Tattoos and Keratosis pilaris

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Saturday May 10th, 2008 @ 10:52 PM

Filed under: Tattoos

Hi there!

I have a question that I’m struggling with for quite some time now and I thought maybe you guys will know something about it…. (Sorry if my English is a bit weak…)

I have a skin disorder called “Keratosis Pilaris”, well actually about 50% of the population have it but don’t know it.

Here’s a short Wikipedia explanation to it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keratosis_pilaris

And another site dedicated to it, and there’s an image on the homepage that clarifies what this means better than words: http://www.helpforkp.com/

Anyways, I never got a good answer about tattooing my KP infested upper arms. The thing is, tattoo artists don’t know too much about dermatology and are afraid to make medical statements, obviously, and skin doctors (dermatologists) don’t know anything about tattoos, or just tell me “don’t tattoo yourself”.

So here’s my questions:

Can I tatto over it?

Will the tattoo quality be good as on healthy skin?

Is there anything special I need to do before tattooing my arms?

Thanks!!!

If you have answers for me I would be sooo grateful (-:

Have a nice day

The short answer is “yes”. An ex of mine has keratosis so I was able to see firsthand that it’s entirely possible. Depending on the severity of your KP, it could be easier/harder. Will it look like a tattoo on healthy skin? No. But it can still look quite good.

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10 Responses to “Tattoos and Keratosis pilaris”

I have had this since high school and never knew what it was until now and had the same questions about tattooing and such. Thank you so much for finally putting my mind at ease! Good luck on the tattooing of it.

Lyse on May 12th, 2008 at 12:40 pm

Any medical condition involving excess keratin production would not prohibit one from getting a tattoo. Keratinocytes, the cells that produce keratin, are located at the bottom of the epidermis. Tattoo ink is placed in the dermis - beneath the epidermis, where the hyperactive keratinocytes are located. Since tattoo needles need to penetrate the epidermis to reach the dermis, potential problems with tattooing are due to areas of thicker skin with varying depths. Assuming all of the ink appropriately reaches the dermis, the excess keratin in the epidermis may distort how the tattoo appears.

S on May 14th, 2008 at 4:44 pm

would the same apply to psoriasis?

Star on May 16th, 2008 at 2:41 am

No - psoriasis is totally different disease. Although people with psoriasis can get tattooed (and many have no problems), there is a potential that the tattooing process will trigger or worsen the psoriasis.

While the exact cause of psoriasis is unknown, it differs from keratosis pilaris in that there is a greater inflammatory component and the dermis may also be effected. Additionally, it is believed that psoriasis is the result of an immune reaction. When tattoo pigments are placed in the skin, an immune response ensues. This, in addition to the trauma from the needle punctures, causes inflammation.

People who get patches of psoriasis when they cut themselves (known as the Koebner phenomenon) are more likely to have problems with a tattoo. However, if you are on an immunosuppressant, this response would be blunted.

Getting a tattoo is an environmental factor that may be a potential trigger of psoriasis (among stress, alcohol consumption, and smoking). All of these factors, along with the genetic component, vary from person-to-person and from day-to-day. Ultimately, it’s a crap shoot and there is no way to predict what will happen. Even if you had no problems with one tattoo, there is still a chance that your next would cause problems.

S on May 16th, 2008 at 4:37 am

I have a similar question, I tried posting it, but wordpress isn’t working for me for some reason. Then, this was posted, and i thought i’d take advantage of commenting a follow up question.
Any way here’s my question…
I want to get my second tattoo on my foot. the problem is, i have extremely dry callused and flakey skin. the sides and bottoms are one big callus and the top is all flakey, my tattoo will cover the top and part of the sides. how will the condition of my feet effect the tattoo? also, i exfoliate with grainy creams and gels, and file my feet with one of those metal callus remover thingies (ped egg), how will this effect it? what should i do to prep myself before the tattoo, and what should i do during the healing?
thanks for the help. (and sorry to gross people out!)

ps, anyone else having problems logging in??? its not recognizing my password, and when i try to reset it, it gives me an error message

Bev on May 22nd, 2008 at 6:18 pm

http://www.bmeink.com/A70906/high/bmepb605827.jpg
A picture of a tattoo on skin with this condition.

Sin on June 5th, 2008 at 9:31 am

I’ve had psoriasis for nearly 10 years now and have a fair few tattoos, when I’m healing my tattoos I use dovobet on them, this is a topical cream which I use on my plaques. I always take precaution to not be tattooed on an area that has or has had psoriatic scales. As the person above pointed out, trauma to the skin can trigger psoriasis (to the point where whenever I cut my legs shaving I can end up with it on the wound).

I am on immunosuppressants, which tends to slow down the healing time, but when I use my dovobet the tattoos heal fine without scaling.

I only have one tattoo that has been disfigured by my psoriasis. I had a bad flare up after having it done and there is now psoriasis where the tattoo is, when I have times when I’m less ’scaly’, I notice that the colour has come out and I think this may be to do with the constant shedding, although I’m not sure

Alexia on July 16th, 2008 at 2:45 pm

thank you so much! i’ve been wanting to get a sleeve done for two years now, but have been worried about the condition.
does anyone else have examples of tattoos with this condition? that would be great.

Mel on December 21st, 2008 at 2:53 am

my brother and I both have kp and tattoos and the tattoo will not make it worse and the kp will not affect the tattoo. The tattoo actually makes it harder to see the kp, and it looks and feels just fine. it’s no problem, get your tattoo without worry!

maggy on April 12th, 2009 at 10:26 pm

I have fairly severe (bumpy and red) KP on my whole left upper arm and started my sleeve from the wrist up. A month ago I was going in to get my upper arm done and asked the artist first about how KP affects tattooing. He promised to ask around but thought it should be ok.

So he asked many of his highly experienced tattoo artist friends and also his relative who is a dermatologist. The answer was: extremely difficult to tattoo over bumpy skin, lines become irregular and fucked up easily, and the ink doesn’t stay as well as on normal skin. Many had tried tattooing over KP (it is a common skin type after all) with baaaad results.

So I resorted to getting the design on the inside of my arm which is all smooth. A tiny portion of the tattoo went over some KP and boy did the blood GUSH out. The artist said he’d never seen anyone bleed so much from one tiny spot. And it was painful. I could not imagine getting tattooed over a large portion of KP.

In my experience and what I’ve heard from many skilled artists I would not recommend tattooing over alot of KP skin. I hate leaving my upper arm and shoulder “bare” but I hope the KP will clear up some day so I can get tattooed there.

Marylee on April 17th, 2009 at 12:44 pm

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I have had this since high school and never knew what it was until now and had the same questions about tattooing and such. Thank you so much for finally putting my mind at ease! Good luck on the tattooing of it.
Lyse on May 12th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Any medical condition involving excess keratin production would not prohibit one from getting a tattoo. Keratinocytes, the cells that produce keratin, are located at the bottom of the epidermis. Tattoo ink is placed in the dermis - beneath the epidermis, where the hyperactive keratinocytes are located. Since tattoo needles need to penetrate the epidermis to reach the dermis, potential problems with tattooing are due to areas of thicker skin with varying depths. Assuming all of the ink appropriately reaches the dermis, the excess keratin in the epidermis may distort how the tattoo appears.
S on May 14th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
would the same apply to psoriasis?
Star on May 16th, 2008 at 2:41 am
No - psoriasis is totally different disease. Although people with psoriasis can get tattooed (and many have no problems), there is a potential that the tattooing process will trigger or worsen the psoriasis.

While the exact cause of psoriasis is unknown, it differs from keratosis pilaris in that there is a greater inflammatory component and the dermis may also be effected. Additionally, it is believed that psoriasis is the result of an immune reaction. When tattoo pigments are placed in the skin, an immune response ensues. This, in addition to the trauma from the needle punctures, causes inflammation.

People who get patches of psoriasis when they cut themselves (known as the Koebner phenomenon) are more likely to have problems with a tattoo. However, if you are on an immunosuppressant, this response would be blunted.

Getting a tattoo is an environmental factor that may be a potential trigger of psoriasis (among stress, alcohol consumption, and smoking). All of these factors, along with the genetic component, vary from person-to-person and from day-to-day. Ultimately, it’s a crap shoot and there is no way to predict what will happen. Even if you had no problems with one tattoo, there is still a chance that your next would cause problems.
S on May 16th, 2008 at 4:37 am
I have a similar question, I tried posting it, but wordpress isn’t working for me for some reason. Then, this was posted, and i thought i’d take advantage of commenting a follow up question.
Any way here’s my question…
I want to get my second tattoo on my foot. the problem is, i have extremely dry callused and flakey skin. the sides and bottoms are one big callus and the top is all flakey, my tattoo will cover the top and part of the sides. how will the condition of my feet effect the tattoo? also, i exfoliate with grainy creams and gels, and file my feet with one of those metal callus remover thingies (ped egg), how will this effect it? what should i do to prep myself before the tattoo, and what should i do during the healing?
thanks for the help. (and sorry to gross people out!)

ps, anyone else having problems logging in??? its not recognizing my password, and when i try to reset it, it gives me an error message
Bev on May 22nd, 2008 at 6:18 pm
http://www.bmeink.com/A70906/high/bmepb605827.jpg
A picture of a tattoo on skin with this condition.
Sin on June 5th, 2008 at 9:31 am
I’ve had psoriasis for nearly 10 years now and have a fair few tattoos, when I’m healing my tattoos I use dovobet on them, this is a topical cream which I use on my plaques. I always take precaution to not be tattooed on an area that has or has had psoriatic scales. As the person above pointed out, trauma to the skin can trigger psoriasis (to the point where whenever I cut my legs shaving I can end up with it on the wound).

I am on immunosuppressants, which tends to slow down the healing time, but when I use my dovobet the tattoos heal fine without scaling.

I only have one tattoo that has been disfigured by my psoriasis. I had a bad flare up after having it done and there is now psoriasis where the tattoo is, when I have times when I’m less ’scaly’, I notice that the colour has come out and I think this may be to do with the constant shedding, although I’m not sure
Alexia on July 16th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
thank you so much! i’ve been wanting to get a sleeve done for two years now, but have been worried about the condition.
does anyone else have examples of tattoos with this condition? that would be great.
Mel on December 21st, 2008 at 2:53 am
my brother and I both have kp and tattoos and the tattoo will not make it worse and the kp will not affect the tattoo. The tattoo actually makes it harder to see the kp, and it looks and feels just fine. it’s no problem, get your tattoo without worry!
maggy on April 12th, 2009 at 10:26 pm
I have fairly severe (bumpy and red) KP on my whole left upper arm and started my sleeve from the wrist up. A month ago I was going in to get my upper arm done and asked the artist first about how KP affects tattooing. He promised to ask around but thought it should be ok.

So he asked many of his highly experienced tattoo artist friends and also his relative who is a dermatologist. The answer was: extremely difficult to tattoo over bumpy skin, lines become irregular and fucked up easily, and the ink doesn’t stay as well as on normal skin. Many had tried tattooing over KP (it is a common skin type after all) with baaaad results.

So I resorted to getting the design on the inside of my arm which is all smooth. A tiny portion of the tattoo went over some KP and boy did the blood GUSH out. The artist said he’d never seen anyone bleed so much from one tiny spot. And it was painful. I could not imagine getting tattooed over a large portion of KP.

In my experience and what I’ve heard from many skilled artists I would not recommend tattooing over alot of KP skin. I hate leaving my upper arm and shoulder “bare” but I hope the KP will clear up some day so I can get tattooed there.
Marylee on April 17th, 2009 at 12:44 pm

Tattoos and Keratosis pilaris

«« tongue splitting/frenum cutting eyebrow piercing rejection? »»

Saturday May 10th, 2008 @ 10:52 PM

Filed under: Tattoos

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