Tattoos to heal scarred look, to weave cheer into life

Mumbai: No special oils or anti-stretch mark creams here. Nope, this is not a cool way to erase the marks left from last year's crash dieting. This is about smart cover-ups and hot body art with scar tattoos. Yes, tattoos that will hide physical flaws and even help create that perfect look.

Olly Alva, Consultant at Al's Tattoo and Body Piercing Studio, Mumbai, confirms that scar tattooing is very common. "On a weekly basis, I get as many as 20 to 30 people who ask for tattoos to cover scars," he says.

Scar tattooing is often done by people in glamorous professions. From models and item girls to actors and DJs, a wide variety of celebrities go in for scar tattooing. But this doesn't exclude regular people.

How much can you hide?

If you are wondering, "What kind of scars 'flaws' can tattooing hide?" , we suggest you to just allow Olly to demonstrate.

"One of our clients was a dancer. She had a nasty cracker burn on her thigh and was unable to wear short skirts. This was a huge problem for her professionally. She had to wear skimpy clothing while performing in films. So we simply tattooed over the burn."

"A soldier from Kargil wanted to cover up a bullet wound. We had a cobweb tattooed over it."

"Another actor comes in on a regular basis for temporary tattoos. He does it to cover a surgical scar on his back."

"Several female celebrities come to us to hide the scars of tummy tucks, liposuction and other cosmetic surgeries."

Breast cancer patients who have had to undergo a mastectomy have sought relief by getting a tattoo of a nipple.

If you are worried that your scar is too big to camouflage, don't be. All you need is a saucy distraction. The idea is to feel good about yourself. After they see that dainty butterfly flitting around your navel, no one is going to remember the ugly scar.

Not only body art

Scars are not the only physical flaws that tattooing hides. You can also use tattoos to camouflage white patches and other skin blemishes. And let's not forget those bumpy stretch marks from your pregnancy.

Tattooing is also used in case of body reconstruction. It is very common for burn victims to have their eyebrows tattooed on.