If you’re unsure about the right manners when walking into a tattoo shop, this guide to cover up tattoos will cover how you can behave the best. There are three different types of cover-up tattoos: complete cover-ups, creative innovations and cover-ups with graffiti.
The most important step in getting a cover-up tattoo is finding the right tattoo artist! Take your time on this part. Find someone who is really experienced and has a style that you like.
You may need to do laser removal, for scars and old tattoos. This depends entirely on the specific area, so consult your tattoo artist before you start. A tattoo artist will help you determine if you need laser removal first. They will also help in the determination of size, color and design.
To Laser or Not
So, quickly, we’re going to explore laser removal. Partly because it’s not as expensive as you might think, the pain is totally worth it, but also because you might have to do partial removal only. This depends entirely on your tattoo or scar, but, as you can imagine, very prominent scars or tattoos that are full of pigment, can be twice as difficult to rework. Doing multiple removal sessions will probably lighten your tattoo, or degrade your scar, so the cover-up tattoo has a better chance of actually covering it up as if it was never there!
We’ve covered laser tattoo removal before, but as always, it’s entirely up to you to decide if this is something you want to do first. It’s helpful to speak to your tattoo artist first, during your consultation, so that they can see your skin firsthand and give you feedback. They will be able to assess whether their skills are adequate for the task or whether removal may help the process.
Choosing an Artist
This is the most important step! Seriously! Cover-up tattoos are something that some artists specialize in because they require greater thought and care. It’s important that you find someone you trust, can communicate with easily, and who knows what they’re doing. We want you to have an amazing experience that allows you to finally be free of bad ink or scarring, and that really starts with finding an amazing tattoo artist. You want to find someone who not only does a style you admire, but is also comfortable and hopefully has experience, with cover-up tattoos. Jacob Wiman, Jo Harrison, Jen Tonic and many others ensure that the sensitive process of covering up old ink is smooth and enjoyable. You can use our app to find a tattoo artist near you, and you can also easily ask your favorite studio or tattoo artist if this is something they can do. This is the first, and most important step in your transformation journey, so be sure to take your time until you find the right fit!
Designing Your New Piece
The process of getting a cover-up is similar to any other tattoo: You find a design, talk it over with the artist, and book an appointment. The real difference lies in the design options you may have; depending on what you’re covering, some images may not be suitable. It’s really a matter of finding what matches the lines, shape, color of the existing tattoo, even the area where it’s placed. A good tattoo artist will want to make sure that their cover up not only flows well with the curves of your body but also definitely leaves as little trace as possible of the previous ink. The same can be said about scars: if you don’t mind some of them being visible or not completely covered, any design will work, but if you want to really disguise them, it’s better to get creative. When getting a cover-up tattoo, you may have to accept that your initial idea may not work out, but with perseverance, and the right tattoo artist, an amazing design will emerge!
Determining the Size of Your Cover Up Tattoo
When covering a tattoo, the new tattoo will always be bigger; there’s no getting around it! If you want complete coverage, it means that the tattoo artist will have to create artwork that exceeds the outer limits of your past piece. But, this is good! When it comes to cover-up tattoos, bigger is definitely better, and having a larger tattoo cover the old one gives you more freedom in whatever image or design can be tattooed. Again, the artist doing the cover up will help you and let you know what parameters you can work with. They will be there to tell you which size will work.
Choosing Colors
The most used colors in cover-up tattoos are blue, brown, and black. This is simply because they are the best at covering old ink. Pigments such as shades of red, yellow, and orange often fail to completely hide the existing ink, especially if the color underneath is too dark. Think of tattoo ink like watercolors: You can’t cover dark red with blue, but you can make purple. This is the kind of thing your tattoo artist will think about when designing your new piece.
You have the exact same choice if you are hiding a scar. Some people may want total coverage, while others just want to divert attention. That is entirely up to you. Believe it or not, there are plenty of opportunities out there for someone who wants to get rid of their old tattoo. People often think that tattoos are timeless statements, but with changes in technology, as well as the genius creativity of many tattoo artists around the world, tattoo cover-ups have become more accessible and beautiful than ever before.
