Cover up tattoos present unique challenges, which is why artists often require creative freedom to ensure the best possible outcome. While your ideas are always valued, understanding the nuances of cover-up work, especially what techniques and designs are most effective, is crucial. With extensive experience in this specialized area, here’s a guide to what you should consider when planning your cover up tattoo.
Key Elements for Effective Tattoo Cover Ups
Certain design elements and approaches are particularly well-suited for concealing older tattoos. Here’s what works best:
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Textured and Shadow-Rich Imagery: Subjects that incorporate a lot of texture and dramatic lighting are ideal. This includes underwater scenes, floral designs, organic motifs, Japanese-style art, skulls, and biomechanical themes. The complexity and heavy shadows within these styles help to effectively distract the eye and camouflage the old tattoo underneath.
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Full Color is Preferred: For cover up work, full color tattoos are generally more successful than black and grey. Grey tones and soft grey washes often lack the necessary opacity to effectively hide unwanted tattoos. Colors and dark shading provide greater coverage and allow for more creative flexibility in concealing the original ink.
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Size Matters for Coverage: A common guideline for cover up tattoos is to make the new design approximately three times larger than the tattoo being covered. Achieving a successful cover up at the same size as the original tattoo is rarely possible. The increased size isn’t just about covering the old tattoo; it’s about creating a more dominant and visually engaging design that effectively redirects attention and disguises the area underneath.
Understanding the Cover Up Tattoo Process
It’s important to have realistic expectations about the cover up process:
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Multiple Sessions May Be Necessary: While some cover ups might be completed in a single session, it’s more common for them to require two to three sessions. This allows for layering colors and building up opacity to achieve optimal coverage and a vibrant, lasting result.
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Long-Term Maintenance: Cover up tattoos require a long-term commitment to maintenance. They typically need touch-ups more frequently than tattoos on untouched skin. Black ink, being carbon-based, is more permanent than colored pigments and can sometimes resurface as the skin heals. Touch-up sessions help to refresh the colors and ensure the longevity of your cover up.
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The Possibility of “Peekers”: Complete, 100% opaque coverage is not always achievable with cover up tattoos. You might experience “peekers,” where parts of the old tattoo, particularly the linework, become slightly visible. Touch-ups can minimize this, but the primary goal of a cover up is to skillfully integrate and disguise the old tattoo within the new design, rather than entirely erase it.
Laser Tattoo Removal: Enhancing Your Cover Up Options
For maximum creative freedom and the most effective cover up, consider laser tattoo removal.
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Benefits of Laser Removal: Even partial laser removal can significantly lighten the old tattoo, providing a cleaner canvas for your artist to work with. This opens up a wider range of design possibilities and often leads to a more vibrant and successful cover up.
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Healing Time Post-Laser: After laser treatment, the skin needs to heal completely before tattooing. This healing period can range from six months to a year, ensuring the skin is healthy and receptive to new ink.
*Please note that touch-up sessions for cover up tattoos are charged at the standard hourly rate. Individual results can vary depending on the specifics of the original tattoo and the cover up design.
