A tattoo cover-up is the process of masking one tattoo with another. Whether you’ve outgrown your tattoo or you’ve had a change of heart, many tattoo owners will consider a tattoo cover-up at some point in the life of their tattoo.
A simple way to imagine how a cover-up will look is to pretend that your tattoo is not on your arm but actually on a piece of paper. Then you can lay the new design that you want over it with a light source underneath, similar to what you would do on a tracing table, and you can then get a good idea if the cover-up is possible.
a before and after shot of a tattoo cover-up of a lion
Chronic Ink tattoo have put their heads together to come up with this guide for you to follow. You should always remember though that asking your tattoo artist to perform a cover-up is akin to tying one of their arms behind their back. A tattoo cover-up job has a lot of restrictions around it such as the size, position and colour of the tattoo you’re looking to cover.
Covering up a tattoo completely
Sometimes, you just want to get rid of an old tattoo completely, so you might look at putting a much larger and darker over top of it. The drawback? You’re putting a much larger and darker tattoo over top of it.
If you’re looking to reduce the visual effect of a tattoo, then you should consider fading for a tattoo cover-up beforehand. This way you won’t need as large or as dark a tattoo to completely cover-up the old one.
Repurposing the original
A more creative way to cover-up an old tattoo is to incorporate it into a new one. While this places severe restrictions on the designs possible, it can award a more seamless and natural looking cover-up when done properly.
Make sure that you work with your artist to pick the best design to cover-up the original. Also remember that tattoo fading is still an option here if you want to cover a part of your original tattoo.
Fading for a tattoo cover-up
As we’ve already discussed, fading involves getting laser tattoo treatment to reduce the visible effect of a tattoo. What we haven’t discussed is all of the different kinds of fading you can have done:
- Fading the whole tattoo: This option involves reducing the strength of all colours completely and is often used when doing a full cover-up.
- Fading certain colours: Perfect for repurposing an original tattoo, fading out the darker and stronger colours can make incorporating a tattoo into a new design much easier!
Just make sure that the clinic or studio you go to offers a free tattoo consultation so that you can learn more about the process before committing.
Whatever your reason for seeking a tattoo cover-up, know that there are many options available to you—just be sure to discuss the process with an experienced tattoo artist before making any big decisions!
When done right, a tattoo cover-up can completely transform how you feel about your skin. Chronic Ink’s artists are trained to assess which approach—full coverage, fading, or repurposing—will produce the best visual outcome. If laser tattoo fading is part of the process, it allows your artist far more creative freedom when designing the new piece. We always recommend starting with a free tattoo consultation so we can examine the original work and map out a strategy that fits both your skin and your goals. If you’re planning a full redesign, take a look at our laser tattoo removal service to learn more about how pre-treatment improves the final results.
