In this article, we celebrate male beauty! Why? Because men want to feel handsome and attractive too. Feeling comfortable with our image is not a struggle unique to women. It’s part of the struggle of being human. This is often neglected in the media and can even be a taboo topic since it is not really talked about amongst men. While women are free to express their insecurities to other women, men are often left to deal with these feelings alone.
Even the beauty industry is catered to women, leading to the “normalization” of vocalizing and even putting on the spotlight women’s physical concerns. Men, on the other hand, are often perceived as “weak” or “vulnerable” if they possess such insecurities. And in a masculine society, these characteristics are often considered to be negative traits for men as they are often labeled as “feminine.”
What can we do? Let’s change the narrative! Encourage men to express themselves in the same way we do. It’s normal to feel self-conscious about certain things like hair loss, stretch marks, or even scars. And it’s ok to choose to want to do something about our insecurities so that we can feel better in our own skin. The solutions that we offer are gender-neutral in that both men and women can benefit from camouflage tattoos.
A Recent Client Journey
Picture this: It’s a beautiful sunny day outside. Your phone rings. Your friends just invited you out on a trip to the lake and they’ll be taking their brand new boat. There will be food and drinks. And there will certainly be laughs and good times. Too bad you won’t go. You tell them you booked a last-minute gig again that you can’t turn down. You hang up the phone sad and disheartened as you spend the rest of the day alone without your friends.
This is how life had been for Mark, a 34-year-old photographer from Austin, Texas for years. Like women, Mark struggled with an insecurity that had consumed him since he was a teenager. When he hit puberty, he grew very quickly and as a result, developed stretch marks all over his glutes and lower back.
In fact, Mark’s insecurity was so great, he would go to great lengths to avoid places or public outings that would expose his stretch marks. Anything not to be seen in shorts or swim trunks in public. This would leave him missing out on all the fun in life having to endure the pain of hearing epic stories of his friends’ adventures. At least it wasn’t as bad as the embarrassment he would have to experience if anyone saw his stretch marks.
Unfortunately, we don’t think of men as having stretch marks and so Mark never felt comfortable being vocal about his issue until he stumbled upon Studio Conceal. After booking a virtual consultation, he wasted no time and flew all the way from Texas to Arizona to meet Jayd. Jayd helped him to understand that there were other men out there with his issue and that she could help. She validated his experience and reassured him it’s ok to feel insecure about our bodies. It is something most of us struggle with but sometimes are too afraid to admit.
But most importantly, Jayd solved Mark’s problem forever.
How?
By doing a procedure on him called the stretch mark camouflage tattoo. The procedure involves custom blending a flesh-tone ink pigment to match the client’s skin tone. The pigment is then tattooed over the “white” stretch marks to help minimize and conceal the appearance.
Below you can see Mark’s healing journey and full transformation before his tattoo camouflage session to final results. Immediately after being tattooed, the stretch marks are red, swelled, and inflamed which is standard for 24-48 hours post-procedure. We want you to be educated and fully aware of all stages of the process and have included Mark’s month-long journey.
Take a look….
As you can see in the photos, the stretch marks go through a variety of transitions as it heals before revealing final results.
“Truly amazing experience with fantastic results!
I gotta tell you, Jayd is truly one in 7.7 billion (current world population lol). She is seriously one of a kind. She not only has the skill, knowledge, and talent to achieve terrific results in camouflaging your scars and stretch marks, but she also puts her heart into helping you become the best you.
Thank you Jayd! You have no idea how much you have changed the way I feel about my skin, body, and self.”
Thanks to Studio Conceal, Mark never has to miss another pool party or lake day ever again. He is now free to create unforgettable memories with his friends with a confidence he’s never had before.
Disclaimer: These photos were taken by the participant and so the lighting differs each time, which would account for any variations in skin tone.