These brave women beat cancer and domestic abuse – and got incredible scar-covering tattoos to cement their victory
Others chose to get the inspirational inkings on marks left from self-harming to take back control
THERE are a whole host of reasons why people get tattoos.
Whether it's a dedication to a special person, a fashion statement or the result of a drunken bet, the permanent inking will forever serve as a lasting reminder of that decision.
For these brave women, their tattoos all carry a profoundly inspirational story.
They decided to ink designs on body scars which came about as a result of domestic abuse, surgeries, self harm or cancer.
Here are their stories.
One woman's tattoo turns a scar from a trampolining accident at school into a branch, on which sits a pretty bluebird.
Rachel, a member of the , explained: "After eight months of surgeries, three years of physical therapy and rehab, and battling complications ranging from compartment syndrome to infection, I was left with an arm that not only hurt constantly and didn’t work, but also didn’t look like my own.
"Surgeries to remove dead muscle and scar tissue had distorted my forearm, and the scars scattered across my arm and hand felt unsightly and ugly.
"This tattoo, my first, was a present to myself when I turned 18 as a way to reclaim my body after it had been irreparably damaged, and to turn my scars into something beautiful.
"I didn’t want to cover up the surgical scars because they were, and are, such an important part of who I am now, but I wanted to transform them into something I was proud of."
This fellow Buzzfeed community member opted for a sleeve tattoo to cover up a scar from a burn on her arm.
She explained: "I lost a bet in high school and let someone burn me with the metal end of a Bic lighter on my arm.
"It left a really noticeable scar so I started a half sleeve to cover it up."
Another lady reclaimed her body after suffering years of sexual abuse as a child at the hands of her grandfather.
She wrote: "For a long time, I felt like my body didn’t belong to me.
"I could feel his eyes burned into my skin, or the ghost of his hands brushing against my thighs."
As retaliation, she began self-harming, cutting her skin around her ribs, her breasts and her thighs.
She explained: "They were all the things he loved too much, and I wanted to destroy them.
"The worst of the scars were on my ribs. After recovery, my mum bought me scar scream and they faded.
"Even still, I felt a disconnect from my body. I started letting boys toss me around and abuse me.
"I saw myself as nothing but a sex object.
"Earlier this year, I relapsed. I was so angry and embarrassed at how weak I still was.
"So after some thought and saving, I went into a tattoo parlour and got a blooming peony on my sternum and ribs.
"I wanted to plant something beautiful where something ugly used to be.
"It’s still not finished, and needs colouring when I can afford it, but for now, it’s a great comfort to see in the mirror. I’m taking my body back, one flower at a time."
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This Buzzfeed community member shared the story behind the tattoo on her back.
She wrote: "Instead of hiding my scar, I decided to show it off.
"Last July I had scoliosis spinal reconstruction surgery placing 2 titanium rods on either sides of my spine and fusing 2/3 of my spinal vertebrae into one large bone.
"This left me with a noticeable 2 1/2 foot scar down the centre of my back.
"I got the word “strength” tattooed next to my scar.
"The “S” is a tracing of my actual spine from an x-ray before my surgery. It took a lot of strength to recover from such a hard surgery and I want a constant reminder of that."
This told how she got her wrist tattoos to cover up marks from when she self-harmed.
She wrote: "These forearm scars are (pretty obviously) from self-harm and they're from almost 14 years ago.
"Been wanting to cover it with a tattoo for half my life, but I guess just recently developed the metaphorical balls to finally do it. So happy!"
Jennie Simpkins told Buzzfeed she got this tattoo to cover a scar from an abusive boyfriend.
She explained: "He broke my arm and I had a metal plate put in it. I still went back to him many times.
"That scar reminded me of how weak I was and I wanted something beautiful instead.
"My cousin whom I was really close to committed suicide a couple months ago and I wanted to honour him.
"He called me unicorn."
Whitney Develle posted a photo of her tattoo, which covers scars from self-harming on her wrist, on .
She wrote: "This is about how bad my left arm is, I've thought about covering it all too, but wasn't sure how well it hides... now I see that tattoo does a good job!"
Another girl told Buzzfeed how she got a tattoo of what her spine should look like on her back, having been diagnosed with severe scoliosis — a 65-degree curve in my spine in the shape of an S - at the age of 15.
She required invasive surgery to straighten her spine and had two titanium rods on either side of her spine attached by 15 screws which were screwed directly into her vertebrae.
She explained: "The tattoo is from a medical textbook and spans 17” up my back, over my scar, which you can barely see.
"It is a symbol of my recovery and strength. My spine has never looked like that, nor will it ever look like that, it is simply the spine that I should’ve had."
This tattoo covers up a scar resulting from a bone tumour in a knee.
Michelle, the owner, explained: "It was removed when I was 10. This is my ribbon that looks like it’s lacing me up."
One girl covered up a scar she received when her appendix burst with a tattoo of a gecko.
Submitting her story on , she wrote: "Turns out it had been leaking toxins into my body for months, which was slowly killing me, and needed to be removed immediately or I'd be dead by morning.
"I was stuck in the hospital for a week since they had to basically give all my insides a good cleaning, which meant one ugly scar!
"I had to wait thyree years after the incident to get this tattoo and I’m so glad I did! Can’t even tell what happened to me."
This lady opted for a tattoo of a symbol to mark her battle with ovarian cancer.
Having posted the image on , she explained: "On August 22, 2013, I had a mass removed from my right ovary.
"Three months later I got this tattoo not to cover my scar but to highlight it.
"I was lucky enough to have my results come back benign.
"My teal ribbon (a symbol for ovarian cancer) serves as a reminder for me to never forget how lucky I am.
"My experience made me a stronger person and shaped me into who I am today."