Yes, many scars and birthmarks can be tattooed, and some of the most inventive tattoo work does not hide a mark at all: it makes the mark part of the design. A surgical line becomes a zip, a stitch or the body of a fish; a port-wine stain becomes spilled wine; a pale patch of skin turns into a cartoon ghost saying "Boo!".
The gallery below collects 30 examples posted by tattoo artists and their clients, mostly between 2017 and early 2019. Some designs camouflage a mark, some frame it, and some turn it into the punchline. Each one reflects a personal choice, and plenty of people with scars or birthmarks are perfectly happy to leave them as they are.
Before the pictures, a few practical points. Scar tissue behaves differently from ordinary skin: it can be thicker, thinner, shinier or more sensitive, and it may take ink unevenly. Many artists prefer a scar to be fully healed and settled, which can take a year or more, and some will ask for a doctor's go-ahead, especially for keloid or raised scars, recent surgery, or birthmarks such as port-wine stains that may be under medical follow-up. If you are considering a tattoo over a scar or mark, talk to a doctor first and choose an artist with experience in this kind of work.
Surgical scars turned into designs
Operation scars tend to be straight, clean lines, which makes them natural starting points for anything long and narrow.
A long vertical scar on the inner forearm becomes the light beam of a flying saucer, with a small cow being lifted off the ground at the bottom. Artist Charlotte Glatt kept the design minimal, so the scar itself does most of the work. It is a good example of humour doing what heavy shading cannot: drawing the eye to the joke instead of the mark.
A surgical scar running along the ankle forms the spine of a fish skeleton, with only the head and tail inked at each end. According to the Reddit post that shared it, the tattoo was done by Trevor Varem at Mission Tattoo. The stitch marks along the scar even read as tiny bones.
A vertical scar at the back of the neck, the kind often left by spinal or neck surgery, gets a small zip pull tattooed at its base. Suddenly the scar looks like a zip that could be opened. It is one of the most popular ideas for straight surgical scars because it needs very little ink.
This before-and-after shows an abdomen with an inverted-T surgical scar, the shape often left by major abdominal operations. The finished piece follows both lines with a vine of flowers, carrying three butterflies up the vertical scar. The original artist of this piece was not credited when the image was shared.
A deep, puckered knee scar becomes the open jaws of a great white shark bursting out of the skin, by Evan of evanmakesart. Placing the scar inside the mouth turns its uneven texture into an advantage. Bold colour and strong outlines also help a tattoo read clearly on skin that does not lie flat.
Baseball pitcher Joba Chamberlain shows off the dots and small lines tattooed around the curved Tommy John surgery scar on his elbow, turning it into a smiley face. The photos were taken at Detroit Tigers spring training in February 2014 and shared by the Detroit Free Press sports account. Tommy John surgery replaces a damaged elbow ligament and is common among pitchers, so the joke landed well with fans.
A horizontal scar across the lower abdomen is covered by a delicate lace band with a bow, by artist beni.ink. The design sits along the scar the way a ribbon or waistband would. Lace patterns are a common choice for this area because the fine detail breaks up the line of the scar.
Two parallel scars on the upper arm, the kind left by orthopaedic surgery, are reinterpreted as the screws and plate fixing a broken bone. Dreamhands Tattoo Studio drew a full femur in fine dotwork, with screws lining up along the old staple marks. It is part anatomy lesson, part wry comment on what happened underneath.
A round, puckered scar on the chest becomes the spot a deep-sea diver is working on with a cutting torch. The Reddit user who shared it said they had finally got to do something creative with the mark. The brightness around the tattoo is fresh-ink redness, which normally settles as the skin heals.
Burns, injuries and accident scars
Burns and accident scars are often larger and irregular, which calls for different strategies: full coverage, dense patterns or designs that use the scar as texture.
A scar across the back of the hand and knuckles is shown before and after work credited to Eric Catalano. In the second photo the raised line is much less noticeable. The image appears to show skin-tone camouflage rather than a decorative design, although the post does not describe the technique.
Extensive scarring across the chest, shoulder and arm, which looks like burn or skin-graft scarring, is covered with an intricate floral and mandala sleeve by Darby Tattoo. Dense ornamental patterns are a popular choice for large scars because the eye follows the pattern rather than the skin texture beneath. A piece like this takes many sessions.
A short red scar on the arm becomes the glowing red lightsaber of a small, cartoon-style Darth Vader, by Flavia of Daedra Tattoo. The scar's colour and shape match the blade so well that it looks planned. Star Wars designs are a favourite for linear scars for exactly this reason.
A back and shoulder with large areas of scarring and a pale patch are transformed into a nautical back piece with a compass, sailing ship and stormy sea, by Yasin Alici. Grey-wash shading lets the artist blend changes in skin texture into clouds and waves. The before photo shows how much of the area the design had to cover.
A pale, irregular scar on the arm sits underneath a soft watercolour cluster of pink cosmos flowers by the artist posting as aisana_ykt. Watercolour styles work well over light-coloured scars because the washes of colour blur any edges. The before photo shows how completely the flowers absorb the mark.
A scar on the back of the thigh gets a darkly funny treatment: a circular saw blade appears to be cutting into the leg right where the scar runs. Tattoo Machine Napoles added realistic shading so the blade seems to sink into the skin. It is a reminder that some people prefer to joke about how they got their scars.
A scar on the forearm is turned into a stitched seam, with a spool of thread and a needle tattooed beside it by jattoos. The thread loops away from the scar in a flowing line. Sewing motifs are an obvious but effective match for scars that already look like stitches.
A long scar running down the back of the upper arm and elbow is followed by a slender vine of flowers and leaves by Carlos Figueiredo. Instead of hiding the scar, the design traces its path. Fine-line botanical work like this is lighter on the skin and suits people who want a subtle result.
A forearm with several healed scars is covered with a bright Lion King scene, complete with young Simba, Zazu and the words "Hakuna Matata", by petor76. The busy, colourful composition makes it hard to find the scars at all. The phrase, Swahili for roughly "no worries", fits the spirit of the project.
A long scar around the knee becomes part of a leaping marlin, with the fish's body stretched along it, by Rouge Fox Tattoos. Black-and-grey realism and a strong diagonal give the piece a sense of movement. Sea creatures with long bodies, such as fish, eels and sharks, suit scars that curve around joints.
The Reddit user who posted this described it as a cello tattoo incorporating a scar about 30 years old. The minimal blue line work is built around the old scar, so the mark becomes part of the instrument rather than something to hide. It is a quiet piece, more about a personal connection than a dramatic transformation.
Birthmarks that became characters
Birthmarks come in many forms, from flat brown café-au-lait spots to the red or purple port-wine stains caused by small blood vessels in the skin. Some artists treat them as a ready-made shape.
A large port-wine stain on the shoulder is paired with a tipped-over wine glass by Alex Anvil, so the mark appears to be spilled wine. Port-wine stains are a type of vascular birthmark present from birth. Anyone with one should talk to a doctor before tattooing over or near it, since some are monitored or treated with laser.
A pale brown birthmark becomes a little ghost, with two dots for eyes and a speech bubble saying "Boo!", by Hector Fong. The mark's rounded shape was already halfway to a cartoon. It is one of the most shared examples of a tiny addition changing how a mark reads.
A long brown birthmark on the leg is transformed into a carrot, complete with leafy top and fine linework, by Anna Furdui. The tattoo stays close to the outline of the mark. Food and plant shapes are a popular way to use birthmarks with a natural, tapered form.
Several black paw prints are tattooed in a trail across the arm, with a small brown birthmark sitting among them as if it were one more print. The idea is credited to hneuburger33. It is a simple concept that works because the birthmark is the right size and shape.
Small brown spots and marks on the arm become the centres of a scatter of delicate pink blossoms by Mini Lau, posting as mini_tattooer. The fine-line style keeps the skin visible between flowers. It is a light-touch approach for people who want decoration rather than coverage.
A reddish mark on the upper back is used as a soft glow behind a silhouette of a figure fishing from a crescent moon, by Peyotl Body Mod. The fishing line hangs down the back, drawing the eye away from the mark. The moon-fisher image echoes the DreamWorks logo, a much-loved motif in tattoo art.
Arm and wrist scars given new meaning
Scars on the forearms and wrists can carry many different histories. The people in these photos did not share their stories, and it is not for anyone else to guess. What they chose to show is a new image they wanted to live with.
Several horizontal scars on the forearm, shown first with a simple line of howling wolves, are later worked into a dark pine forest with two wolves in silhouette, by meninked. The vertical trees cut across the horizontal lines and break them up. The two stages show how a design can develop over more than one session.
Shared on Reddit under the title "Face your demons", this tattoo shows a human hand gripping a clawed demon's hand, with the forearm's scars visible through the human hand. Unlike most designs here, it does not hide the scars at all. The message is in the title: acknowledging something hard rather than covering it up.
A raised scar on the inner wrist becomes the stream of fire from a cheerful Charmander, the Pokémon, by j9illustration. The flame's orange and red follow the scar's length exactly. Playful pop-culture characters can make a wrist something a person enjoys looking at again.
A pale scar across the wrist sits under a fine-line pink and lilac jellyfish, its trailing tentacles flowing over the mark, by Mini Lau. The soft colours keep the piece gentle and light. This is the second piece in the gallery from the same artist, who is known for delicate floral and pastel work.
What these designs have in common
Looking across all 30 examples, a few patterns stand out. The most successful ideas start from the shape of the mark: straight lines become zips, beams, seams and fishing lines; curves become mouths, smiles and fish; round patches become ghosts, paw prints and spilled wine. Colour and detail are often used to pull the eye towards a focal point, such as a character's face, rather than to blot out every millimetre of scar tissue.
Humour plays a big role, too. Saws, sharks and Darth Vader all turn a painful memory into something closer to a story worth telling. For other people, a soft floral design or a quiet line drawing is the point: something beautiful they chose for themselves.
Thinking about a scar or birthmark tattoo?
- Talk to a doctor first, particularly for raised or keloid scars, recent surgery, port-wine stains or any mark that is changing.
- Give it time. Many artists will not tattoo over a scar until it is fully mature.
- Look at portfolios. Ask to see healed work over scars, not just fresh photos.
- Expect a test or a longer process. Scar tissue can take ink unevenly and may need touch-ups.
- Consider the alternatives. Medical tattooing, camouflage make-up or simply leaving the mark alone are all valid choices.
Every artist credited below is a link to the original post, where you can see more of their work.
Sources: Image credits as linked under each photo (artists' Instagram, Facebook and Reddit posts); NBC Sports: Joba Chamberlain's Tommy John scar is now a smiley face (2014); MLB.com: Joba's smiley face surgery tattoo; Wikipedia: Port-wine stain; Wikipedia: Tommy John surgery.
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