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Most people wish they could get rid of tattoos they got when they were younger for several reasons, including regret or a desire for a different design.
Fortunately, there are methods to conceal unwanted tattoos.
You can use darker colours to cover the previous tattoo and replace it with your desired body art. For this to work, the tattoo needs to be larger, and the ink needs to be more deeply applied to hide the original design.
It takes time and effort to pull off a cover-up.
Some tattooists won’t even touch a cover-up because they don’t feel comfortable doing a new tattoo on top of an existing one.
Pearl Lemon Tattoos is reputed for its careful and polished work in removing undesirable tattoos.
Are you planning on covering up that funny old tattoo? Talk to us.
A tattoo cover-up is an act of tattooing over a previously unwanted tattoo with a new tattoo. It is usually seen as one of two options for removing an unwanted tattoo; the other is laser removal.
Covering up an unwanted tattoo is also generally cheaper than tattoo removal.
Typically, cover-ups require the use of darker, more pigmented inks to hide an existing tattoo successfully. This is particularly true for tattoos with a lot of black ink, which is to say, most tattoos.
To ensure that no traces of the original tattoo show through, a cover-up tattoo artist must use at least twice as much ink as they would for a regular tattoo.
This can be a challenge for customers looking to update their body art with something brighter or more vivid.
For example, if someone wished to get a cover-up on a black tribal tattoo with a lot of detail, the tattooists would have few solutions other than to cover the tattoo with a big solid black pattern.
Whether you need to replace your tattoo because you find it inappropriate in the present or just want to update an old one to fit your current style, tattoo cover-ups each have their advantages and disadvantages.
Tattoos that have faded or been damaged can be preserved or entirely replaced by placing a fresh layer of ink over them and using darker colours to cover up the older tattoo.
However, while getting a cover-up, the tattoo needs to be larger, and the ink needs to be more deeply applied to hide the original design.
If you change your mind about getting a laser removal later, removing the additional layers and higher pigment concentrations will require many sessions.
The first step in getting a cover-up tattoo involves the artist capturing a photo and importing it into Photoshop.
Using Photoshop, your tattoo artist can layer new artwork on top of your current tattoo to create a seamless cover-up. You can merge the two during the editing process to demonstrate how the new design will blend with the current tattoo.
By doing so, they can cover the region with a new tattoo design based on the existing tattoo’s borders.
The cover-up tattoo must be significantly larger to hide the original tattoo completely.
Moreover, covering up a tattoo is easier if it is old and faded. For cover-ups, bold and dark hues typically generate the best outcome.
Think about the following as you weigh your options for a cover-up tattoo:
The colours and designs of the original tattoo are more adaptable if they are less bold and the ink is applied more thinly. Tattoos that use a lot of black ink are more noticeable and require more effort to cover up than lighter tattoos that use fewer colours.
Tattoos done in the watercolour style, for instance, are more feasible for cover-ups than standard tattoos. Your artist may suggest starting with a fading process whenever more intense colours are employed.
Tattoos that have faded over time are less of a challenge to cover up since the ink has had more time to fade away, giving the artist a more blank canvas-like surface to work with.
Tattoos that aren’t as bright won’t need as many treatments as the laser treatment before they can be concealed.
The easiest tattoos to cover up are those with limited colours, no outlines, and a gradation colour scheme covering a tiny surface area.
Unlike having a whole new tattoo, getting a cover-up tattoo does not give you a clean slate. It’s working over an existing one and not creating an image from scratch. However, the original tattoo can be faded to open up more creative spaces for the cover-up.
Take note that the greater the complexity of your cover-up design, the better your chances of success.
Your new cover-up tattoo will likely end up being bigger than the old one. Tattoo artists often have to increase the size to hide pre-existing markings or make room for a better design.
Please note that any tattoo’s quality is only manifested when it heals.
In getting a tattoo, you and the artist are co-creators. To ensure the best possible results from your new tattoo, you must visit a qualified professional tattoo artist and get proper guidance on proper aftercare at home.
After getting your tattoo, here are some things you should do to help it heal properly.
Find a tattooist you can trust before getting started on your cover-up. Talk to people you know who have tattoos you like, check with local tattoo parlours, and use the internet to research artists.
Once you have a shortlist of potential artists, it’s time to start asking questions and looking at portfolios.
Avoid making a hasty choice.
You shouldn’t schedule an appointment until you’re sure of yourself.
Meet up with the tattooist you’ve chosen to discuss ideas and develop a plan. Inquire about the most effective methods of concealment.
Cooperate to develop a cover-up pattern that appeals to both of you.
Pay attention to the suggestions your artist makes. Remember that they have the knowledge and experience to know if a specific design is possible.
Finding a reputable tattoo parlour and skilled tattoo artist is the single most crucial step you can take before getting inked.
At Pearl Lemon Tattoos, we’re happy to show you examples of our work and answer any questions you may have. Our highest priority is the health and well-being of our customers. Thus we comply attentively with all of our established safety and hygiene protocols.
We take pride in providing the city’s most intricate and refined cover-up outputs.
Visit our website to check out our portfolio.
An experienced artist is required for such a challenging task. Unfortunately, not every skilled tattoo artist can do cover-ups efficiently. The art of the cover-up tattoo is a specialised expertise.
A tattoo matching your skin tone is an option, but such tattoo ink is translucent, so it won't wholly conceal an existing one.
Although tattooing over scars is possible, it is more difficult than tattooing on healthy skin. For this reason, you should find a tattoo artist capable of covering up the scar or working it into the design.
Pearl Lemon Tattoos
East Corydon, London
Pearl Lemon Tattoos is a part of the Pearl Lemon Group which is comprised of: Accounting, Corporate Consulting, Event Management, Golden Visas, Legal, Public Relations