In the last couple of years, Stretch Mark cover up tattooing has come more into the spotlight, thanks to Brazilian artist Rodolpho Torres and his protégés.  Treatment methods have really evolved since the skin camouflage treatment first emerged, leading to some great results.  With the right education and guidance, it is possible to successfully disguise stretch marks, giving body confidence to those who have suffered for many years without a solution.

For many people who have to live with stretch marks, this isn’t a new concept, and many have been frustrated that this hasn’t been available to them.  They visit tattoo parlours who refuse to do this and there are few and far between skin camouflage specialists that will carry out this procedure, at least in the UK.  But why?

Tattooing over stretch marks is still a controversial subject with many traditional medical tattooists disapproving of this method of treatment.  The reason?  Historically, published photos from stretch mark tattooing have shown some bad results.   And the reason there have been mixed results is a combination of the following:

1. Normal tattoo artists thinking they can just tattoo in the same way with ink
2. Practitioners not knowing what they are doing in the same way
3. No understanding of the skin and how it heals, different skin types, melanin etc
4. Using too much titanium dioxide
5. Mixing wrong colours by not considering the combination of overtones and undertones when the ink heals
6. Using too saturated ink
7. Using poor quality and unstable inks
8. Overtreating the area

What’s the problem with Titanium Dioxide?

Titanium Dioxide is the colour white.  It reduces intensity of any colour by reflecting light.  Therefore, if you have a patient with really pale skin and your start colour seems too dark or intense, you can add more white to make it less intense and paler (at a basic level).  However, titanium dioxide is the largest pigment size compared to all other particle sizes.  The problem is that your body breaks down the mix of colours of pigments within the ink (which happens with all tattoos over time) and can much more readily break down smaller particle sizes, such as reds, brown etc and leave white.  If an artist uses a lot of white in their colour mixing, there is a much higher probability that when the ink colours start to fade as the body breaks it down, white is going to be the last colour to fade, which doesn’t look good.  On very pale skin types, I would go as far as saying don’t treat it, or at least do what is known as a “colour wash” on the stretch marks and combine with MCA Dry Needling to stimulate natural melanin production.  And the intensity can be reduced with dilution techniques instead of using more white (e.g. needle dripping).  All this is taught on the stretch mark tattoo training course, which is available as a combination of online theory, followed by classroom practical experience.

So, what has changed?

In recent years, the stretch mark tattoo treatment has moved forward with a greater understanding of all the variables involved.  It is also said that pioneers in Brazil have bodged a fair few people in their quest to get this treatment right.  And the Brazilians haven’t got it perfect either – they don’t consider European ethnicities in in their colour mixing theory, there is nothing to do with overtones and undertones in their colour matching theory,  and saturations have still been too strong. With a combination of knowledge from around the globe, the UK treatment taught by Ink Illusions (evolving from Brazil, USA and the UK) offers a much more effective way to treat stretch marks than ever before.  The Ink Illusions scar & Brazilian stretch mark tattooing training course covers everything from skin anatomy, healing variables, undertones & overtones, colour theory and mixing, alternative inks, machine comparisons, needle configurations and much more.

If you would like to be one of the first professionally trained practitioners offering this new, revolutionary treatment, CLICK HERE for further information.

If you would like to find out more about stretch mark treatments, CLICK HERE.

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