Radial forearm phalloplasty leaves a rather large scar on the arm, which can be difficult to deal with. Tattooing skin graft scars is an option many transgender people choose, to help hide the scar. In this blog post, I will answer questions on tattooing skin graft scars, sharing advice from my own skin graft tattoo experience.
Choosing to Have my Phalloplasty Skin Graft Tattooed
I took a long time to work through my feelings about the large scarring that having phalloplasty would cause. Working through this, was a large part of preparing for phalloplasty. Part of my acceptance of the scar was knowing that if the scarring upset me, I would eventually cover my skin graft with a tattoo.
However, I was incredibly lucky with the way my arm healed. I put a lot of time and effort into my scar aftercare.
Although the scar was large and obvious, it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it might. Therefore, I didn’t rush to decide if I still wanted a tattoo.
After the final stage of my phalloplasty, my mum sadly passed away. It was in discovering that you could have ashes put into a tattoo, that I decided it was time to talk to my tattooist.
My idea for a tattoo had always been to have a phoenix design. With the end of my transition, and losing my mum, a phoenix reborn and rising from the ashes, seemed absolutely perfect.
How Long Should You Wait Before Tattooing Skin Graft Scars?
How long you wait before tattooing skin graft scars, really depends on how well you heal. The scar needs to have properly settled and lighted up first. As a guide, it’s best to wait at least a couple of years after having the graft done. I waited 3 years before I had my tattoo, and by this time it had fully settled and healed.
If you are unsure, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor or consultant to ask for their opinion on the suitability of your graft to be tattooed.
Things to Consider When Tattooing Skin Graft Scars
There is no guarantee of how a tattoo on a skin graft will take because it is completely different from normal skin. Sometimes the colors blow out and the lines may blur. You also don’t know how your grafted skin will react to the needle until the tattooist starts.
As the skin is more fragile, a tattooist also needs to work more carefully and slower. All of these things mean that you may likely need more sittings, thus making it more expensive to have a skin graft tattooed.
My skin reacted well, and I managed 7 hours straight on my first sitting. However, it isn’t finished, and I have had a bit of color drop out, so I will need at least 2 more sittings to get it finished.
How to Find A Suitable Tattooist?
It can be difficult to find a tattooist who has experience tattooing skin grafts and scars. And, because there is no guarantee how a tattoo on a skin graft scar will turn out, many tattooists refuse to tattoo on extensively scarred tissue. They quite rightly don’t want to do less than perfect work.
It is important to look around and find one who has experience with scarring and evidence showing the results. Make sure you can talk about every scenario, if you start, and the skin doesn’t react well, what will you do? If the tattoo doesn’t turn out as you imagine it, will you be OK with that?
I was lucky to already have a tattooist with experience of tattooing scars. Syluss is a gent and a talented artist and I highly recommend him and his work. You can find him here.
Pain Levels on Tattooing a Skin Graft
Tattooing is always painful. You might be inclined to think, that because a skin graft is often numb, that a tattoo would hurt less. It doesn’t!
I think the reason for this, is because of the contrast in sensation on the skin. In a usual tattoo, it’s painful, and then it becomes constant and you can tune it out. With a skin graft, the needle goes from numb skin areas to live skin areas and the sudden shock of pain is quite something!
Plus, with my graft, I have some areas that cause shocks and pins and needles so that made me jump too. I had to really focus and be alert for all the sensation changes so that I didn’t startle and jog my tattooist!
How A Skin Graft Heals After Tattooing
I have had two other tattoos and they healed entirely different from this one. It took much longer to heal and remained painful for over a week too. I also felt completely exhausted after it. Perhaps because the skin took so much more effort to heal.
Syluss, my tattooist, recommends applying a second skin waterproof covering afterward to help keep the tattoo from drying out. Using these helped to prevent scabbing and my tattoo healed incredibly well.
My Almost Finished Result!
I do still need a second sitting, to finish the coloring and retouch some of the areas that dropped out. Unfortunately, the pandemic got in the way of that!
However, my tattoo already looks wonderful, it has far exceeded my expectations and disguises the skin graft so well!
I had no idea how much difference it would make, to have the scar hidden like this. Although I had accepted the scar, and accepted people staring at it, to now not have to worry about that is incredibly freeing. It has helped to increase my confidence and love my body even more!
Plus, I have a wonderful symbol on my arm of the incredible journey I have been on, and I get to carry my mum with me all the time.
I hope that was helpful, please do let me know with a comment below! And, if you have any questions, I am happy to help so feel free to contact me.
Helpful Phalloplasty Resources
I have written a book detailing the entire process of phalloplasty from decision-making to completion. More info here.
A list of additional phalloplasty videos and blogs can be found in my content index If you would like to ask any questions or request some blogs or videos you would like to see, please send me a message.
I have additional video resources, showing a completed phalloplasty result on my Ko-fi page.
For any trans people exploring surgery options, or going through surgery, I offer email support and mentoring on a pay-what-you-can-afford basis. I am always happy to help.
Hello! My name is Finn and I have a passion for creating honest content, that inspires personal growth and promotes well-being.
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