How good would it be to be 18 again with a fresh canvas ready for a whole host of awesome tattoos and somewhere along the way some bad tattoos as well. Some tattoos stand the test of time and some you don't love the way you used to when you got them at 18, unfortunately you may want or need these to be removed, hidden or covered up. Today I’m gonna look into how to deal with those tricky unwanted tattoos and how to have pride in your skin again.
First of all it's important to identify what and why you are getting a tattoo removed or covered up. Removal in this case would be undergoing a laser removal procedure to clear up the tattoo pigment embedded in your skin using multiple passes of a high energy laser. Using this approach can vary in time and amount of procedures it will take to fully remove the tattoo. I believe in the past this technology was quite expensive to go through and would require many appointments, however with the advancements in the technology the whole process is much more affordable by comparison. Now, I never was that good at science and as interesting as it is, I’m here to talk about tattooing so let's take a look at the much more impressive feat of covering up old art work with new pieces. 
Covering up is a skill and artform that I would expect only an experienced artist to attempt. A cover up relies on a strong knowledge and understanding of so many components from colour theory, understanding skin tones, working with damaged skin (often scars) and composition.
The first and most important step is meeting with an artist face to face. When consulting via messenger/social media for a first time tattoo you can appreciate that the area is clean unblemished skin by sight. When looking at a tattooed area for a cover up, the camera is rarely able to capture the true condition of the tattoo and quality of the skin. Ironically, photographs often don't give the full picture. Always meet with the artist to discuss as there may even be scar tissue from the old tattoo that could present unforeseen challenges.
To get a successful cover up you may need to be a lot more open with your ideas and flexible to the artist's advice as lots of decisions artistically might not work practically. Let's imagine you had a pretty dark and heavy rose that's about 10-15 years old. To ask for a watercolour floral print to cover it up would be useless and have no effect. Conversely sticking a big heavy dark rose over a watercolour floral print would way more than needed and other options could be available. This is why colour theory is important in cover ups because it's not just about the composition of the new piece but how it mutes and cancels out the old piece. It's a case by case approach to cover ups, utilising the shape, colour and application of the old piece to incorporate it into the new piece. It should be roughly 3 times bigger than the piece being covered so it's totally enveloped in the tattoo, this also helps to make it not so obvious that it is a cover up. So anticipate that if you do want a cover up in the future. It may be a bit bigger than you were expecting.
When choosing your new art piece for a cover up it may be worth doing some research as to how your preferred style will match over the old style. There's many combinations such as Anime style covering up black and grey or realism over tribal, I couldn't possibly write them all here but this is a discussion you will have with your artist when discussing a cover up. I have it on good authority from Kevin himself that full colour realism is one of the best styles for cover ups as the texture you’re able to pack into the piece helps disguise any parts of the old tattoo that may show through.
One last thing to factor when getting a tattoo cover up is to what extent you want to cover up the original piece. Sometimes the tattoo is bad, or unwanted. Maybe it has just aged poorly or the colours have faded. Tattoo artists are able to incorporate and enhance old parts of the piece to give it a new lease of life and revitalise it into a new piece. As I mentioned earlier, each cover up is a case by case and no one approach can be applied to two separate pieces.
If you are still holding on to that old tattoo that's lost its sparkle, there's
many ways to change or reinvent it and bring some energy back to that spot. Maybe you have an old ex’s name or that best friend who is no longer a best friend. Go tattoo a nice flower over it or maybe a big traditional panther.
Alternatively, you could wear really big jumpers and hoodies. Never let them see your skin…should most probably just go get that cover up tattoo though
0 comments