Vitiligo & Cosmetic Tattooing

Andrea Darby · **Posted:** Sat Jun 05, 2010 8:28 pm

This topic is intended for questions you may have or general discussion about Cosmetic Tattooing for people with vitiligo and other conditions with loss of natural skin pigmentation.

For information about ParaMedical Cosmetic Tattooing Click Here

paolo · **Joined:** Sun Aug 05, 2012 2:11 pm **Posts:** 4

I have some patches of vitiligo on my face, back, arms, and backs of my hands hands which bother me because I get sick people asking me what is wrong and if I am infectious, my doctor said that having them coloured in with tattoo pigment might be an option worth considering. I don't know much about it could you please explain to me what is involved?

Andrea Darby · **Posted:** Mon Aug 06, 2012 10:12 pm

Hi Paolo and welcome to the forum, in the first instance you would have a consultation to discuss what areas of your skin you would like to have treated in an attempt to camouflage the vitiligo patches and match and blend with your natural skin colour. The results will depend upon a number of factors such as your natural skin colour, the body area involved and how active your immune system is towards the pigment once it is implanted etc.

If you have camouflage tattooing applied to your vitiligo its important to remember that the tattooing will require a touch up procedure periodically and skin areas exposed to the sun will not tan like the surrounding skin and may fade more quickly due to sun exposure. The backs of the hands often have the tendency to fade faster than other areas of the body and can be more challenging to colour match.

It is best to make sure that your vitiligo affected areas are stabilised prior to having any camouflage tattoo work or else you may find that the natural skin pigment continues to change or disappear around the areas that have been tattooed.

If you are prone towards Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (PIH) then that will need to be discussed and evaluated before any treatments are applied.

All treatments generally start with a test patch.

paolo · **Joined:** Sun Aug 05, 2012 2:11 pm **Posts:** 4

Thank you for providing me the detailed information I can now understand that this is something that is more involved than should be attempted by your average tattooist, I will come and discuss this with you sometime in the next couple of months. Thanks Paolo

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