What is a Tattoo Blowout, and how to fix and prevent one?

Are you still glaring at your fresh ink tat, hoping what you see is just part of the healing process? Or are you a tattoo enthusiast who has thus far escaped the dreaded blowout?

For the former, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but a Tattoo blowout does not just go away. And for the latter, no one is immune to tattoo blowout. And if you are slightly confused, continue reading this blog to learn what a tattoo blowout is and how a tattoo blowout can be fixed or prevented.

What is a Tattoo Blowout?

A tattoo blowout indicates a tattoo artist's heavy-handedness or lack of competence with the needle. Because of this overuse of the needle, the ink penetrates the skin more profound than it should. A tattoo blowout will make the ink seem fuzzy and smeared on the skin's surface.

What Causes Tattoo Blowouts

Tattoo ink can spread into surrounding layers of fat if pressed too deeply into the skin. This creates the blurring look that is closely identified with a tattoo blowout. Tissue samples conducted from persons who had tattoo blowouts revealed that the ink reaches considerably deeper beneath the skin than is required during a tattooing technique.

The difference in pressure and cell structure in this deeper layer of fat causes the ink to disseminate across the skin's layers in unwanted and unforeseen ways.

Even though most tattoo blowouts are visible immediately after the needle injects the ink into the incorrect layer of skin, it might take up to a few weeks for the blown-out pigment to distribute throughout the layer sufficiently to be seen on the surface.

Continue reading to learn why tattoo blowouts occur and how to fix and prevent them.

Needles placed too deeply or at an incorrect angle.

The top reason for the blowout is that being overly aggressive with the needles and pressing them too deeply can spread the ink into a skin layer that should not have been touched. This can also be quite uncomfortable.

The artist might also insert the needles at an improper angle, allowing the needles to distribute ink onto nearby tissue, resulting in a blowout effect.

Although blowouts can happen to anyone, you will have to be less likely to suffer a blowout with an experienced tattoo artist. 

To Much Tugging and Pulling of the Skin

Tattoo Artists have to stretch the skin to create an even and flat surface to ensure the ink is distributed evenly. However, by doing so, they sometimes can pull it too tightly, which might cause the needle to bulge at odd angles, resulting in a tattoo blowout.

Thin Skin 

Because of the excessive thinness of certain skin sections, the needle will penetrate the lower layers much more quickly, sometimes causing a blowout. Wrists, ankles, fingers, toes, and tips of hands/feet are more susceptible to blowouts.

Blowouts are also likely if a tattoo is placed on joints like behind the knee or inside the elbow. However, this is unusual.

Again, a competent and experienced artist is considerably less likely than a novice to penetrate too deeply into these sensitive places - but it can still happen though the odds are low.

What do Tattoo Blowouts Look Like?

A tattoo that has a blowout looks blurry ad streaky. The ink looks like it had spread outside of the design; in short, NOT! a very aesthetically pleasing smudgy tattoo.

Can A Tattoo Blowout be Fixed?

Tattoo blowouts don't just fix themselves! Fortunately, there are a handful of techniques to decrease the appearance of a blowout faster than simply waiting for it to dissipate over time. While no strategy is guaranteed to succeed, it can undoubtedly be beneficial depending on the circumstances.

Cover it up with a Tattoo Correction

Getting a brand spanking new tattoo to "cover up" the blowout is often recommended. This can help conceal the blowout while keeping your original Tattoo. For this, though we recommend an experienced Artist, the last thing you'd want is to make a complete mess by leaving the ink to incompetent and inexperienced hands.

Vlogigurl is an experienced Tattoo artist who will quickly be able to come up with ideas for the new Tattoo that will help disguise the blowout, such as what color or design to incorporate. 

"Vlogigurl started her apprenticeship to become a tattoo artist 4 years ago in California. Since then, she has handcrafted and executed over 100 tattoos. She has raving online reviews and is quickly becoming one of the industry's most renowned tattoo artists."

Laser Correction

Laser Therapy comes with a hefty price tag, generally costing from $500 upwards per session, and in most cases, several sessions are required. It is also an excruciatingly painful procedure whereby lasers are used to fire energy waves at ink, targeting troublesome ink particles, dispersing them deeper into the skin, and making them less visible.

How can Tattoo Blowouts be prevented?

To summarize the above, there are a few steps that can be taken to prevent blowouts 

• Avoid getting a tattoo on Areas with thin skin
• Avoid over-stretching the tattoo areas of your skin
• Choose an experienced Tattoo Artist.