The whole process is really just like a vibration.
Once you get over that initial three seconds,
you're like, "Oh, wow, this is nothing."
I have a lot of scars on my wrists.
I started cutting probably at like eleven years old,
it was one of my first outlets.
I've always struggled with depression and stuff like that.
I'm Patti.
I'm getting the scar tattoo procedure done today.
The scars, they all represent something
and I think that turning a past somewhat into
something beautiful, it's going to mean so much to me
to highlight them.
I'm not trying to hide them because I still have my
rough days, I'm not going to lie.
But this is going to be a constant reminder
that one, no matter what it will always be
okay and that I have my daughter always
to be a good inspiration and mom to so.
My daughter is a Leo.
I wanted to get some kind of lion.
I'm super excited, especially to tell her the
meaning but as a seven-year-old, I don't
need to go into much detail with her.
She's gonna love it.
I just know that she will.
She's an artist herself in her own way so.
Being a tattoo artist is a huge blessing
because we get to make other people feel confident.
It's a form of self-expression.
I'm Kat Tat, I'm a tattoo artist and I'm the owner of
Enigma Tattoo here in Beverly Hills.
I've been tattooing for a little over 10 years now.
In my 10 years of tattooing, I have been requested
to do all kinds of scar tissue cover-ups.
A lot of times people will want
keloids and things covered up.
So I have a lot of experience with it.
I'm super easy when it comes to working with
tattoo artists, especially talented ones,
so I'm pretty much gonna trust her.
I'm going to put my arm out and just go for it.
I mean, I love obviously getting tattoos,
but this is also gonna be like a huge part
of my story moving forward as well.
People have said like,
"Don't you care what you're gonna look like
when you're old?"
And I'm like, well, no, I'm going to be older one,
and I think it's gonna be pretty cool
to have tattoos because I think,
you know, what's in here more so matters the most.
I think that they lighten the world up a
little bit, so to speak.
I know you were thinking something like a lion design?
Yeah.
So, I thought we could do something like the lion
and kind of like a mandala type?
Oh, my God.
That's like perfect.
The sizing is actually perfect.
I thought that the lion design and the flower with
a ton of linework was perfect because
you could still see her scars through it.
I'm a little nervous because when you go over
scars with tattoo guns, I think it just depends.
It's gonna be a little bit more sensitive.
But honestly, this is the area that I can
tolerate a lot of pain.
Patti's design has a million in one lines,
so I'm gonna use one of my finest needles,
which is a three-round tight liner.
And this way I'm able to get every single line
in there and not miss a beat of detail.
The stencil that I put on Patti will stay on
as long as I don't wipe it too, too much.
So I'm holding my napkin folded up,
I have ointment on my hand that I can use to help
with wiping so that I'm not scraping her dry
skin but I also don't want to wipe with too
much soap and water because
I want to keep my stencil in place.
So I'm taking very, very small steps
and I'm wiping each line immediately after I tattoo
it and moving on to the next line.
If I am able to determine that this scar can be
covered, then I pretty much have to just
act like it's not there.
It's more so with the design.
So I have to place the design strategically
over the scar so that it hides it or, you
know, enhances it or whatever the client wants.
Once you have the design figured out,
to where it's going to cover the scar,
you treat the skin like regular skin.
Yeah, it's so weird.
In some sports all you feel is vibration.
Mhm.
You don't feel no pain.
Once I'm done with the entire outline,
I wipe it off again, I grab my shader
and now it's time to add the shading.
So I'm using just loose strokes just to add those
gradients and make this really, really
pop and come to life.
But I'm avoiding the middle of the face
because this is where she really wants her tattoos
to show.
So I'm using contrast to go around the lion's
face so that these scars in the middle can
still stand out.
Patti's tattoo took probably about
two and a half hours.
Once she's finished I'm going to clean it
really, really good, take her over to the
mirror, make sure she loves it and doesn't hate me.
Alrighty, you're all finished.
Ready to go check it out.
Yeah.
Alright.
Take a look.
Girl, that is dope.
It still highlights your scars right in there.
I love it.
You want to take a look in the mirror?
Yeah.
Oh, girl.
At the end, standing in front of the mirror,
it made me feel somewhat full.
Not that scars limit you because they don't.
I don't think that they do at all.
I was just like, oh, my god, like that's on me.
You know?
It makes me think of my daughter
because she is a Leo
and being able to see me as her mom,
overcoming things over and over.
Working with Patti was amazing.
She walked in the door and she was this fun,
cute ball of energy.
She was so excited to get her tattoo.
More often than not, I'm asked to cover the scar,
which is why I thought this is really,
really cool and unique, that she didn't want to completely
get rid of them, she wanted to highlight them.
So it was a different type of procedure for me,
but I think we executed it great.
And I'm just happy that she was happy with it.
Most times if the tattoo is, you know, done
the way it was supposed to, it probably won't
need a touch-up.
Although bigger tattoos and tattoos with such
tiny little lines like that, with such immense
amount of detail, I will always recommend a
second session just to make sure that nothing
fell out, you know, and that everything looks perfect.
Getting it touched up, I think, you know, I was
looking at it and- In all tattoos, because it
depends on how the person heals,
I may get certain parts touched up.
But I plan on going back to Kat anyway.
Once the tattoo is complete it should take two
to three weeks to heal.
I always tell my clients to take the wrap
off within an hour of the procedure.
So let your tattoo breathe for the first day,
the next day you can use a little bit of light
ointment or non-scented lotion.
Make sure that your clothes that you're putting
over it are clean, your sheets are clean.
That's the main thing, just keep it clean and
keep it moisturized and your tattoo will
be fine.
It was an emotional
experience with my scars and the placement
exactly of where she put the lion and that you
can see scars on its face, like across its nose.
And I hope that it's encouraging to somebody
else out there, you know, that has scars that
they might be ashamed of.
You don't have to cover them, you can embrace
your scars, because I promise you, one day
you will be able to help somebody else with them.
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