Whether you want to lighten your tattoo or darken it, you will need a cover-up. Some of the common fears that most have about cover-ups are again the same lasers, scarring, or burns. Don’t worry; there are other safe methods to fix dark tattoos. In this article, we shall discuss the same.
When you practice these methods the only thing you have to be careful about is that your tattoo does not go too light. Any negligence or immaturity while fixing the dark tattoo may make your tattoo faded.
If your artist has made the tattoo too dark, don’t panic. There are ways to fix it and some of them are quite simple.
Before we discuss the various ways and methods to fix dark tattoos, let’s assume few things. Most dark tattoos often settle and become lighter on healing.
Thus, you will have to wait to confirm whether your tattoo is settling or not. Once the healing is completely settled, it would be easier to decide whether you wish to fade it, make it lighter, or get a cover-up.
How to fix a dark tattoo? [4 Different Ways]
1. Tattoo cover-ups
Other than lightening up the tattoo, a cover-up is another way to look for. It’s a new way to reconstruct anything that you don’t like about your tattoos.
To begin, pick a few designs or colors that will add more beauty to your dark tattoo and blend smoothly with the colors.
Your tattoo artist may also suggest you some ways or design depending on the dark ink of your tattoo to cover-up. Perhaps, an appointment with him/her would be the best thing to do.
Remember, cover-ups are time and money-consuming tasks so make sure you make up your mind before booking an appointment with your tattoo artists.
2. Whiteout technique
The white ink technique is the most preferred and recommended method to cover a dark tattoo. Most tattoo artists will prefer to choose the same.
In this method, your artist will use white ink to cover dark-colored tattoos. As a result, the tattoo will lighten up and slowly fade away.
Now, you can go for another one of your choices. You may choose good quality white inks so that the previous tattoo gets covered up smoothly.
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3. Color up
You need to have an experienced artist for this as color on color would be a tricky task to perform until your designer is experienced at it. A trained or creative designer knows how to cover a tat flawlessly.
In this method also, some portion of white ink is used at first to lighten the tattoo and then colors are added based on design and choice. The new ink deposited blends well with the dark tattoo making it look just perfect on the skin.
4. Bleaching
Bleaching is one more natural way to try lightening the dark tattoo at home. Although it is a home remedy, we suggest refraining from it as your dark tattoo won’t lighten up perfectly with this.
Moreover, some parts of the tattoo will remain darker, some may lighten up, and the remaining will be disrupted. However, for your reference here is a quick trick for bleaching the dark tattoos:
- Lemon Juice or Hydrogen peroxide
- Lemon slice
Apply some hydrogen peroxide or lemon juice on your tattoo and rub it gently with a lemon slice. Repeat three to four times in a day and follow the same method for two to three days to notice your dark tattoo fading.
Lemon is a natural bleaching agent, thus it helps to lighten the ink of your dark tattoos. Avoid using lemon juice if your skin is irritated by it while rubbing.
Also, use natural bleaching agents as harsh chemical-based bleach may affect the skin’s health. The method is the same for lightening up a tattoo too.
Fixing the dark tattoo also depends on several other factors
Various factors decide whether your dark tattoo can be lightened or faded out:
- The depth of dark ink of your tattoo
- The quality of the ink used at the time of the original tattoo
- Age of tattoo
- Combination of colors used if any
- The design and shading of the tattoo
How can I lighten my tattoo at home?
Ideally, we recommend that you always show your issues related to your tattoo to an experienced tattoo artist than experimenting with things at home.
However, if these are natural methods there is no harm in trying the same. In case of any irritation of the skin or any discomfort, you must immediately discontinue what you are doing at home to lighten your tattoo.
Three are three ways you can lighten your tattoo at home and one is quite similar to what we discussed above, the bleaching method:
1. Lemon Juice Trick
Lemon juice acts as natural bleach and thus it is safe to use on the skin. However, you must know that it won’t give you accurate or desired results as the effects will remain only on the top layer of the skin.
Thus, your deeper ink inside the skin will remain as it is. There is no harm in trying the same as it’s the safest method.
2. Hydrogen Peroxide Method
Hydrogen peroxide has worked well in many cases. Many people have experienced desired results on their darker tattoos going lighter in few applications. You just need to dab a cotton ball in a little hydrogen peroxide and gently rub it on the tattoo.
3. Exfoliation Method
You get pumice stones from the stores that you can bring home. Just rub your tattoo area with these pumice stones followed by the application of salicylic acid.
The exfoliation method dries out and peels off the upper layers of the skin and in some days you will notice the growth of new skin in the same area.
However, be extremely careful while trying this method as there are chances of skin burns.
4. Salicylic Acid
Applying somesalicylic acid on the tattoo can help to lighten the tattoo too. However, even this method stays on the top layer of the skin and doesn’t penetrate deep to fade or lighten the tattoo ink.
Do take an opinion from someone who has tried this method at home. It will help you to take a decision accordingly.
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Final Words:
Regardless of what method you apply for lightening your dark tattoo; take enough referrals and opinions of people who have done the same in the past. Also always have some by your side when you try any experiments or DIYs at home.
It is always better that you have a support system to perform any methods at home. There are various painless methods that your tattoo artist will be able to suggest you for darker tattoos and trust us, they know the best!
