Tattoo Blowout

[AuntTudie]

I hate to beat a dead horse, but I have googled my ass off and can not find much information about Blowout. Maybe it is a taboo subject. I mean,what artists are going to admit they have done blowouts? But they are out there and always a possibility and they are mostly permanent. I have learned that certain areas are prone to blowout. The "ditch", foot , wrist to name a few.

Questions that I can not seem to find the answers to-

I read a lot that some blowouts can be fixed by adding a little shadow. In that case, it it possible that you will make an even bigger mess if the shadowing" blows out also?

How long should you give your tattoo to heal and let some of your blood carry the ink away before you try the fix of shadowing? (I really don't want a shadow)

I thought I was very knowledgeable about tattooing. I am a collector and read a lot about tattoos and technique. I knew about blowout. But I thought you only risked that with crappy artists. Now I read that even the best artists have it happen now and then because of the area. As an artist, do you warn your clients about possible blowout in certain areas?

Yes, yes, I am whining and want answers because I do have a blowout and it seems to be spreading. It has not been quite a week yet. I had more bruising than normal this time. It is on an arm that I had surgery on 5 years ago. I have permanent damage to the muscles and have some limited movement and my arm is very flabby. Could this be the cause? I am pretty sick to my stomach about it. My artist is wonderful, and I believe very talented. I sent him a pic. He said to send him another photo close to our next appointment. He also reassured me that it is fixable. But it seems to have gotten a little lighter but more spread out now.

Please move this post if it is in the wrong category. Someone slap me please.

[bruzzz]

My understanding is blowouts occur when the artist applies the ink too deep. I had some very simple script done on my chest that had a blowout. Stuck out like dogs balls. Shadowing wasn't an option so the "artist" decided to thicken the whole script. I now have both my daughters names on my chest in different thickness. It bothered me more when first done then it does now. The best way to deal with blowouts is to get more tattoo's by a different artist or artists.

[AuntTudie]

The best way to deal with blowouts is to get more tattoo's by a different artist or artists.

I don't understand how that helps you deal better with blowouts?

[DJDeepFried]

It happens. No tattoo is perfect. It's a handmade craft. Gives it character, etc. Chances are it won't bother you so much as time goes by. But at least let it heal. Fixing it could make it worse. Up to you if you want to take that chance. But I'd do what your artist recommends if you trust him/her. The reason why "get more tattoos" is the best answer is because you'll drive yourself crazy nitpicking over every last detail so you may as well put that energy into planning the next one.

[byzantine]

yeah the blowout can occur when the artist applies ink too deep (especially common on delicate areas) but I've also been told it's also due to the pigments having smaller particles than they used too - hence why it is sometimes called 'ink creepage' - although I'm not are if this is a term created to take responsibility away from the artist. All the areas I have it are delicate (inner thigh, elbow)

I really think it's a bad idea to start thinking about thickening lines or getting more tattoos at this stage. If it's still there after full healing I would try and get it lasered. The place I went to would be able to blast that with one pass of the laser - they can get in really precise around the edges of tattoos and sometimes people use it to get rid of backgrounds they don't like etc - the kind of place they have in tattoo shops as opposed to one of those white coat places

[UglyButProud]

It happens. No tattoo is perfect. It's a handmade craft. Gives it character, etc. Chances are it won't bother you so much as time goes by. But at least let it heal. Fixing it could make it worse. Up to you if you want to take that chance. But I'd do what your artist recommends if you trust him/her. The reason why "get more tattoos" is the best answer is because you'll drive yourself crazy nitpicking over every last detail so you may as well put that energy into planning the next one.

I love the fact that EVERY ONE of my tattoos have imperfections...I'd choose character over a body full of perfect "stickers" any day but that's just me...... :)

[Breakme]

I've got blowout on my inner thighs, (more like ink seepage/spreading) from a very well regarded tattooer. It's quite faint but covers a large area and in some light you can't see it, in other light it's very noticeable but it's getting better over time. I do have very pale skin and I don't tan so I'm sure this doesn't help.

I also have one particularly bad spot on the front of my thigh looked like a permanent bruise the size of 10c coin, it was really odd. It's been 9 months since they were done, and it has only started getting better in the last couple of months. I plan on having both thighs fully covered eventually so I'm not too bothered.

My best advice is to give it time and stop looking at it. You will drive yourself crazy. Also, as others have said, put the energy into planning another tattoo.

[Synesthesia]

I got one pretty bad on a butterfly tattoo I have. It's in a sensitive spot, near my elbow ditch. I'm not too worried about it since I plan on surrounding it with more tattoos anyway and the negative space between them (where the blowout is) won't be as noticeable. It's also faded a little with time. Most of the time, it's not worth trying to "correct" a blow out because it ends up just drawing more attention to it.

Tattoos are going to have "mistakes"...I don't think any of mine are perfect, but that doesn't mean I don't still like them. The best thing to do is try to accept that and just keep getting tattooed.

[cookietruck]

nothing is perfect, perfection is imperfection or something like that

unless it's just terrible, as in looks like the artists had no idea what they were doing then i'd just leave it and appreciate it.

i a tattoo i love on my chest that has some blowouts, it just happens. i think that was mainly to do with my skin.

sometimes it's also something like a controlled blowout. makes the lines look almost 3d.

[marley mission]

@AuntTudie

definetly think time will give you some better perspective on the piece

i mean i have little blowout spots on tattoos i really love

i saw rob ryan talk in an interview online (vimeo)

and i really like what he said about the imperfections of a tattoo

check out the video though

[AuntTudie]

It has been about a week. The color looks like it has spread a bit and lightened up a bit. We still have some work to do on the tattoo. I am going wait and see what this ink does. I think I am going to wait till spring and then decide. It's going to be a gorgeous tattoo (IMHO). I don't want to risk making it worse. Besides, most of my acquaintances know nothing about tattoos and won't notice. I think I am in shock because I never thought it would happen to me. I take my tattoos pretty serious. I just need to stop looking at that spot.

- - - Updated - - -

@AuntTudie

definetly think time will give you some better perspective on the piece

i mean i have little blowout spots on tattoos i really love

i saw rob ryan talk in an interview online (vimeo)

and i really like what he said about the imperfections of a tattoo

check out the video though

Thanks for sharing this video. I like what he had to say. I think my problem is that I am a tattoo snob. Time to come off my high horse.

[marley mission]

glad you liked it - your piece looks cool - dont be too hard on yourself either for obsessing about it - we look forward to getting tattooed and its normal to want the application and end result to go well - we'd all be looking at the blowout too - but that changes - and you move on and if you happen to have plans to keep getting tattooed - it really won't matter to you in the long (and short) run - look forward to seeing your tattoo updates - be interested to see it 6 months out - see how that spot settles in - bet it wont be an issue

[jayking]

what exatly is a blowout??

[AuntTudie]

what exatly is a blowout??

What is Tattoo Blowout?

[pidjones]

And here I thought it was when you get a bunch of people with tattoos together to show them off and have a great party.

[CShaw]

I got some blowout on one of my bats when I got the lines done, on one of the wing tips curving up over the trapezius area of my neck/shoulder. Very streaky, instead of the sort of halo staining I'd seen from my research beforehand. I sent the artist a picture of it, then when I went in for my next session, she said, "Eh, I'm gonna put a leaf there anyway." I can still see the blown-out ink if I look hard for it, but the leaves did absorb it really well.

[AuntTudie]

Finished. I've decided to do a full sleeve. So blowouts are not the end of the world after all. I think it turned out ok.

[PrivateAle]

I don't necessarily believe that a blowout is always down to the heavy handedness or angle of the needle used by the artist. Sometimes blowouts can just happen. Everyone's skin is different and heals in its own way. I've had a few cases of blowout. The tattoos are on my legs so maybe that area is more susceptible to blowout happening...but it's a bit coincidental for it to be down to the artist when it happened 3 times by 3 different people. I'm the common denominator there haha. But the tattoos I have on on my arm are absolutely fine. So maybe it's just to do with placement for me. 

 

I'm sure a lot of the time it is down to the artist, but I hate the automatic assumption that it must be why it happens. 

 

 

Edited June 11, 2016 by PrivateAle

[El Dolmago]

Blowout can really depend on severity. I have a couple of lines in the ditch that fuzzed out a bit - and you would never notice and I have a simple line tattoo that blew out pretty spectacularly from a good artist who I've seen a lot of work from, it can just happen. There really is a difference between an imperfection (which is cool) and spread (which is not).

The significant blowout is on the inside of my bicep - it's fragile skin and can happen. I was brutally bruised and I think that contributed to the spread. My sister got the exact same tattoo, same artist, same day on the inside of her wrist - hers is perfect. I'll admit I was quite upset about it (not at the artist - just that it happened) but wanted to wait to see how much of the blowout my body would deal with on it's own. It's been about 10 months and the spread has lightened quite a bit but it's still very noticeable.  When talked to my artist who is working on my sleeve (not the same artist as the blowout) he said it can just happen, that it's happened to him as well. He's is going to try and see if he can help it by disrupting the skin and not adding more pigment - if not we'll just thicken up the lines. I'll let you know how it goes.

Edited June 12, 2016 by El Dolmago

[PrivateAle]

3 hours ago, El Dolmago said:

Blowout can really depend on severity. I have a couple of lines in the ditch that fuzzed out a bit - and you would never notice and I have a simple line tattoo that blew out pretty spectacularly from a good artist who I've seen a lot of work from, it can just happen. There really is a difference between an imperfection (which is cool) and spread (which is not).

The significant blowout is on the inside of my bicep - it's fragile skin and can happen. I was brutally bruised and I think that contributed to the spread. My sister got the exact same tattoo, same artist, same day on the inside of her wrist - hers is perfect. I'll admit I was quite upset about it (not at the artist - just that it happened) but wanted to wait to see how much of the blowout my body would deal with on it's own. It's been about 10 months and the spread has lightened quite a bit but it's still very noticeable.  When talked to my artist who is working on my sleeve (not the same artist as the blowout) he said it can just happen, that it's happened to him as well. He's is going to try and see if he can help it by disrupting the skin and not adding more pigment - if not we'll just thicken up the lines. I'll let you know how it goes.

That's annoying, I know that the inside of the bicep can be the perfect opportunity for blowout to happen...that's actually why I got my galaxy piece there. I just wanted some filler and liked the idea of a sky...so figured that my inner bicep would be the perfect place for it because there's no lines. Just colour. It probably healed the worst for me though, haha.

 

Just out of interest, what kind of experiences have most people here had of blowout? Is this based on the ink spreading through the skin around the tattoo, or individual lines being fuzzed?

Edited June 12, 2016 by PrivateAle

[DJDeepFried]

The longer I've had a tattoo and the more I'm focused on the next one the less I care about small imperfections. If anything they can along with fading be beautiful like a well worn pair of jeans. Tattoos are hand made. That's why I like 'em.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dan]

I had this done on May 11th,unfortunately it has some bad blowout in the bottom 3rd of it ,the artist had a heavy hand ,and I know it's mostly blown out in the soft part of my neck,and he had to stretch the skin a lot there,but looking on the bright side,of all my tattoos this is the first blow out I have had.

this was taken right after the tattoo was applied,May 11th 

and these were taken on may 31st

[polliwog]

6 hours ago, El Dolmago said:

Blowout can really depend on severity. I have a couple of lines in the ditch that fuzzed out a bit - and you would never notice and I have a simple line tattoo that blew out pretty spectacularly from a good artist who I've seen a lot of work from, it can just happen. There really is a difference between an imperfection (which is cool) and spread (which is not).

The significant blowout is on the inside of my bicep - it's fragile skin and can happen. I was brutally bruised and I think that contributed to the spread. My sister got the exact same tattoo, same artist, same day on the inside of her wrist - hers is perfect. I'll admit I was quite upset about it (not at the artist - just that it happened) but wanted to wait to see how much of the blowout my body would deal with on it's own. It's been about 10 months and the spread has lightened quite a bit but it's still very noticeable.  When talked to my artist who is working on my sleeve (not the same artist as the blowout) he said it can just happen, that it's happened to him as well. He's is going to try and see if he can help it by disrupting the skin and not adding more pigment - if not we'll just thicken up the lines. I'll let you know how it goes.

I had some green ink migrate in my inner bicep. There was just a haze around the whole tattoo. Fortunately it has disappeared two years later, so maybe your blowout will look better with time , too.

Edited June 12, 2016 by polliwog

[Rob I]

Yes. I bet most of that fades away in the next few months.  

[El Dolmago]

Deleted as images didn't load properly

 

Edited June 12, 2016 by El Dolmago