I havn't spoken to the derm about this yet, but this is what im thinking right now.
I've always been a bit of a tattoo junky. Having vitiligo is a bit more of an incentive to get excessive work done i suppose. What's comforting is knowing that if i didn't have vitiligo, i would probably tat my shoulders aaalllll the way down to my mid forarms anyway....(ancient egyptian mythology just for the record)
This is conveniant since my elbows are a problem area.
On my hands, my vitiligo is very very progressive. It started with 1 or 2 spots when i was very young. almost 15 years later it continues to spread extremely slowly. causing various, inconsistent white spots. I have 3 spots on my wrist that combine to form a smiley face. My body's way of laughing at me i guess hahah. When i was about 17 i actually considered tattoing my hands! I had a serious thaught process that provoked me not to. I asked myself if i would tatoo my hands if i didnt have vitiligo, and the answer quite frankly was HELL NO. And thats without even considering the social stigma. so now im thinking why not depigment the rest of my hands and wrists all the way up to my forarm, where my tats will end. i would estimate that maybe 25-30% of my hands are already white. Wheather i depigment them or not... it's probably gonna happen on its own. so why not speed up the process? Is it my decision to depigment? do i even need a profesionals consent? I will have all these questions answered on the 17th of june by a derm. But until then im listening to you guys...
Lasty, i'm considering permanent make up (micropigmentation) for my lips. My lips are what get me down the most, even though i camouflage it pretty well with make up. As a man, i dislike wearing make up. I would be lying if i said it doesnt hurt my pride... it does. So now im starting to wonder... Permanent make up is really taking off in 2009. why do most dermatologists discourage it?? whats the worst that can happen? the colour can fade afer a few years and i may need a touch up? i think i can accept that....
has anyone here had success with any of the above methods? what do you guys think if my idea? i'f im being a total idiot let me know :)
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I have vitiligo and I tried to cover up one spot on the back of my neck with a tattoo because I wanted to put my hair up sometimes. It hide it for about a year but after that the white spots start spreading and the tattoo does nothing for it. I regret doing the tattoo and over all I hated this thing called vitiligo and am shocked that there is no cure nor a proper cover up to hide it.
Hi there Princess. Do you know whether one can get a tattoo in an ink that's the same colour of your skin???Not sure whether that is a silly question to ask!!!! Lol! Never looked into having tattoo's. Then I could just tattoo the white patches with an ink that's the same colour of my skin. :-D
Aside from a few touch ups, all of the tattoos I've gotten to make my vit less obvious have held. They are beautiful and I love them so much. If you truly want to go with half sleeves and depigment the rest.... rock n roll man. It's something I've thought about several times... I have freckles everywhere so the white spots on my hands and forearms show. Especially now that it's summertime. However, being a female and not established in my set career yet, full sleeves isn't really an option. And I figure the lower halves of my arms will eventually be white on their own. So for me, it's just more work on my half sleeve and leg warmers. :)
As far as the cosmetic tattooing of the lips: If you find a good, reputable artist and can afford it... go for it. I've known people with lip liner and eyeliner (tattoos) who are so happy with it. (And they got theirs years ago) It will fade but that's what touch ups are for.
So, basically what I'm saying is think about your future and YOUR happiness. If getting these procedures done lets you wake up with a smile... then have a nice day and love life.
Thank you for the positive message, Crysti. The days til my dermatologist appointment keep winding down and soon i will start my treatment/procedures and i promise to keep you posted with pictures and info straight from my derma.
well i understand why you want to depigment your hands, thats the most problematic area for me, the only reason that i haven't considered depig. is because im afraid i'll look like Michael Jackson (no offense to him, love his music). But what is it about your lips that bother you?? im sorry it's just that i don't think im having the same problem. At worst my lips turn an abnormal pale blue when im REALLY cold, but other than that, people can't tell that i have vit on my lips. Could you possible even post a pix? then i could give you my honest opinon over tattooing your lips.
Stellar Duty, thank you for your response. i didn't know that depigmenting certain areas of the body can result in loss of pigment everywhere. I will not do anything to my skin until consulting a dermatologist.
Andrewlette, elbows are a particularly difficult area for a tatoo to hold, because we're always on them or bending them when we move our arms. This results in normal fading. Alot of it depends on the skill of the tatooist. Also, you being african american means that colours from a tatoo wont show very welll on you. That's why most black people with tatoos only have black ink.
Hey Mayra. I just finished applying dermablend to my lips, otherwise i would take a picture right now and upload it for you. since i dont wanna wipe off the make up yet, i'll save the pic for tomorrow morning. Most people dont notice the white on the edges of my lips... I have this fluorescent lighting in my bathroom i should probably get rid of hahah. I see every birth mark, imperfection and minor vitiligo patch very clearly. Despite people not noticing the vitiligo on my lip, it bother me very much - I notice it. i wake up every morning and see it. i wish it wasnt there, but it is. The truth is, alot of people resort to micropigmentation of the lips for vitiligo. i havnt made any decisions yet, im just exploring the possibilities.
thanks for all your replys and i will have some pics soon.
hey.. i just wanna give some warning but im not 100% sure bout this tough. based on some readings that i've done, it says that when you start depigmenting your skin even just one area or one part of your body the rest of your skin will start depigmenting aswell. so that would basically mean you would gone all white in 4mos- 1 year. so i suggest that if you want to depigment your entire skin,you go ahead with your plan but if not.. might as well consider your other options. :)
as for my case,im considering depigmenting my entire skin because my spots are very visible because its in my face. i'd rather be pale white than getting all those stares everyday.
good luck!
Hi Alex, I want to if tatooing works for you, because I tatooed the spots on both my elbows(just skin color to fill the spots)but it did not hold very well and started to fade after a few months when the vit started to spread further.
Replies
Hi there Princess. Do you know whether one can get a tattoo in an ink that's the same colour of your skin???Not sure whether that is a silly question to ask!!!! Lol! Never looked into having tattoo's. Then I could just tattoo the white patches with an ink that's the same colour of my skin. :-D
Regards.
As far as the cosmetic tattooing of the lips: If you find a good, reputable artist and can afford it... go for it. I've known people with lip liner and eyeliner (tattoos) who are so happy with it. (And they got theirs years ago) It will fade but that's what touch ups are for.
So, basically what I'm saying is think about your future and YOUR happiness. If getting these procedures done lets you wake up with a smile... then have a nice day and love life.
Andrewlette, elbows are a particularly difficult area for a tatoo to hold, because we're always on them or bending them when we move our arms. This results in normal fading. Alot of it depends on the skill of the tatooist. Also, you being african american means that colours from a tatoo wont show very welll on you. That's why most black people with tatoos only have black ink.
Hey Mayra. I just finished applying dermablend to my lips, otherwise i would take a picture right now and upload it for you. since i dont wanna wipe off the make up yet, i'll save the pic for tomorrow morning. Most people dont notice the white on the edges of my lips... I have this fluorescent lighting in my bathroom i should probably get rid of hahah. I see every birth mark, imperfection and minor vitiligo patch very clearly. Despite people not noticing the vitiligo on my lip, it bother me very much - I notice it. i wake up every morning and see it. i wish it wasnt there, but it is. The truth is, alot of people resort to micropigmentation of the lips for vitiligo. i havnt made any decisions yet, im just exploring the possibilities.
thanks for all your replys and i will have some pics soon.
as for my case,im considering depigmenting my entire skin because my spots are very visible because its in my face. i'd rather be pale white than getting all those stares everyday.
good luck!
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