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50 Times People Asked To Cover Up Their Scars, And This Tattoo Artist Nailed It (New Pics)
A tattoo can help remind you to be proud of who you are and how far you’ve come—it can be a symbol of your confidence in yourself, your perseverance, and your ability to weather any storm.
Vietnamese tattoo artist Tran Thi Bich Ngoc, aka Ngoc Like Tattoo, helps women feel happy about themselves and their bodies by covering up their scars, burns, and blemishes with body art. Her artful work is about beauty and restoring one’s confidence. We’ve collected some of the artist’s most impressive new works. Which of these designs did you like the most, dear Pandas? Would you ever choose to cover up a scar? What tattoos do you have? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Bored Panda has reached out to Ngoc and will update the article as soon as we hear back from her. Meanwhile, you’ll find Bored Panda’s first article about Ngoc’s tattoos right over here.
More info: Instagram | Facebook | TikTok | YouTube | NgocLikeTattoo.com
This post may include affiliate links.
Tattoo artist Ngoc believes that every woman is beautiful and she doesn’t want anyone to struggle with their scars. The artist gives each and every client the care and attention they deserve.
Her attention to detail and skills are so good that it means that once the design is finished, you can’t even tell there was a scar there.
These poor women. I hope this gives them some comfort and happiness after such pain.
The Vietnamese artist hopes that her designs can give everyone a new appreciation of what tattoo art can achieve. It’s not just about beauty (though a large part of it is)—it’s also about healing, spiritually.
Body art can have a far greater positive effect than many people might initially think.
I guess everyone feels differently about stretch marks, I'd never considered them scars but I guess they are? All these ppl are beautiful with and without tattoos, it's their reclamation of the body
Shes lucky to be alive. Those look very much like the stab marks I've seen on patients in my nursing before I quit and became a butcher. I love how beautiful these are and now only the woman doesn't have to be physically reminded every damn day that someone tried to destroy her beauty.
Ngoc is pushing boundaries with her work, considering that tattoos have been stigmatized in Vietnam for a long time.
Historically, tattoos had a bad reputation due to their association with prisoners, and later, with organized crime. However, times are changing and perspectives are (slowly) shifting.
The scar looks like a mouth with it's tongue out. I would have gone with a funny face 👀
The artist started Ngoc Like Tattoo all the way back in 2012, right after she turned 19. In 2015, her project really took off and she started gaining more and more traction online. Ngoc has a very broad background in art.
I used to want to hide all my scars, cover them up with tattoos, but, honestly, I wear them with pride. Yes, I hurt myself, but I overcame it and what's left are my battle scars
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But this looks edited? They all do, you would still see some of this scar tissue in the after and they're showing absolutely none at all
I'm gonna get a black heart over my sh scars so they show through and remind me what I've survived
Mine are a part of what makes me who I am. I personally don't want to cover that up. Otherwise I have nothing to show for the struggles I've been through. And only the emotional scars would remain
You know, after having come far enough, even my emotional scars are a perverse point of pride. They made me who I am, and who I am has survived an awful lot. Some people may think I'm a bit maladjusted but I think I'm tougher than they are!
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This is a good idea. Going to look into what I can create for mine.
As someone who is still in recovery and is still learning to love and accept my scars, this one is beautiful. I hate the scars on my arms.
if im ever clean im going to get my imaginary (hopefully i wont be single by then) partner to draw two stars then get them tattooed over my scars
Assuming those are self harm scars, I’m glad you’re feeling happier.
I do similar things not with tattoos as I’m a minor, but i constantly draw flowers or sometimes like stars and planets of my sh scars. I’ve been struggling with it for about 3 years now and recently i went about 3 months and I was very proud of myself and i relapsed today after another screaming match between my parents
sending you hugs and I hope it gets better for you soon- I’m so proud of you
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Beautiful…. And delicate.she beauty and hate of self and allowed the client to know, they are so worthy of the beauty. All of these tattoos are done like this
I truely hope things get better for you all, keep going there is light at the end of the tunnel. You are all beautiful
She decided to come to my studio with a long road trip from Ha Giang to Ha Noi to do tattoo. She told me that she got this 15cm scar was 10 years ago in an accident which broke her arm bones. No one wish to have a scar on our body, she tried the cutting scar method, sewed it but still it was bigger, even tried the deflation but only temporarily flattened but still very dark, and then she thought about getting a tattoo to cover it. So, I designed a softly flower, helps it more modern generally looking and limit the invasive area to avoid it too much bigger.
She graduated as a valedictorian in Costume Design in 2015. She also got a Master’s degree in Motion Pictures Arts and Television from the University of Theater and Performing Arts of Hanoi in 2022. This year, she was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list.
It was an accident from 10 years ago has left a huge scar on her leg, unfortunately happened by a drunk guy crashed into her motorbike from the back, she was shaken unknown what was happening at the time. This unlucky situation made her leg bones broke from inside and emergency rushed to the hospital. Hope this tattoo will make her life the fullest confident of the rest and best of joy.
According to her website, she trained as a professional painter and designer at one of the most prestigious art schools in Vietnam. “I had a lot of opportunities in my work, but after a lot of experiences, it dawned on me that covering scars with tattoos is the endless passion that I really want to stick with and truly belong to,” she writes.
Ngoc writes that this path came due to a “strange twist of fate” and pursuing a career as a professional tattoo artist “completely changed” her life.
“To me, every scar brings a new challenge, they are not only mere coverups for stories and feelings but also fateful milestones that mark the closing of the past and the opening of a new chapter in life.”
The Vietnamese artist finds joy in helping people get over their insecurities and bringing more happiness into their lives. What she does isn’t just cosmetic therapy: “It can also heal broken hearts.”
Previously, the artist told Bored Panda: “My passion is all about tattooing over scars, burns, birthmarks, or any imperfections on the bodies. I believe that a well-done, beautifully constructed tattoo will not only change a person’s image but also lift their confidence and overcome insecurities.”
Which of the artist's designs wowed you the post, dear Pandas? What do you think of her work and her mission to help people? We'd love to hear what you think, so if you'd like, you're more than welcome to share your thoughts in the comments.
I think she is doing a great service to these people lives. U truly r an amazing and caring person. Kudos to u lady
This is perfect. I bet they love it. From never let the tummy be seen to check it out!
This might not be a good idea - I could be wrong but what ive read and understood from a close friend who had a large mark like this. is that larger birthmarks and moles can potentially be cancerous and it's not a good idea to go and do unnecessary trauma on top of them since that can activate the cells.
The circling of the belly button looks quite harsh and makes this different from all the other tattoos, which are very delicate. Probably done by a request, but still looking weird.
I wonder how much photoshop clean up is used in after images. You can confuse the eye, but you can't tattoo away sagging skin.
Note: this post originally had 100 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
I'm pleased these people reclaimed their bodies, it's so important! Great tattooist. Some people can wear scars as a tattoo in itself. I'm a dichotomy of opinion. My scar on my back is mine, and I wouldn't change it (received at age 6). My abdomen scars I hate. I woke up with them after emergency surgeries, and it was a shock(received at age 30). I resent them and want to reclaim my tum. If anyone knows of good art that isn't branches/flowers/vines, thatcould be a good starting point for designs, let me know in the comments! I welcome ideas, it's important it be just right so it's a process You all might have ideas I would never have thought of 😅
I think that a lightly done calico/your favorite color or pattern cat stretching or playing with yarn would cover them nicely
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Yes, these are women. Most men are like "Yeah, this is when I got stabbed in a bar fight. Oh, and let me show you this one on my leg from when I crashed my motorcycle.."
🤣 stares at my husband's scar on his leg he got from a motorcycle crash...
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on my top surgery scars, I'm thinking of getting vines growing over barbed wire. I think this symbolizes how I felt trapped in my body but now I am getting freedom
Many of these are stunning, but some of my scars are so sensitive that I cannot bear them to be touched. How painful would the process be?
if they're so sensitive that you don't want to touch them I wouldn't recommend this lol. Tattoos over scars can hurt more than on regular skin, especially with nerve damage.
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Genuine question! My tattoo avoids my TB injection site / bump because the tattooist said hitting scar/such areas with a tattoo wasn't something she recommended. These are amazing, of course, but is it safe to go over scars? Please educate me!
My opinion is some scars are still recovering, itching, hurting, being uncomfortable from time to time. Those shouldn't be tattooed. Then after a while (years), they become 'neutral'. Some of them could be tattooed (depends on scar depth, topography and quality of the skin).
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Agreed. Right?! Their skin looked altered at times.
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Really beautifully done tattoos. Thank you for helping these women reclaim their bodies.
Bless the artist for doing such a beautiful work and lifting the spirit and boosting the confidence of each one of those people!
Amazingly gorgeous, all of them, I love the dandelion and space kitten. The artwork is incredible, her gift of making someone feel beautiful and whole again is priceless xx
Beautiful work but I'm curious why they're mostly flowers? Are flowers just a crazy popular tattoo choice or are they just the most effective cover? Personally I would have liked runic symbols or geometric shapes instead.
If you check the link posted at the beginning you can see some of her other work including a stunning fire horse. I do think a lot of females like flowers are they are a feminine symbol and a lot of these ladies feel like they lost their beauty with the scarring. It may also be something to do with the tattooists traditions as she is Vietnamese I believe :)
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Today I learned that tattoos needn’t be blue, black, and green, that it’s entirely possible to make tattoos that are delicate and pretty and don’t scream “Biker! Prison! Biker in prison!” I am, however, concerned about the longevity of the delicate ink; as a veteran, I see what happens to tattoos at the VA (they blew, fade, run, and turn into ugly blobs as the wearer ages). Then again, given the lightness of the inks, they may simply disappear (or as close to disappearing as ink gets). I never ended up getting tats of my own because of my indecisiveness and because I’ve seen what happens to tats over time, and I’m relieved; it’s the one time my indecisiveness worked to my advantage. If I ever get a scar I want to cover (doubtful; I find scars crazy-interesting and sexy!), I’m calling this girl. She’s an AWESOME designer and artist! I can’t believe I’m seeing tats in an entirely new way now: they’re expensive and beautiful doilies for skin!
What bothers me, why a doctor doesn't do a better job with stiches, after surgery. I was very young, after three or four surgeries for female issues, after the last surgery, my scars looked like I was sewn up by a kid, I was disgusted, no need to do such a mess...!!!
I love the work done on their behalf. What disturbs me are the seemingly large numbers of knife & burn marks. Women are expected to be these flawless beauties, but this isn’t a world friendly to women. If we were more beautiful to each other perhaps half of these wouldn’t be necessary. But I fully understand & appreciate their desire to cover wounds. If only we could beautify the emotional ones as well. 💜
Sometimes I wish there was a way to do something like this with emotional scars. These are absolutely beautiful. Very talented artist.
Did you notice that the tat artist only drew flowers to cover the scars? Why? Is that the only way to cover the scars? Hmmm....some of them are nice but the others, not so much and I would have came up with more of a creative idea to cover up scars. Also, to the ppl with the scars, every scar has a story behind it and I would like to know what those stories might be. Unless the scars were done by domestic violence, then I think that most of them should be shown off and not covered up
These are breathtaking! What an extremely talented tattoo artist. Happy for the people who got the beautiful artwork done.
YES! A thousand times yes! I was lucky enough to know a medical tattooist. I went thru all the hoops with my Dr, and finally got it ok'd by my insurance. I didn't let him finish. I have several tattoos, and not one of them hurt like trying to cover my scar tissue. I was wondering if all this fine line work is temporary tattoos that had been rubbed on the skin. The artist does beautiful work, but I don't think these were done with needles. Maybe she gets pictures of scars, and designs the temp tat for them to use?
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Why do most of these look fake? And most tattoo artist will tell you, you cannot work directly on scar tissue, they will never look that good. I'm not buying it.
I have many scars from surgeries, as well as stretch marks. I don't know if I would want to "cover up" them, but I would like to incorporate some of them into tattoos. I have a rare form of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome so I get injured very easily. Maybe I will get a zebra over my stretch marks because zebras represent rare diseases.
Some of these are absolutely breathe taking. I'm definitely going to get my scare covered up, been thinking about it for years. Now I'm going to go for it.
I just feel sad that people have so many scars to cover up and happy that they’ll now feel happy with them
It looks like most of these must be custom designs in order to fit the shape of the scars. I love how she can look at a scar and imagine something beautiful coming out of the shape. What a talent!
in my anatomy class, we looked at loads of keloids and scars, and ngl i think they are pretty cool now but the tattoos are cool too
I'm pleased these people reclaimed their bodies, it's so important! Great tattooist. Some people can wear scars as a tattoo in itself. I'm a dichotomy of opinion. My scar on my back is mine, and I wouldn't change it (received at age 6). My abdomen scars I hate. I woke up with them after emergency surgeries, and it was a shock(received at age 30). I resent them and want to reclaim my tum. If anyone knows of good art that isn't branches/flowers/vines, thatcould be a good starting point for designs, let me know in the comments! I welcome ideas, it's important it be just right so it's a process You all might have ideas I would never have thought of 😅
I think that a lightly done calico/your favorite color or pattern cat stretching or playing with yarn would cover them nicely
Load More Replies... Yes, these are women. Most men are like "Yeah, this is when I got stabbed in a bar fight. Oh, and let me show you this one on my leg from when I crashed my motorcycle.."
🤣 stares at my husband's scar on his leg he got from a motorcycle crash...
Load More Replies... on my top surgery scars, I'm thinking of getting vines growing over barbed wire. I think this symbolizes how I felt trapped in my body but now I am getting freedom
Many of these are stunning, but some of my scars are so sensitive that I cannot bear them to be touched. How painful would the process be?
if they're so sensitive that you don't want to touch them I wouldn't recommend this lol. Tattoos over scars can hurt more than on regular skin, especially with nerve damage.
Load More Replies... Genuine question! My tattoo avoids my TB injection site / bump because the tattooist said hitting scar/such areas with a tattoo wasn't something she recommended. These are amazing, of course, but is it safe to go over scars? Please educate me!
My opinion is some scars are still recovering, itching, hurting, being uncomfortable from time to time. Those shouldn't be tattooed. Then after a while (years), they become 'neutral'. Some of them could be tattooed (depends on scar depth, topography and quality of the skin).
Load More Replies... Agreed. Right?! Their skin looked altered at times.
Load More Replies... Really beautifully done tattoos. Thank you for helping these women reclaim their bodies.
Bless the artist for doing such a beautiful work and lifting the spirit and boosting the confidence of each one of those people!
Amazingly gorgeous, all of them, I love the dandelion and space kitten. The artwork is incredible, her gift of making someone feel beautiful and whole again is priceless xx
Beautiful work but I'm curious why they're mostly flowers? Are flowers just a crazy popular tattoo choice or are they just the most effective cover? Personally I would have liked runic symbols or geometric shapes instead.
If you check the link posted at the beginning you can see some of her other work including a stunning fire horse. I do think a lot of females like flowers are they are a feminine symbol and a lot of these ladies feel like they lost their beauty with the scarring. It may also be something to do with the tattooists traditions as she is Vietnamese I believe :)
Load More Replies... Today I learned that tattoos needn’t be blue, black, and green, that it’s entirely possible to make tattoos that are delicate and pretty and don’t scream “Biker! Prison! Biker in prison!” I am, however, concerned about the longevity of the delicate ink; as a veteran, I see what happens to tattoos at the VA (they blew, fade, run, and turn into ugly blobs as the wearer ages). Then again, given the lightness of the inks, they may simply disappear (or as close to disappearing as ink gets). I never ended up getting tats of my own because of my indecisiveness and because I’ve seen what happens to tats over time, and I’m relieved; it’s the one time my indecisiveness worked to my advantage. If I ever get a scar I want to cover (doubtful; I find scars crazy-interesting and sexy!), I’m calling this girl. She’s an AWESOME designer and artist! I can’t believe I’m seeing tats in an entirely new way now: they’re expensive and beautiful doilies for skin!
What bothers me, why a doctor doesn't do a better job with stiches, after surgery. I was very young, after three or four surgeries for female issues, after the last surgery, my scars looked like I was sewn up by a kid, I was disgusted, no need to do such a mess...!!!
I love the work done on their behalf. What disturbs me are the seemingly large numbers of knife & burn marks. Women are expected to be these flawless beauties, but this isn’t a world friendly to women. If we were more beautiful to each other perhaps half of these wouldn’t be necessary. But I fully understand & appreciate their desire to cover wounds. If only we could beautify the emotional ones as well. 💜
Sometimes I wish there was a way to do something like this with emotional scars. These are absolutely beautiful. Very talented artist.
Did you notice that the tat artist only drew flowers to cover the scars? Why? Is that the only way to cover the scars? Hmmm....some of them are nice but the others, not so much and I would have came up with more of a creative idea to cover up scars. Also, to the ppl with the scars, every scar has a story behind it and I would like to know what those stories might be. Unless the scars were done by domestic violence, then I think that most of them should be shown off and not covered up
These are breathtaking! What an extremely talented tattoo artist. Happy for the people who got the beautiful artwork done.
YES! A thousand times yes! I was lucky enough to know a medical tattooist. I went thru all the hoops with my Dr, and finally got it ok'd by my insurance. I didn't let him finish. I have several tattoos, and not one of them hurt like trying to cover my scar tissue. I was wondering if all this fine line work is temporary tattoos that had been rubbed on the skin. The artist does beautiful work, but I don't think these were done with needles. Maybe she gets pictures of scars, and designs the temp tat for them to use?
Load More Replies... Why do most of these look fake? And most tattoo artist will tell you, you cannot work directly on scar tissue, they will never look that good. I'm not buying it.
I have many scars from surgeries, as well as stretch marks. I don't know if I would want to "cover up" them, but I would like to incorporate some of them into tattoos. I have a rare form of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome so I get injured very easily. Maybe I will get a zebra over my stretch marks because zebras represent rare diseases.
Some of these are absolutely breathe taking. I'm definitely going to get my scare covered up, been thinking about it for years. Now I'm going to go for it.
I just feel sad that people have so many scars to cover up and happy that they’ll now feel happy with them
It looks like most of these must be custom designs in order to fit the shape of the scars. I love how she can look at a scar and imagine something beautiful coming out of the shape. What a talent!
in my anatomy class, we looked at loads of keloids and scars, and ngl i think they are pretty cool now but the tattoos are cool too
