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Thin skin  

Another common cause of tattoo blowout—and one that is much harder to control—occurs when a design is applied to areas of the body where the skin is especially thin. This is because these parts of the body have less tissue beneath the skin which makes the needle much more likely to penetrate deeper than intended and cause a blowout.  

Areas like the top of the feet,hands, the wrists and ankles,toes or finger tattoos are especially susceptible to these kinds of blowouts. Once again, experienced artists are less likely to cause a blowout, but even talented artists can struggle with the skin of these thin areas.  

Overstretching  

When applying a tattoo, an artist will commonly stretch the client’s skin to ensure the area is flattened and that a design is properly proportioned. However, if the artist is a bit rough and overzealous when stretching the client’s skin, it can cause the needle to penetrate in odd angles and potentially inject ink into surrounding tissue and lead to a blowout.  

Most experienced artists understand how much elasticity a person’s skin has and how to stretch it properly to apply a tattoo without leading to a blowout, but sometimes it does still happen.  

 

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Can I fix a blowout?  

Unfortunately, once a blowout occurs there is very little that can be done to undo the process.  

The only real way to fix a blowout is to go to a tattoo artist—preferably not the same one that applied the original, botched piece—and consult with them about the possibility of a cover up. While this may not be the perfect solution for a small piece (a tattooist may recommend the use of white ink application for smaller problems with black ink or dark pigment) the final product will most likely look better than a blown-out design.