Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I was wondering if any guys had tattoos before T, then got bigger on T/had major body changes due to muscle &fat distribution.. Did your tattoos stretch, shrink, or get disfigured?

I don't have any tattoos yet, but I plan on getting some soon.. I've been working out for a couple of months already to work towards the ideal body I want. Of course I can't get it without T. But its a start.
I want a tattoo on my bicep &I know down the line my arms will get bigger/change shape, so I was wondering how that would effect it.. &If I should wait?

I would wait. Depending on how big the tat is, it may stretch and make it look weird. Especially if you're gonna get a portrait or something.

That's what I was worried about, I guess its better to be safe than sorry. Cause it is a big kind of portrait thing, so I think ill just wait on it &get some small ones on places less likely to stretch so much.

I have two tattoos (I'll try to upload pics when I get a chance) in places that may still expand due to muscle growth. One is on my right bicep/shoulder area and the other is on the front of my left shoulder (if that makes sense lol). I've gained some muscle in my biceps and my shoulders have become more broad (broadened? >.>) but I haven't noticed any disfiguration and very minimal stretching. But, like Shade said, you might want to wait.. or if you're comfortable with it, talk to a tattoo artist about the possible muscle gain and see what he or she thinks.. you don't necessarily have to get into the whole "I'm trans and I'm gonna be taking T, what should I do?" thing, just say you plan on building muscle.

Good luck!
Lex

Quote from: Lex on July 12, 2010, 10:23:28 AM
I have two tattoos (I'll try to upload pics when I get a chance) in places that may still expand due to muscle growth. One is on my right bicep/shoulder area and the other is on the front of my left shoulder (if that makes sense lol). I've gained some muscle in my biceps and my shoulders have become more broad (broadened? >.>) but I haven't noticed any disfiguration and very minimal stretching. But, like Shade said, you might want to wait.. or if you're comfortable with it, talk to a tattoo artist about the possible muscle gain and see what he or she thinks..

Thanks Lex, I think ill just wait for that one &get the small ones that I want.

Hi there, i have a full sleeve on one arm and a half sleeve on the other arm, i've been on T for nearly a year and have been workng out for 4 months and i havent noticed any changes in terms of weird stretching. :)

Are your arms bigger &more shaped than they were when you got them?

yep, especially my shoulders. if anything the extra definition has made them look better.

right before I started T I talked to a friend of mine who is a tattoo artist about this, he knows I am trans and can gather what was going to happen with muscles when I started T based on the fact that he went through puberty. He said that it was have very little to no effect. I had asked him about tattoos on my forearm and back specifically but he said that even drastic muscle growth usually won't majorly effect it.

Since it's a portrait, I would still wait depending on where you put it. The slightest bulge would make it look a bit off.

When I lost a large amount of weight (in the low triple digits) it didn't affect the tats I had. Although I was fortunate that they were in areas that wouldn't have skin stretching/sagging.

That said, there's a chance your arm will become less smooth in shape which will affect the 'canvas' for the portrait. For something complex like that, wait until you're closer to your ideal body. But you should be fine to get simpler designs in the meantime.

Thanks for the replies guys.

I think ill get the simple small ones I want now &wait for the detailed big ones for later, sucks that it won't be for another few yrs though.
:/

The small ones will be on places I don't think will change much. Ankle, upper forearm, wrist, side of neck.. Im thinking about still getting one across my back though, lettering.

neck tattoos are hot

Haha yeah, I eventually want tattoos all over.

I'm pre t and i have 3 tattoos. the only one im worried about at all is the one on my chest, beacuse of top surgery. Ive seen pics of other transguys with tattoos in the same spot, but im not sure if they had it before top surgery or not ???

I have one on my chest too, but I think it's far enough up that it wont be a problem.  How far down your chest is it?

I guess its about 2 inches below the bottom of my collar bone

Shouldn't be a problem, that's not too far down.

ok good to know cuz i really wasnt sure if it would affect and i was worried it would look all deformed or something lol

I am pre-T, but I work out frequently enough to be gaining significant muscle mass, especially on my upper arms where I happen to have a tattoo. I haven't noticed any significant changes in my tattoo.