hi guys, has anyone experienced their tattoo getting squished or stretched? i have a chest tattoo and i'm worried it might get all wonky, not to worried about the ones on my back as they've been there through all the ups and downs and have stayed the same.

I have a small one on my upper chest/shoulder area. So far it looks the same.

So, I have tattoos on my foot and back expressly becasue I felt those areas wouldn't ever be in danger of stretching out. My mom has a little key in a heart on her hip and it's definitely weird looking after a few weight changes and 3 kids. I suppose that's just part of the process. Just like stretch marks and loose skin....

My sister had one on her hip that looked all weird after she gained a bunch of weight. Even once she lost it again it retained a huge stretch mark right down the middle of it and it isn't exactly shaped like a rose anymore. I have a friend who has one on her chest. It has been about 10 years and her is just ever so slightly stretching out. If she has the right bra on you can't even tell. lol

Actually I have another friend who has one dead center in her chest over her heart. She has had it for less time... say 7 years and hers is more stretched and faded than the friend with one on her actual boob.

I guess i'll just have to wait and see lol

It was my biggest fear for the longest time! So I asked around and I was told by many tattooists that tattoos will sometimes get deformed when you gain weight, cuz the design gets stretched out and not necessarily in the right angles and places, but when you lose weight as long as you do it slowly and gradually your skin should adapt and so should your tattoos. At my heaviest I was 221 pounds, I'm now around 175 and I have a big chest piece, and tattoos on my thighs, and they look perfectly fine now with 50 pounds less. Just a big... smaller I guess? :P

I worry about this, but I also went through an INSANE rapid weight gain (were talking 90ish in less then 8 months). I somehow *knocks on wood* don't have many/very visible stretch marks (and i pray this gives me hope to not wind up w/loose skin badly/at all...i know they're different things but i figure they both have to do w/elasticity?) and i have a pretty large tat down the left side of my torso and another round my left hip. I can tell i've stretched the one of the hip, but its not bad. I hope if i lose all the weight it will improve, but i figured its not something touch up work won't be able to help, they're both unfinished anyhow. I'm just waiting to get down to goal and wait it out.
But i mean i gained the most in my stomach, so the one on my torso is what i feel could have been destroyed. The first time i lost about half of what i gained, a few friends said they couldn't tell any difference in the tattoo, idk what this time will tell. I have hope! And the higher on your chest, that might come into play? A few of my friends that have chest pieces that are older, most are in good shape.

This is something I am terrified about! Right now, I have a large tattoo on my forearm, and one on the other wrist, I am wanting to get more, because I absolutely love body art, but I am terrified that I will lose the weight I want to, and they will be deformed looking.

This is what my tattoo guy said too when I asked him.

i have a tattoo on my left arm and i am scared that it will get deformed when i lose weight. i guess i will have to see what happens when i get there, although i am hoping it doesn't look bad, since it is a memorial tat of my dad. the tattoo artist really did a wonderful job in designing and applying it on me. it would be a shame if such artwork went to waste.

ive been looking at my uncles tattoos, he has lost 40kgs (around 80lbs i think) and his tattoos look just the same, so that made me feel a bit better lol

i do asume tattoos on the tummy, inner thighs, and hips or underarm will change though.. but i think where mine are they might be okay

I only have one tattoo, on my outer thigh, and through rapid weight gain, slow weight loss, and rapid weight loss it has been fine. It does currently look like it has 'moved' over a bit from where I originally placed it. I talked to the artist before, and he said may people had the concerns I did. He recomended drinking water constantly through weight loss and to use skin softners to keep it extra hydrated. True, I am only 20 so I haven't had to deal with the dreaded sagging of skin YET, but I would think as long as you stay hydrated and moisturize you should be pretty fine.

Been worried about that too but feel much better knowing that other ladies haven't had problems with ones on their thighs cause that's where my fab and most elaborate tats are.

Glad someone asked this question! I have some FLABBY arms with some nice work I REALLY don't want touched up

I heard somewhere that tattoos and weight gain can be considered as a balloon - think of the tattoo as a pattern on a balloon and the balloon is you. If you blow up a balloon then the pattern will still be seen, but it might seem a little "stretched", but if you deflate the balloon then it returns to normal. Hope that makes sense!