Real Examples of Cover Up Tattoos
It turns out that regretting a tattoo is not a reason to be upset - wait to see how tattooers brought bad tattoos to a new level of awesomeness
Tattoos are forever β or at least, that's what you have in mind when you get them. But let's face it, we all make mistakes, couples break up, and people change. And when it comes to removing an unwanted tattoo, you basically have two options: laser removal or a tattoo cover up.
A tattoo cover-up is the act of tattooing over a previously tattooed skin. As a technical process, it requires breaking apart the ink and scar tissue in the unwanted tattoo, while simultaneously tattooing new ink in its place. This requires knowledge about how different pigments interact, and how ink molecules of different sizes work together in human skin.
Depending on the complexity of the original tattoo, tattooers may recommend a few sessions of laser removal to help break apart the unwanted tattoo beforehand. Pale color tattoos are easier to cover, while black tattoos are usually covered by black.
Bear in mind that covering tattooed skin with a new design requires creativity and flexibility from the tattooer, and this is one of the reasons why many tattoo artists won't work with cover ups at all.
If you need to cover yours up, you will need a little help from a talented tattoo artist if you want a nice result.
Keep scrolling to see how these crazy talented tattoo artists dealt with bad tattoos to brought a new level of awesomeness.
1. From a colorful infinity tattoo to a beautiful wild flower bouquet. You can't help but get excited when you see such an unbelievable cover up.
2. Vertical branch of leaves covering up Chinese letters.
3. It's breathtaking to see how some tattooers deal with the most ill-advised ink.
4. Breathtaking mermaid cover up tattoo. Crazy talent from Doy.
5. Black hole cover up.
6. Daisy cover up tattoo.
7. Batman cover up.
8. Graphic rose cover up.
9. Abstract square cover up.
10. Pink roses covering initials up.
11. Black watercolor covering Chinese letters.
12. Crescent covering music notes up.
13. Moon phases.
14. More moon phases... and a killer whale.
15. Pine tree cover up.
16. Keith Haring piece.
17. Incredibly creative.
18. More a fix-up than a cover up.
19. Disney addition.
20. Flower wreath.
21. Bunny cover.
22. Dwayne Johnson's bull tattoo cover up.
23. Dark woods.
24. Balance vs. Elephant.
25. Cheshire cat fix up.
26. Watercolor red rose tattoo on the shoulder.
27. Previously lasered cover up tattoo.
28. From heart to rose
29. Star fix up.
30. Yin yang vs. Full moon inverted triangle.
31. Brilliant rose window cover.
32. From dolphin to killer whale.
33. Brilliant wave cover up.
34. Autumn themed freehand cover-up by Bona.
35. Crayon wave cover-up by Bona too.
36. Birdcage holding bird.
37. Bee cover up by Pablo Ortiz.
38. Black cat cover up.
39. Pink peony cover up.
40. Galaxy over 'alis volat propriis'.
We hope these pieces have shown that cover up tattoos are, indeed, a specialized art form all its own.