00:00The whole process is really just like a vibration.
00:03Once you get over that initial three seconds, you're like, oh wow, this is nothing.
00:10I have a lot of scars on my wrist.
00:12I started cutting probably at like 11 years old.
00:15It was one of my first outlets.
00:16I've always struggled with depression and stuff like that.
00:19I'm Patti.
00:19I'm getting the scar tattoo procedure done today.
00:22The scars, they all represent something.
00:24And I think that turning a past somewhat into something like beautiful, it's going to mean
00:29so much to me to highlight them.
00:31I'm not trying to hide them because I still have my rough days.
00:34I'm not going to lie.
00:34But this is going to be a constant reminder that like one, no matter what, it will always
00:39be okay.
00:39And that I have my daughter like always to be a good inspiration and mom too.
00:44My daughter is a Leo.
00:45I wanted to get some kind of like lion.
00:48I'm super excited, especially to like tell her the meaning, but like as a seven year old,
00:54I don't need to go into much detail with her.
00:56She's going to love it.
00:57I just know that she will.
00:58She's an artist herself in her own way.
01:01Being a tattoo artist is a huge blessing because we get to make other people feel confident.
01:07It's a form of self-expression.
01:10I'm Kat Tat.
01:11I'm a tattoo artist and I'm the owner of Enigma Tattoo here in Beverly Hills.
01:15I've been tattooing for a little over 10 years now.
01:18In my 10 years of tattooing, I have been requested to do all kinds of scar tissue cover-ups.
01:24A lot of times people will want keloids and things covered up, so I have a lot of experience
01:28with it.
01:33I'm super easy when it comes to working with tattoo artists, especially talented ones.
01:37So I'm pretty much like going to trust her.
01:39I'm going to put my arm out and just like go for it.
01:42I mean, I love obviously getting tattoos, but this is also going to be like a huge part
01:45of my story moving forward as well.
01:47People have said like, don't you care what you're going to look like when you're old?
01:50And I'm like, well, no, like I'm going to be older one and I think it's going to be
01:54pretty cool to have tattoos because I think that, you know, what's in here more so matters
01:58the most.
01:58I think that they lighten the world up a little bit, so to speak.
02:01I know you were thinking something like a line design.
02:04Yeah.
02:04So I thought you could do something like a line and kind of like a Mandela type design.
02:09Oh my God.
02:10That's like perfect.
02:11And the sizing is actually perfect.
02:13I thought that the line design and the flower with a ton of line work was perfect because
02:18you could still see her scars through it.
02:22I'm a little nervous because when you go over scars with tattoo guns, I think it just depends.
02:26It's going to be a little bit more sensitive, but honestly, this is an area that I can tolerate
02:30a lot of pain.
02:52Patty's design has a million and one lines.
02:56So I'm going to use one of my finest needles, which is a three round tight liner.
03:01And this way I'm able to get every single line in there and not miss a bead of detail.
03:13The stencil that I put on Patty will stay on as long as I don't wipe it too, too much.
03:18So I'm holding my napkin folded up.
03:21I have ointment on my hand that I can use to help with wiping so that I'm not scraping
03:26her dry skin.
03:27But I also don't want to wipe with too much soap and water because I want to keep my stencil
03:31in place.
03:32So I'm taking very, very small steps and I'm wiping each line immediately after I
03:37tattoo it and moving on to the next line.
03:43If I am able to determine that the scar can be covered, then I pretty much have to just
03:48act like it's not there.
03:49It's more so with the design.
03:50So I have to place the design strategically over the scar so that it hides it or, you know,
03:56enhances it or whatever the client wants.
04:00Once you have the design figured out to where it's going to cover the scar, you treat the
04:05skin like regular skin.
04:21that's so weird.
04:21Some spots, all you fear is like vibration.
04:24I don't feel no pain.
04:35Once I'm done with the entire outline, I wipe it off again.
04:39I grab my shader and now it's time to add the shading.
04:53So I'm using just loose strokes just to add those gradients and make this really, really
04:58pop and come to life.
05:03But I'm avoiding the middle of the face because this is where she really wants her tattoos to
05:08show.
05:08So I'm using contrast to go around the lion's face so that these scars in the middle can
05:13still stand out.
06:00Patti's tattoo took probably about two and a half hours.
06:03Once she's finished, I'm going to clean it really, really good, take her over to the
06:07mirror, make sure she loves it and doesn't hate me.
06:09Alrighty, you're all finished.
06:11Ready to check it out?
06:13Yeah.
06:13Alright, take a look.
06:14Oh!
06:16Girl, that is dope.
06:17And it still highlights your scars right in there.
06:20I love it.
06:21Do you want to take a look in the mirror?
06:22Yeah.
06:24Oh, girl.
06:26The end, standing in front of the mirror, it made me feel somewhat full.
06:30Not that scars limit you, because they don't.
06:32I don't think that they do at all.
06:33I was just like, oh my god, that's on me.
06:36You know?
06:37It makes me think of my daughter because she is a Leo and being able to see me as her
06:42mom
06:42overcoming things over and over.
06:44Working with Patti was amazing.
06:46She walked in the door.
06:47She was this fun, cute, like, ball of energy.
06:50She was so excited to get her tattoo.
06:52More often than not, I'm asked to cover the scar, which is why I thought this was really,
06:58really cool and unique that she didn't want to completely get rid of them.
07:01She wanted to highlight them.
07:02So it was a different type of procedure for me, but I think we executed it great.
07:07And I'm just happy that she was happy with it.
07:09Most times, if the tattoo is, you know, done the way it's supposed to, it probably won't
07:13need a touch-up.
07:14Although bigger tattoos and tattoos with such tiny little lines like that with such immense
07:19amount of detail, I will always recommend a second session just to make sure that nothing
07:23fell out, you know, and that everything looks perfect.
07:27Getting it touched up, I think, you know, I was looking at it.
07:30And all tattoos, because it depends on how the person heals, I may get certain parts touched
07:35up, but I plan on going back to Kat anyway.
07:37Once the tattoo is complete, it should take two to three weeks to heal.
07:41I always tell my clients to take the wrap off within an hour of the procedure.
07:45So let your tattoo breathe for the first day.
07:47The next day, you can use a little bit of light ointment or non-scented lotion.
07:51Make sure that your clothes that you're putting over it are clean.
07:54Your sheets are clean.
07:55That's the main thing.
07:56Just keep it clean and keep it moisturized and your tattoo will be fine.
07:59It was an emotional experience with my scars and like the placement exactly of like where
08:04she put the lion and that you can see scars on its face like across its nose.
08:09And I hope that it's encouraging to somebody else out there, you know, has scars that they
08:13might be ashamed of.
08:14You don't have to cover them.
08:15You can embrace your scars because I promise you one day you will be able to help somebody
08:19else with them.
08:21Thank you guys for watching Refinery29.
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08:27Like this one.
08:28Thanks.
08:28Okay.
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