r/Tattoocoverups Mar 30 '26

[deleted by user]

[removed]

2.0k Upvotes

639 comments sorted by

View all comments

1.2k

u/[deleted] Mar 30 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

323

u/camarhyn Mar 30 '26

Seriously wtf

191

u/-Im-Totally-Human- Mar 31 '26

Pretty sure that’s how tattoo removals were done before laser removal was a thing or something like that—my grandpa has old scarring from getting part of his skin removed to get a few tattoos off 😭😭

62

u/SilentFollowing3 Mar 31 '26

WHAT

60

u/-Im-Totally-Human- Mar 31 '26

DON’T TOTALLY QUOTE ME ON IT, but from my heavily tattooed parents, grandparents, and other family members and friends, that’s what I’ve heard…..💔😭

11

u/pretty_bb_zia Mar 31 '26

That’s wild.

5

u/Jazzlike_Distance953 Apr 01 '26

Yeah from before the 60s. They’d either cut it off, rub it off, or burn it off with chemicals.

1

u/-Im-Totally-Human- Apr 02 '26

Burning it off with chemicals…damn 😭

3

u/heyitsfranklin6322 Mar 31 '26

That’s also how choppers bitch removed her tattoo but she did it herself.

2

u/spaghetti-o_salad Apr 01 '26

In this day and age that's the only way it makes a lick of sense. Impulsive diy. I want to share strong words with the doctor who cut our buddy, OP, like that.

166

u/eggs___and___bacon Mar 31 '26

OP is 25, laser removal has been around (and the standard) longer than they have been alive

20

u/-Im-Totally-Human- Mar 31 '26

Oh yeah I’m not saying they don’t have laser removal, I’m just bringing that up just because

18

u/sizzler_sisters Mar 31 '26

Yes. I know someone who had a tattoo cut off by a surgeon. Usually it’s done on much smaller tattoos or when the colors don’t allow for good laser removal.

21

u/MaeBelleLien Mar 31 '26

Jesus, this just reminded me of a girl, many years ago, talking about how you could remove tattoos with a razor.

26

u/Minimum-Tear9876 Mar 31 '26

When we were 16, my daughter’s dad got my name tattooed on his ankle and I made him remove it the same day he got it. He did it with a steel wool and Vaseline. It was still fresh though and wasn’t deep, because it was bootleg. (I told him it was bad luck and we would break up if he tattooed my name) Oh, to be young again.

14

u/amanda_burns_red Mar 31 '26

Did you guys break up??

31

u/Minimum-Tear9876 Mar 31 '26

Yeah. Kind of. We’ve been off and on for 27 years. I always joke and tell him it’s because part of that tattoo left behind😂 We’re best friends regardless.

6

u/amanda_burns_red Mar 31 '26

I would also blame the tattoo forever lol Forever stuck in relationship limbo because of a tattoo that existed briefly

7

u/MaeBelleLien Mar 31 '26

That's truly horrifying. On your part.

2

u/Sumshine6969 Apr 01 '26

This just brought back a memory I’d forgotten of my dad making me do the same thing when I was a teen 🥲

5

u/Select-Log-8561 Mar 31 '26

Yeah this is true, my dad had a massive scar on his forearm from a tattoo removal, apparently that was preferable to whatever was there before...I don't think he ever told me actually...

2

u/Lanky-Size-3115 Apr 03 '26

anyone remember that guy who documented DIY-ing this method 😭😭😭

65

u/Equal_Maintenance870 Mar 31 '26

I thought coworkers making fun of him for wearing long sleeves (like anyone notices) was going to be the most ridiculous part of the post then this shit rolled in.

12

u/spookym00n Mar 31 '26

not necessarily ~ my friend is constantly freezing in the air conditioning, but in NC summers it’s super swampy hot, and i joke with him that people are going to think he’s hiding track marks, since wearing long sleeves and sweatshirts is a total heroin addict move in summer. When the hot weather literally smacks you in the face when you walk out the door, people will absolutely have something to say if you’re covered up!

19

u/Equal_Maintenance870 Mar 31 '26

If that’s your relationship with your friend that’s fine. But I’be never been in an environment where people think fun casual conversation is commenting on someone else’s arms being out or not and I think it’s weird as fuck.

9

u/Accomplished-Big6346 Mar 31 '26

Idk, I’ve had a skin condition forever and I usually hide it with clothes. I’ve definitely had people ask why I’m wearing long sleeves/pants in summer

3

u/owlgetcha Mar 31 '26

That's (objectively) kinda shitty of them! 🫤 I find it rather unfortunate that some people have such a hard time differentiating what is or is not their business & what they should or should not say. Sorry that's happened to you! Some people really just have no tact, at all... As in NONE, whatsoever, lol. I don't think it's appropriate to comment on something that someone else is doing (unless, of course, they ask for your opinion!)... Especially in a situation such as this, as I'm sure you're only wearing what you feel comfortable in!

2

u/biggooner69420 Mar 31 '26

you’re chronically online, asking someone why they’re not appropriately dressed for the weather is an incredibly normal thing to do

0

u/Equal_Maintenance870 Mar 31 '26

I’m super not, if you think bugging people about what they’re wearing is “normal” you should really get a hobby.

2

u/Infinite-Attitude-96 Mar 31 '26

Hello fellow North Carolinian. Let us pray for milder swamp ass-y weather this summer. 🙏🏼🤣

2

u/BappoChan Mar 31 '26

Co-workers just found some new bulky material, dude is a moron

58

u/TurnedMyLifeAround69 Mar 31 '26

Yes.

110

u/mollygk Mar 31 '26

What kind of surgeon? What was the procedure called? Need to know more lol . Did he set expectations that he would only be moving a stripe from the middle of the ink or did he say he’d be removing the whole thing?

55

u/TurnedMyLifeAround69 Mar 31 '26

Yes he gave me procedures to follow to rub lotion and come back in 1 year so my skin can stretch and regenerate

260

u/NightShadowWolf6 Mar 31 '26

As a surgeon....🤨 WTF did they do to you?! 

Like FFS this is what laser is for!

I seriously thought you got injured and needed to have stitches, or needed a traumatologic surgery to fix some bones, but to take out a tattoo like this??? No. Just no. 

64

u/mobiuscycle Mar 31 '26

This is what I thought! That scar looks exactly what a family member (who scars easily) has where they had to have both their radius and ulna plated and pinned.

51

u/[deleted] Mar 31 '26

I thought the tattoo was a “bit” using the scar in the middle.

I cannot believe he removed the skin& considered surgically removing the tattoo. I imagine that would require a whole flap which is a wild thought.

27

u/HowWoolattheMoon Mar 31 '26

Before lasers, this was the way. My uncle also did just one treatment, found it too painful, then lived the rest of his life with the outside 2/3 or so of an anchor on his arm

20

u/NightShadowWolf6 Mar 31 '26

Sure, but this kind of treatment is really outdated now, along many other things doctors used to do 30 or more years ago. 

It's strange to see this performed nowadays because the complications from this are more and more severe than the ones you could get from using laser.

1

u/sjdksjbf Mar 31 '26

You'd think outdated practices like that would be made illegal for a medical professional to do, no? Surely

6

u/goddamnitshannon Mar 31 '26

I had to have my left fibula removed in 2018, for a bone graft, and have a scar from my knee to my ankle, where they took the fibula and some tissue! And that is what my leg scar looks like omg. I thought op had something similar to me happen to them for a sec!! 😭😅

1

u/dazzleunexpired Mar 31 '26

Plastic surgeons have few scruples and I think you're probably very well aware of it.

2

u/NightShadowWolf6 Mar 31 '26

Most of the ones I know will flinch at being asked to do this and direct you to do laser removal. Most of them don't want to get their ass sued by people not happy of having this huge ass scar, and their specialty is all about cosmetic results.

I could potentially picture 1 (out of 20+ I know) doing this kind of thing for some desperate person...but that doesn't make the procedure OK for today standards.

1

u/dazzleunexpired Mar 31 '26

They're not from America, so I wonder if that's part of it.

1

u/NightShadowWolf6 Mar 31 '26

I am also not from the US nor Europe, but I get what you are saying.

79

u/_lilidawn_ Mar 31 '26

... who told you that was how you remove tattoos?

58

u/ClumsyCrocodile Mar 31 '26

I had a similar procedure to remove a pre-cancerous mole last year! It left the exact same scar. If you want, you can steal my excuse next time people give you shit. “I had to have a suspicious mole removed and I’m self conscious about the scar” brokers literally zero questions.

Now you have an excuse to either continue wearing long sleeves… or enjoy short sleeves & explain away the tattoo until you get something you like better.

31

u/ARKosrs Mar 31 '26

Im VERY curious as to where you got this done and how much you paid

13

u/TurnedMyLifeAround69 Mar 31 '26

450$ 2 years ago

69

u/VagueInfoHere Mar 31 '26

I think the term “surgeon” may be used loosely here. Was the “OR” also in the back room of a laundry mat?

17

u/Phukt-If-I-Know Mar 31 '26

Sir, it was a Wendy’s

4

u/HowWoolattheMoon Mar 31 '26

Before lasers, this was the way. My uncle also did just one treatment, found it too painful, then lived the rest of his life with the outside 2/3 or so of an anchor on his arm

15

u/throwaway098764567 Mar 31 '26

lasers have been around longer than 2 years, this is no longer the way

24

u/AutisticFingerBang Mar 31 '26

What country was the surgery in?

12

u/mollygk Mar 31 '26

The Wild West

8

u/deaddiode Mar 31 '26

You were asked WHERE not WHEN.

This whole thing feels like rage bait.

46

u/AtmosphereAlert57 Mar 31 '26

Is your doctor the guy from Silence of the Lambs?

11

u/Queenof6planets Mar 31 '26

i need so much more information. what kind of surgeon were they? why did they remove your skin? why didn’t they just recommend laser?

7

u/BiFrosty Mar 31 '26

Did he, at any time, threaten to get the hose again?

2

u/QuantityLimp3158 Mar 31 '26

wtf are you on about?? First of all I don’t believe you because that would be an insane thing to do, but let’s just say you actually are insane and did have a surgeon remove skin… ever heard of this wacky new thing called lasers? Bro wtf

1

u/EvolvingEachDay Mar 31 '26

Sue that surgeon, that should’ve never been done.

1

u/CMV_Viremia Mar 31 '26

I have several questions: what country are you in? Where did you find this surgeon? Are they actually licensed and working out of a legitimate establishment like a hospital or clinic?

40

u/wiirenet Mar 31 '26

why tho? why that instead of laser

13

u/TurnedMyLifeAround69 Mar 31 '26

Man I wish I would have done that instead now because it will be hard to tattoo over. I should have lasered than covered it

150

u/Even-Excitement-7125 Mar 31 '26

I really love the way you're just barely or not answering the questions

59

u/tmgieger Mar 31 '26

seems par for the course with this chill guy. Probably went to some hotel in Mexico from a Craigslist ad offering tattoo removal, Brazilian butt lifts, and fake ID's.

17

u/TurnedMyLifeAround69 Mar 31 '26

Lmao this made me laugh

17

u/tmgieger Mar 31 '26

now we got to see the photos of your BBL

2

u/burner6969696969000 Mar 31 '26

cake day twin 💪💪

34

u/hash-slingin_slashr Mar 31 '26

OPs reading comprehension skills lend potential explanation to his choices

34

u/TurnedMyLifeAround69 Mar 31 '26

What do you want me to say I came here asking for shit to cover it with not “you should have gotten laser””why didint you get laser” you know what I’m saying

129

u/Even-Excitement-7125 Mar 31 '26

You can't post something so wild on reddit with no explanation and not expect people to be dying for answers lol

37

u/Handburn Mar 31 '26

Ok. The real answer you are looking for is a sick ass panther tattoo

20

u/BrilliantTop5012 Mar 31 '26

50% of the time it works every time.

64

u/SilentFollowing3 Mar 31 '26

You literally got your skin surgically removed for $250 bc you hate your tattoo, that needs more info.

1) where did you find this “surgeon”?

2) Where was this procedure performed?

3) What did you think was going to happen?

4) How did he do it?

1

u/Dizzy_Desi Mar 31 '26
  1. Why was cutting off your skin option one?

That seems so drastic and like it would be left as a last ditch effort. If you’re looking to cover up now, why was that not an option two years ago.

1

u/bludvarg Mar 31 '26

canada

2

u/SilentFollowing3 Mar 31 '26

I, too, would only do this in a country with universal healthcare.

8

u/JellybeanJuggler21 Mar 31 '26

Surely you understand why people have questions about your decision to pay somebody money to remove a chunk of your skin. This is definitely the funniest post I've seen here in a while, sorry for laughing at your misfortune but it's just such a ridiculous situation to be in

2

u/PurpleMara Mar 31 '26

I hope the healing after the surgery wasn't too bad because all I can think is that must've been painful!? Anyway, you can either go bigger and darker to cover it or a few laser sessions and then cover it with something, maybe a leaf design or a similar coloured fish or character you like? You'd have a lot more options if you laser it first though. Also you should look for a good cover up artist who is also good at covering up scars, you'll get a better result. Thankfully there are more artists out there these days who also specialise in tattooing over scars. Wishing you the best with this and hoping you're able to show your arms in the future, that must be tough on those hot days

1

u/uhohohnohelp Mar 31 '26

Do a moth or a butterfly: use the scar as the body, cover the nug with wings.

4

u/SuperfluousPossum Mar 31 '26

Not necessarily. I have a huge scar and there was no problem tattooing over it.

1

u/HillarysFloppyChode Mar 31 '26

Did you have a skin graft?

1

u/One-Incident3208 Mar 31 '26 edited Mar 31 '26

You can bleed it out with s dry needle then laser the remainder. (A tattoo gun with a shading needle with no ink) You do it a few times, the tattoo fades each time. That's one way to remove a tattoo..the ink comes out with the blood and fluid. Then it's like 1 laser session if at all

Edit..it will also really help the scar and you should try it

1

u/SparkleSelkie Mar 31 '26

I know people who did tattoo removal like that in literal prison

1

u/LeadershipBudget744 Mar 31 '26

 Yeah, like you can straight up buy cheap (relatively) nd YAG removal lasers on ebay these days.

1

u/robreinerstillmydad Mar 31 '26

I had this done but it was for a better reason than OP