How To Cover Up A Dark Tattoo?
What to Do If You Want to Add Color Over Black Ink – This is where things get a bit more complicated. The brighter the colors the more of a challenge it can be. Navy blue is one thing, but hot pink? That’s a whole other story. That said, you’re not without recourse, you just need to approach the tattoo in a whole new way.
For starters, you will need to fade the black tattoo to prepare for a cover-up. This can be effectively accomplished through laser tattoo fading (vs outright removal). In this case state-of-the-art laser technology will be employed to break apart the black ink particles to the point that they become noticeably lighter.
The brighter the colors you want to add for your new tattoo the greater number of laser fading sessions will be required. Yes, this adds to the length of time (months in most cases) it will take before your skin will be prepared to receive the new and preferred tattoo, but it’s worth the investment.
Can you tattoo over dark tattoos?
Can I hide previous ink using a solid black tattoo cover-up? – Yes! Covering your existing tattoo by process of “blacking it out” is entirely possible, though it will be a time consuming and expensive undertaking. Many people find that this style of cover-up affords them a creative way to hide unwanted large-scale tattoos.
Can you tattoo a lighter color over a darker color?
Tattoo Cover Ups and Partial Tattoo Lightening – Thinking of replacing your old ink with a fresh new design or removing just parts of it? People change their minds about tattoos all the time, so you’re definitely not alone. Changes in taste, a change in relationship, a hasty trip to an untalented artist – all of these are examples of how one might end up hating the sight of their tattoo.
- Covering up a tattoo with a new one is an excellent option if you have a change in heart over your existing ink but still want to have one – and in cases where the old artwork is not faded naturally over time or has solid colored pattern – fading an old tattoo with laser is quite common;
A wish for restructuring an existing tattoo can come after years of having it done. Our client Kelly was a tattoo artist who decided to have her first ever tattoo lightened in order to cover it up with one that she thought would be more cohesive with the rest of the artwork she had gotten in the meantime.
- Even for people who are not in the tattooing industry the process of decorating a body with ink can be quite addictive – many people who decide to have a tattoo won’t actually stop with just one;
- After going through the initial tattooing experience and seeing perhaps all those stories of pain during inking were somewhat exaggerated, people get excited and want even more markings of milestone events on their skin, more messages, more colors etc;
– and they often don’t look at the big picture of whether the tattoos complement one another. As Kelly remarked, the first advice she gives to her clients now is for them to try to visualize an overall image of their body with the tattoo they intend to get in regards to what they already have tattooed, what’s their body shape, height etc.
- “The thing with me was that being an artist myself, I was paying a lot of attention to details of the tattoos – their shadows, contours, soft lines and of course, their colors;
- I went on with one tattoo after another and didn’t give too much thought of whether they blended all together;
” And even though I thought I loved my first artwork and took pride in it, one day after viewing a reflection of my full body image as I passed by a mirror in a department store, for a split second I thought to myself –”Wow, check out that chick with a terribly oversized tattoo…someone should really tell her something about that!” Just imagine the feeling when I realized the stranger I was looking at was me.
After looking at it more closely, Kelly realized that the tattoo made an impression of distorted images, unless viewed from a certain angle. It was supposed to be a humming bird unfolding its wings – and suddenly I realized that when I looked straight at it, its wing stretches too far to my shoulder, hence looking broken.
No one wants a tattoo of a birdie with a broken wing. And as things usually go, she started hating the sight of it day after day. Full cover-up was Kelly’s choice, and as a tattooist, she has seen some amazing solutions for covering up old work. CAN ANY COLOR BE COVERED? The best course of action for masking your old tattoo depends on different factors, such as: The colors in your primary tattoo, how big, old or faded it is, the design and colors of your cover-up tattoo, and whether or not any components of your old tattoo are salvageable.
- Depending on these, the process might take several sessions;
- Covering up old pieces of ink can take time and if they are solid black or even in darker shades, it is possible that the artist will use the ‘white out technique’;
This process includes going over darker colored tattoos with white ink in order to try and lighten up the coloring. Tattoo ink isn’t quite like paint, which you can put over a layer or two of primer and just continue with your work by applying new layers of color.
Even if the artist uses the whitening technique, it’s quite likely that the overlay tattoo will require retouching after some time as the glimpses of an old tattoo might appear on the surface of the skin.
In Kelly’s case, she had vivid blues and reds in her old tattoo – which are difficult to cover with whitening. In addition – she didn’t exactly want a solid-black tribal over it. This is where the magic of the laser tattoo removal comes , by breaking the particles of the old ink to the extent that the skin is prepared for a cover up.
- The Quanta Q-Plus C laser with its 3 wavelengths incorporated into one machine has the preciseness that enables the specialist to target a full range of colors, even the reds that are traditionally difficult to break;
By using a method of gradual lightening, a client is enabled to view the progress of tattoo removal after each session and decide together with their cover-up artist on when is the best time to do the new tattoo on top of the faded old one. The necessity for laser tattoo removal and the number of sessions depends on
- the age of your old tattoo
- how dark the colors are in the original tattoo
- what colors you want included in your cover up tattoo
- the complexity of the cover-up design.
When covering up an old, faded tattoo, you might end up with just one or two laser tattoo removal sessions. Likewise, if your cover up tattoo design is intricate and includes colors that are darker than those in the tattoo being covered, you may have just a few sessions of removal. Your artist will be able to advise you best on this matter. In the end, although you might come across opinions that lasers are a costly solution to getting rid of unwanted ink, by being able to see for yourself when is the best time to do the cover-up, you end up saving money and precious time – and most of all, your skin is properly prepared for the new ink.
- Fortunately today with a whole variety of very sophisticated lasers we can get the ink lightened and create conditions for remodeling the appearance of your tattoo;
- Some clients will want just a partial removal without the laser affecting the surrounding area;
What matters the most in this process is to successfully incorporate the new design into an old one and not to damage the sections of the old tattoo that one wants kept. Take the best example – tattooing names of your kids as they come into this world – naturally you’ll want all the names to have the same size and that they are nicely placed one next to another, which can sometimes be a challenge if the skin surface for tattooing is limited.
- However, by fading some elements of the old tattoos (eg;
- graphics that often go around the name), an artist can intertwine the letters and add another name, or nicely position a new tattoo so it goes in harmony with the first one;
The process requires blending, shading, detail and depth of color applied with skill, which is why it’s worth taking the time to find an artist who specializes in cover up tattoos. WHAT MATTERS IN A TATTOO COVER UPS DESIGN? The best thing you can do as you embark on the journey of getting a cover-up tattoo is to stay flexible.
- To get started, pull together a few ideas for cover-up tattoos that really appeal to you and that will have lasting meaning for you and pay a visit to a couple well-reputed tattoo artists who have extensive experience doing cover up tattoos.
- Ask for their opinion on your preferred design ideas, see what they think will cover up your tattoo best and what edits, if any, they would make to ensure that your cover-up tattoo will be as successful as possible.
- Look at each artist’s portfolio carefully, and decide who you think will do the best job based on their past work and your meetings with them.
- The cover-up artist of your choice will guide you on stages like having laser tattoo removal to lighten up your old tattoo if it’s really dark or too dense to be hidden by the new tattoo you want, making your cover-up design more intricate to better camouflage aspects of your old tattoo, the ideal cover-up tattoo size and position needed to get the best possible outcome, and will advise you on what color palette should be utilized in your cover up tattoo.
- Once your cover up tattoo is complete, your tattooist will also advise you if you should come back after it’s healed and have another layer of ink added to finish the job properly.
How do you fade a tattoo that is too dark?
Laser Tattoo Removal Is the Best Way to Fade a Tattoo – How to lighten a tattoo effectively? Laser removal is by far the best way to fade a tattoo. This is the quickest, safest, and most efficient removal process, says Cooper Ferreira, a Removery technician and experienced RN.
Can you cover-up large dark tattoos?
Can my tattoo be covered up? – Any tattoo can be covered up, although it may need to be faded with laser tattoo removal first (usually only 2-3 sessions required). Even if you have a large, solid black tattoo, a good cover-up tattoo artist will work with you to create a strategy for covering it with a new design you can get excited about.
However, there are limits if you don’t get the original tattoo faded beforehand. No matter how good the artist is, they won’t be able to cover up a large tattoo in the shape of a black box with a smaller butterfly tattoo.
Some tattoos lend themselves more to a cover-up than others, but something can be done to improve the aesthetics of almost any tattoo.
Can you tattoo over black ink with color?
White Ink Over Black Ink?!? | 3 Minutes to Better Tattooing
Can A Tattooist Turn a Colored Tattoo Into a Black & Grey One? – Generally speaking, specialized tattoo artists can try to turn the lighter ink shades of your tattoo into white or grey ink. The black ink cannot be colored, that is simply impossible. Even the attempt to turn a color tattoo into a black & grey one is something that the majority of tattooists will refuse to do.
The only thing a tattooist can truly do, if a tattoo is smaller and not too colored, is to cover certain parts in black ink. No color can be simply taken away from the tattoo, so that’s about it. Some tattooists may try to cover the color with white ink , but that might not work, since the color underneath might still show through, especially if the color is really saturated.
To make white ink visible, the tattooist will have to go in with the needle multiple times in only one place, which would also hurt like hell.
How can I fade my tattoo naturally?
Other Tattoo Removal / Fading Options: – Lemon Juice – Prior to getting professional treatment, lemons are a great natural remedy to lighten a tattoo. Lemons are commonly known as a lightening agent for skin. Apply fresh-squeezed or pure lemon juice to your tattoo up to three times a day, and within several weeks, the ink of your tattoo, specifically the darker colours should be noticeably faded.
Hydrogen Peroxide and Exfoliation – Exfoliation paired with hydrogen peroxide can do wonders to gradually fade tattoo ink naturally. This is because exfoliation removes dead skin while hydrogen peroxide is a skin lightening agent that has bleaching properties.
For this process, you want to first exfoliate your skin safely and naturally with a salt or sugar scrub. After spending a few minutes exfoliating, dab hydrogen peroxide on the area. Ensure that you are not breaking any new skin during exfoliation, so make sure to stop if it starts to get painful or raw.
- Professional Tattoo Removal – Natural processes don’t always work for everyone, and dark inks can be the toughest to fade;
- For this reason, going to a professional tattoo removal center might be your best option;
This will also depend on the skin depth of the tattoo ink. Many of the natural lightening options only fade more surface-level inks. Most dermatologists will be able to help you lighten or remove your tattoo using lasers. All of the aforementioned methods for lightening and fading a tattoo will vary in success and time depending on skin type.
- This will also depend on the type and size of the tattoo as larger and more colourful tattoos will likely take longer to fade than small, simple ones;
- In general, many cover up tattoo artists will suggest undergoing a few rounds of tattoo laser removal before getting a cover up;
A normal laser treatment tattoo removal process will take about 12-15 sessions to completely remove the old tattoo. Fading a tattoo for a cover up should only require about 3-4 sessions, and will cost a fraction of the price of full removal.
