of the one on her arm.

51. Face Your Demons

This person looks like they have had some experiences that have left a few scars, but instead of trying to hide them has decided to incorporate them into the tattoo. It is our experiences that shape us and make us who we are. You shouldn’t be ashamed of them, but instead embrace them for the way they’ve shaped us, as this person did.

52. Run Forest, Run

Here’s a tattoo that incorporates a scar on someone’s side. The tattoo is of the classic Forest Gump, as played by Tom Hanks, and his signature run across the country from the classic movie.

It is amazing to see how these tattoo artists gave colorful meaning and hope for each story in the past. Simply wonderful!

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