Erasing Her Past

I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely young lady from Saudi Arabia last week.  She was in town to have surgery at Hopkins and was referred to us to have some tattoo work done over her scars.  She was very badly burned over most of her body as a small child and had been having yearly surgeries as an attempt to "fix" the burns. 
Ironically, most of her body was also covered in a burka, so all I noticed was her beautiful face.  Really, she was stunning.  She expressed that she loved tattoos even though they are forbidden in her country for religious reasons with the exception of a tiny window that allows Muslims to get tattooed for medical reasons or to cover scars.  As she slowly peeled off the layers of dark fabric she was swathed in, I inspected the texture of her skin and sighed.  This was definitely going to be a challenge. 
She expressed an interest in a floral piece that incorporated traditional Mehndi designs but with more realistic looking flowers.  I looked her in the eye and told her not to worry, she was a beautiful girl and I was going to make her even MORE beautiful.   Since she was only in town for a week, we had to move fast and agreed to start the very next day.
I designed a huge piece to go on her thigh which seemed to have some of the most workable skin.  It was a large tiger lily with a few hibiscus flowers and mehndi swirly accents.  She sat like a rock for me and we finished in about 4 hours.  I couldn't believe this was her first tattoo, but taking into consideration the fact that she'd been through so much pain already in her life, the tattoo was probably nothing.  When it was over, we hugged and she asked me if she could come back the next day to do more work.  I was shocked and naturally hesitant.  I wanted to help her, but I feared that she might be biting off more than she could chew, so I declined. 
A few days later her father called and said she really really wanted to come in again and if I could fit her in the day before she flew back to Saudi Arabia, they would be very grateful.  Her leg was healing perfectly and they felt confident she could handle more.
She wanted to work on her ribs and hip area, where she was burned the worst.  I designed a similar piece for her, this one with lilies and cherry blossoms and more mehndi accents.  She sat again for 4 hours but this time was harder for her, it was definitely more painful and I think a lot of it was emotional.  We both cried a little bit when we finished and she said I was her "life saver". 
She's getting married in a few months and I believe her fiance will be seeing her tattoos for the first time.  She told me he thinks tattooed women are sexy, so I have no doubts it will be a very exciting wedding night for them.  I'm very honored to be a part of it and I do hope I've erased some of the emotional scars of her past along with the physical ones. 
I do have a few pics to post, I just have to upload them.

Tattooing over scars

I have an appointment today to start a rather large project that centers around a very large scar.  A lady I've tattooed before had back surgery and has been left with a scar that wraps around her waist like a belt as well as about 4 inches added on to her butt crack.  She has very dark skin and the scar is not very noticeable , but she has insisted on going forward with this project , in spite of the fact that I've estimated the final cost to be well over $1000 and potentially 4 sessions (or more depending on how she sits).  Today we will start the outline.

I've had very good luck with tattooing over scars, but it's always a gamble.  There is never any guarantee that the pigment will hold the way it should and that makes things very tricky.  We're going to be putting big, stylized flowers and vines ~ like a beautiful garden ~on her and I am hoping to be able to use a bit of color, if only red and green.  I won't know until I'm actually into it.  I hate not being able to promise her what the end result will be, but that's the nature of scar tissue.  Fickle and unpredictable.

I do have some photos of her scars and w/her permission, I'll post here and show updates.