Tattooing is a pleasurable experience, but what will you do if your Tattoo does not meet your required design, turns bad, fades, or goes out of fashion? If you’re faced with this scenario, I’m sure you’d be wondering right now how to cover up your Tattoo or remove it. Unfortunately, some tattoos are embedded deeply in the skin; hence, removing them might lead to health risks, waste of time, and waste of money.
Undoubtedly, going around with an unattractive tattoo can be very disgusting and can lower one’s confidence if it is not covered up. But can any tattoo be covered up? Keep reading; this big question will be answered in this article. More so, this article will highlight how to cover up your Tattoo, the type of tattoos that can be covered up, things to consider before deciding to cover up your Tattoo, as well as the precautions.
Can any tattoo be covered up?
Affirmative! You can cover up any tattoo, even if it is very black. A cover-up tattoo is always the best option for doing away with a tattoo that you no longer love. There are several reasons why you might decide to dump your Tattoo.
Maybe you inked your Ex’s name or face, or you’re no longer fond of the design. A cover-up tattoo is always the best option, but a cover-up tattoo procedure is not as easy as it seems. Cover up tattooing requires a professional approach; for instance, when covering up a thick black tattoo or a complicated tattoo design.
How soon can you get a tattoo covered up?
There is no specific time, but you are only free to go for a cover-up tattoo; immediately after your Tattoo is completely healed. The timeframe for complete healing depends on many factors such as the tattoo color, the design, the layering of the Tattoo, and the type of skin.
Generally, the uppermost part of the Tattoo will heal within two to three weeks. You should not rush to undertake a cover-up tattoo within this time because it takes up to 2 months to have complete healing of the Tattoo.
Don’t plan a tattoo cover-up if you don’t consult your tattoo artist for advice. He would guide and inform you whether your skin is ready for another inking. This will simplify the covering up the process and keep your skin healthy.
However, it all depends on your personality and enthusiasm. The number of weeks or months that you should stay before going for a cover-up inking is subjective. You can do it within a few weeks if your skin permits, and you may have to stay for up to a year. Your skin is a key factor here. More so, before going for a cover-up tattoo, you should spend ample time crafting a unique design; else, you may damage your skin more.
It would be best if you follow the tattoo artist’s instructions, notwithstanding how long you wait. Don’t fail to adhere to professional instructions by the Artist, as all you wish to achieve is to get a new inking that you can flaunt anywhere.
Do Tattoo cover-ups hurt more?
Of course, it’s a tattoo, and you should get ready to bear the pains. Getting inked is strenuous to the skin, and it does not necessarily mean that a cover-up Tattoo will offer more pain than a fresh tattoo.
The level of pain will depend on many factors. You are most likely to experience more pains when your inking process is too lengthy. You will experience more pains if you have a scar on your skin tissue. Now, if you have any scar, your cover-up tattoo will be more painful.
Another thing that will determine the level of pain you will experience is your mental state. The psychological state of your mind from the date of your fresh inking to the cover-up date is also crucial. Your diet is another factor. Your kind of diet can quicken your recovery process and can also elongate and make it painful.
More so, you are most likely to experience a different level of pain if another artist is handling your cover-up tattooing. Even the same Artist may no longer feel the same way during the cover-up tattoo procedure. On the whole, you will feel pains during the cover-up tattoo procedure, but whether it is more painful than a fresh tattoo depends on many factors.
How do I choose a cover-up tattoo?
The process of applying a cover-up tattoo is not the same as a fresh tattoo because it involves a combination of two coats of colors and the merging of two designs.
Color is a crucial factor when choosing a cover-up tattoo. A fresh tattoo is applied to the dermis layer of the skin. During the application of new ink on the old one, the two colors will mix to give a resultant coloration.
For instance, if the old Tattoo is red and the new tattoo blue, they will mix to purple. You have to apply various coats of blue to get your cover-up tattoo to be blue.
Meanwhile, inking on the skin does not work like the normal application of paint on the canvas, where you expect to cover up an old color by applying several layers of paint on the old coats. Concealing of colors in Tattoo involves color blending, shading, and the depth of the colors.
If the old Tattoo was black, you need to cover it up with another dark pigment. Deep blue, white, or dark green are excellent colors for covering up Black. When covering black, the Artist spends a lot of time applying several coats of the new color. Most cover-up artists prefer to use black color when undertaking cover up tattoos. Generally, light colors are easier to cover than dark colors.
In a situation where your old Tattoo is dark in color, the Artist may recommend that you wait for the color to fade before undertaking a cover-up.
When choosing the cover tattoo design, the Artist should create patterns and designs that will hide the old design. The new design should be larger than the old design. More so, you are placing a new design on an old one; hence, the new design should be more complex than the old one.
Sometimes, the Artist will only add new lines and styles to the old design to have a new outline. In this case, the Artist might end up having a masterpiece design.
You should choose a cover-up tattoo based on the age, and how faded the old Tattoo is. Tattoos that have faded are easier to cover up. More so, tattoos with small-sized and straightforward designs are easier to cover up.
What color covers black Tattoo?
This is a question that confuses even the best tattoo artists the world over. It all depends upon how old the Tattoo is and how much of its luster it has lost. The more that it has gotten faded, the easier it would be to cover it up with a darker shade of Black. But what if it is Jet Black. Then there is a problem that arises.
Lighter shades can always be drowned with the Darker shades of most colors. But when you have the shade in the darkest, you have to come up with an innovative solution.
The issue with the Black ink is no other color can completely erase the black Tattoo; it will always be visible as all inks have a certain level of transparency to it. Black being the darkest color, will emerge visibly when covered with any other color. That is why, nowadays, the Whiteout Technique is gaining quick demand.
What is merely done is that the Black Tattoo is covered with a white one, which does not make the Tattoo sparkling white, but the Black Tattoo can merely be seen. I have also used several other shades of colors to submerge the effects of the Black Tattoo.
But it is a repetitive process and needs to be repeated several times so that the Black Tattoo is not visible anymore. All of it does require a lot of patience as well as a fat wallet. But It is not going to drain your wallet as much as a Laser surgery would do.
The cheapest and most effective way to get rid of a Black Tattoo without surgery is the White Out Technique. If it was paint, it could have a coat of primer that could be applied and a new shade applied with Coat over Coat. But alas, Tattoo ink is not Paint, which is why innovative techniques have arisen.
Is it better to remove a tattoo or cover it up?
Covering a tattoo or removing it, both processes are painful and have their shares of drawbacks.
Removing a tattoo is very expensive and time-consuming. Widely, lasers are used to remove tattoos.
The colors of the unwanted Tattoo are fragmented through lasers of different wavelengths. Then each fragment is absorbed by the skin. This process can be very rough. It can leave scars on one’s skin, making it look even worse.
On the contrary, covering up a tattoo is preferable. It is cheaper than removing a tattoo and less painful.
But covering up a tattoo requires about a ten times larger Tattoo than the previous one. This can lead to a new tattoo that is undesirable and was just meant to hide the unwanted one.
Can you cover a tattoo with skin-colored ink?
Normally, tattoos are darker in color than the skin. Therefore, using skin-colored ink will not hide the unwanted Tattoo. It can also cause blotches on that specific region of the skin. Moreover, as the tattoos are made with the permanent ink that penetrates the skin, covering it up with skin-colored ink is useless.
Hence, it is better to remove a tattoo rather than covering it up and adding to the problem. Furthermore, it also depends on the age of the Tattoo. Older tattoos fade away with laser treatment. Newer tattoos are difficult to remove.
Important things to consider before opting for a Tattoo cover-up
Design matters
To make a cover-up, an artist must be an extraordinary designer so that, if he makes a new tattoo, the old one vanishes just like it never exist. The new design should be creative, large, and complex such that even the lines of the old Tattoo will vanish.
But you should keep in mind that it is not an easy task to create such a design. It requires a lot of effort to become a really good artist. A professional designer can only do the extraordinary design of a cover-up Tattoo; else, you’ll end up having a huge dark tattoo with the prints of the old one.
Color of the ink
The color of the ink and the amount of ink used to make a tattoo are the two factors that can add to a tattoo’s darkness.
Blue and black colors are mostly used to make darker tattoos. Still, the professionals also use lighter colors and provide the best quality of tattoos by using a little more ink to make a tattoo look better and darker.
The age of the Tattoo
Tattoos can be a wonderful way to reflect yourself. In recent years, the vogue of tattoos has thrived. But what’s the point in considering a cover-up tattoo when your old Tattoo is still fresh. Maybe you’re no longer in love with your old Tattoo, and you want to do away with it.
One of the most common things to consider before going for a cover-up tattoo is the extent of fading, which is a direct effect of the Tattoo’s age. It is often noticed that tattoos get faded a bit after a few years. They no longer look as bright and fresh as once they did.
The truth is, even the best tattoo artist cannot guarantee the freshness of tattoos. Meanwhile, have it at the back of your mind that fresh tattoos are more difficult to cover than the faded tattoos.
The skill of the tattoo Artists
Covering up a tattoo is a specialized skill art. Not all professional artists are good at this. This is not an easy job as it requires years of experience and training. A skilled cover-up artist should be able to adopt a creative design and combination of colors that will easily blend with the old one.
Precautions to be taken after tattoo cover-up
Finally you did it. You now have your favorite Tattoo. Congrats but, don’t forget to care for your Tattoo if you want to give it a magnificent look and keep it on your body for a long time. Tattoo decorates your body, and now it’s part of you, so you have to care for your Tattoo just like you care about yourself.
- Treat your Tattoo as a wound for two weeks
- Touch it with only clean hands.
- Apply the ointment recommended by your Artist to keep the area moist.
- Don’t pick or itch it.
- Avoid sun exposure.
- Don’t curl your fingers on the Tattoo.
- Don’t wear tight clothes.
Heal time:
It just requires two or three weeks for proper healing. During its healing time, try to wear sun-protective clothes. Firstly we prefer you do not go outside if necessary.
Consult your doctor:
If you feel some more pain and some skin infection, then consult your tattoo artist or a doctor as soon as possible.
Don’t swim:
Try to avoid swimming and keep the Tattoo away from water. But, there are no restrictions on the shower. Cover your Tattoo with plastic wrap if possible, and enjoy your shower time.
Moisturizing your tattooed skin is crucial, but don’t over-do it; make some room for your skin to breathe a little. The next step is to apply a fine layer of the lotion or any other recommended cream (a list is given for more suggestions). It is never advised to wrap your affected skin up in any kind of clothing. Let it breathe a little. This might help in healing the area as the fibers in the cloth could cause a rash in the newly tattooed skin.
You should always choose to wear some loose clothes to make sure that the tattooed skin is not disturbed by them until it heals properly. The next thing that you want to do when it comes to taking care of your tattooed skin is to lather up some SPF on it, as it is susceptible to Sun’s UV and the early aging process. If you feel the heat radiating from it or rash on the affected area, immediately see the tattoo expert or a doctor.
What not to do after tattoo cover-up?
- Avoid rubbing the area to dry. Always pat dry the wound to avoid any reaction.
- Try to avoid wearing a sun-protection, just because it might contain some chemicals that can cause irritation or itching on the wound, which could be proven harmful for the skin because scarring could permanently stay with you.
- The affected skin is exposed to scarring or pigmentation, touching it in any sense; say, itching the skin or picking it could cause permanent damage to it. Stop nagging the skin until it’s fully healed.
- When it comes to taking a bath, it would be wise enough to choose using a shower to make sure that your tattooed skin is not soaked in water. Using a hot water bathtub could cause irritation on the skin. It is not advised that you go to swimming pools or visit saunas until your Tattoo is healed. However, it is safe to use a bathtub or swim if you’re sure that the Tattoo is out of water.
Conclusion
You can do away with an old-fashioned, faded, or unattractive tattoo by getting a cover-up tattoo for yourself. After all, Tattoos were meant for flaunting, so there is no need to continue hiding it under your clothes simply because it turned bad.
Covering up your Tattoo is less-painful and straightforward than complete removal. Before rushing to have a cover-up tattoo, it is imperative to sit back, ponder, and consider the color and design that will completely cover the old Tattoo.
