Yay! You finally got a new tattoo, and it looks so amazing. But is your tattoo starting to look more smudged now? Hey, there is nothing to panic about; it could be a simple sign of a tattoo blowout.
If your tattoo is starting to get blurred, smudged, and spreading everywhere, then this phenomenon is known as a blowout. However, if your tattoo is itchy, scabby, and dry, this is a normal healing routine. If your tattoo is continually swollen or red, then this is a probable sign of infection, and you must seek medical help urgently.
Without wasting any more time, let’s take a look at all the signs of tattoo blowout, and you can mitigate the situation.
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What Is a Tattoo Blowout?
If your tattoo ink is spreading, smudging, and bleeding everywhere, it is a sign of tattoo blowout. This is not something to panic about as it is not a serious condition. There are plenty of ways to cover up and treat this, especially if the blowout is mild.
Why Does It Happen?
Tattoo blowouts are not well researched as there are many cases. However, we do know that it happens when the tattoo needle goes too far into the skin and penetrates under the surface, passing through fat. The fat beneath the skin provides an uncontrolled environment for the tattoo. In such cases, the ink starts to spread and moves beyond the surface of the tattoo design.
These are some of the reasons for a tattoo blowout:
- The tattooed area has thin skin and is bony
- The skin is stretched too much when you get a tattoo
- The needle was inserted in a slanted direction into the skin
- The needle was pushed too deep into the skin
- Excessive movement during the tattoo procedure.
If any of the conditions hold true in your case, your perfect-looking tattoo might start to look blurry after a few days. The design can become mildly distorted, with borders bleeding slightly.
The blowout cases are more common in older people where the skin is less elastic, less stretchy, and more brittle. However, in some rare cases, it can also happen to young people with elastic skin.
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How Can You Fix Tattoo Blowout?
Below are some of the ways by which you can fix a tattoo blowout. Let’s check them out.
Tattooing Over The Blowout
Correcting a tattoo blowout with another tattoo is the least expensive way of hiding the blowout. The average cost you will incur will be between $50 to $400, dispensing on your tattoo type, size, and placement. Also, the prize also depends on the extremity of the blowout. Sometimes small tattoos can get major ink bleeding issues which can increase the repair cost.
Nore- if your tattoo blowout is serious, then your tattoo artists will have to make the covering of your tattoo with darker ink than the original one. The design used will also be completely new. If your tattoo artist is good, they will try to incorporate the blowout into a new design, making it look seamless.
Laser Correction
Although it is a little on the pricier side, laser correction is effective to fix a major blowout situation. This method will help your tattoo to look the way it was supposed to. The so-called Q-switched lasers are designed in a way that they send diffusing energy beams into the deeper skin layers and remove excess ink from the blowout.
This method works perfectly well in fading blowouts. However, you need to take several sittings to get the desired results. Also, laser removal is an expensive method of fixing blowouts. Be ready to pay around $500 per treatment and session.
Surgical Tattoo Removal
Surgical tattoo removal is used only in serious conditions of tattoo blowout. This invasive method is used to correct any tattoo bleeding and blowout issues. Surgical methods should always be used as a last resort. The procedure includes cutting out your tattooed skin and sticking back the remaining skin.
This process is the most expensive of all the mentioned methods and is not covered by health insurance companies. We do not recommend anyone to go with this correction method because it has lots of risks as well. Some common effects include scarring, discomfort, and prolonged healing time.
How Can You Prevent a Tattoo Blowout?
These are some of the methods to prevent getting a tattoo blowout.
Choose a good tattoo artist.
Tattoo blowouts usually happen due to a lack of professional experience and bad work by the artist. To prevent tattoo blowouts, you should always pick a professional and experienced tattoo artist. They should be licensed and have sanitized equipment and shops. Sure, you will have to pay more, but it is better than getting a ruined tattoo for less.
Choose the right body placement.
Getting a tattoo in an area of the skin that is thinner than the rest of the body heightens the chances of getting a blowout. The inner part of the skin is easier to penetrate deeply, causing the ink to go beneath the skin surface. You must always pick a body part with a good fat layer like calves, upper thighs, abdomen, and buttock area.
Do not scratch the tattooed area.
After you get a tattoo, avoid scratching or pulling the skin. Pulling and scratching increase the chances of spreading ink beyond the tattoo outlines and creating a blowout. It also prolongs the healing process and raises the infection risk.
Can I Mistake Healing For A Tattoo Blowout?
It is easy to confuse between a tattoo blowout and healing signs. A tattoo blowout and tattoo healing signs are completely different. Here is how you can make out the difference between healing and blowout signs:
Tattoo Blowout
- Not a health danger
- It can be fixed with various methods.
- Doesn’t cause inflammations
- Happens because of tattoo artist’s mistake
Tattoo Healing
- When proper, it does not pose a health risk
- When improper, it can cause serious infections
- It can last for several weeks
- Requires proper aftercare and tattoo handling
- It is a natural process
- Infections are a result of one’s lack of aftercare.
When to seek professional guidance?
If your new tattoo design is blurring out after a few days of getting inked, then this is a case of tattoo blowout. In such cases, you should first inform your tattoo artist. Your tattoo artist may offer to cover the blowout with other designs. You can also go to another skilled tattoo artist to cover up.
If the tattoo blowout is major, you can go for laser therapy to reduce the appearance of bleeding ink. If you plan on getting laser treatment done, contact a certified dermatologist to try laser therapy.
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Final Thoughts
Tattoo blowouts are not common because tattoo artists undergo extensive training to get their licenses these days. However, this does not guarantee that you cannot experience a blowout. Even if you do, it can be easily fixed by various methods like laser removal and covering up with another tattoo.
Always remember to get inked by a professional tattoo artist, even if you have to pay some extra bucks. If you want your tattoo to heal properly with minimal bruising, avoid touching, scratching, peeling, or picking the tattoo, or else it will take longer than usual to heal.
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