If you're unhappy with a tattoo, you may be considering a cover up tattoo. There are several things you have to keep in mind when looking for the best cover up you can get. Size, color, placement and who you choose to do the cover up work are all very VERY important factors. Often people are unprepared for certain realities when it comes to cover-up tattoos.

Almost any tattoo can be covered up but not any design will work as a cover up. What you want to have covered up will have a big influence on what you can cover it up with. Most importantly, you need to be prepared to accept the input of a skilled, professional tattoo artist.

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t hear exactly what you wanted to hear or you have to make some adjustments that you weren’t expecting. You can still get some beautiful new ink to hide the unwanted designs. Keep reading to equip yourself with all the knowledge you need to get the best cover up tattoo possible!

What to Consider Before Getting a Cover Up Tattoo

The first thing you can do to best prepare yourself for the process of getting a cover up tattoo is to be open minded. It is very likely that you will have to make compromises in order to hide your undesirable ink under a truly beautiful work of art. If you are very rigid about how the new design should look, you will have a much harder time and the end result may not do the best job of covering your old tattoo.

As you are aware, tattoos will be with you for a long time so don’t rush and don’t be cheap! This isn’t the time for instant gratification and penny pinching. You might have to spend more money and do a little more planning than you where expecting but that is all for the best. In the many years that you will have this tattoo, the cost and time up front is actually relatively small. Keep the big picture in mind. A good outlook will be very helpful for everyone involved.

There are 5 key factors that have to be properly considered for the best outcome in a cover up. These are:

The design of the old and the new tattoo.
The size of the old and the new tattoo..
The color of the old and the new tattoo..
The placement of the old and the new tattoo..
The experience of the artist.

In the following sections I will go into more detail about each one of these and how to ensure the best outcomes.

How to Choose the Best Design for Cover-up Tattoos

The design of the new tattoo should be carefully considered. Remember that any places where the new design leaves open skin will be a place where the old tattoo could potentially show through, thus defeating the whole purpose.

For this reason things like Lettering or tribal designs almost never works as a cover up design. This is because there are so many spaces between and inside the letters. There needs to be enough solid coverage in the new design to accommodate the old tattoo.

This doesn’t mean that your idea is bad but you might need to have to make some adjustments. How many adjustments and how much the design changes from your original idea will all depend on how the old tattoo compares to the subject matter you have in mind for the cover-up. In other words just about any idea can work for a cover-up as long as you are willing to let the artist do what it takes to create an appropriate design from your idea.

So, lets say you really want some lettering incorporated in your new tattoo. Maybe you have to bring in secondary elements that have larger areas for shading and color and add them in with the lettering. An experienced tattoo artist will be able to guide you through the design process!

How Much Bigger Does a Cover-up Tattoo Have to Be?

Large magnolia flower cover-up tattoo on lower back — A cover-up tattoo done by the author in 2021. Can you guess where the old tattoo is?

The size of the new tattoo is also important. The new design should be large enough to cover the existing tattoo, by about 2-3x the size of the old tattoo. This ensures that there will be enough room in the new tattoo to camouflaged the old ink with color and shading that looks smooth and natural. You don't want it to be obvious there is a tattoo that was covered up and this requires a bigger design to maintain the balance of contrast between dark and light areas of the new tattoo

If you look at the image above you can see an example of how size plays a role in the design for covering old tattoos. The old tattoo is hidden in the stem and leaves. While there is some open space that we were able to incorporate into the darkest areas, without the large flower to balance the composition, the tattoo would have felt out of place and it would look too dark and heavy.

What Are the Best Colors for a Cover-up Tattoo?

When selecting the color for your cover up tattoo, it is important to consider the colors of the original tattoo. You want to choose a color that will match or complement the original tattoo. Lighter colors like yellow, orange, light blue etc, will not cover up darker colors all by themselves. If your old tattoo has a lot of dark black then the new tattoo will also need a lot of dark shading and dark colors to hide it.

For example, if the original tattoo has a lot of shades of blue, the new design may require dark purples and greens for your cover up tattoo. This will create a cohesive look and help to disguise the original tattoo. If there are a lot of different colors in the old tattoo, the darkest shades will determine the color scheme of the new tattoo

How Does Placement Affect a Cover-up tattoo?

large tattoo cover-up on the wrist and hand

Placement of the old and new tattoo is very important. You have to consider the body part you are tattooing, and where the old tattoo is in relation to the rest of the body. Think about the size of the tattoo in relation to the size of the body part where it is located. If your old tattoo is on your neck or hand and takes up a large amount of that space, it will be more difficult to plan a new tattoo that can cover up the old ink. When size and space become limiting factors you need to consider options for lightening you old tattoo with laser treatments. More about that in a moment or you can jump directly to that section by clicking here

If your old tattoo is in the middle of your back, there will be a lot more options. Whatever the case may be in the placement of the new or old tattoos, you cant be totally sure until you talk to a qualified artist about your specific situation. Its very very rare that there is just no hope for a cover-up at all and I have seen some real miracles happen so don’t get discouraged.

Consulting with a Tattoo Artist About Your Cover-up

If you're considering a cover up tattoo, it's important to consult with a highly skilled tattoo artist to get an idea of what's possible. They can help you figure out the best way to cover up your existing tattoo and create a design that will be both flattering and true to your style. The artist will also be able to help you choose a location for your new tattoo that will best conceal the original tattoo. They may also have suggestions for fonts and designs that will complement the original tattoo.

When consulting with a professional artist it is very important to stay open minded. Try not to go into the meeting with rigid pre-conceptions about what should happen. Great tattoo artists do their best work when they are given enough freedom to get creative.

As I said earlier, its very very rare that there is no hope for a cover-up. Almost anything is possible when you give a skilled artist enough freedom to make the necessary decisions. That doesn’t mean you will have to sacrifice your original idea but you might need to make compromises on the specifics of how it is designed and laid out. For instance, You might want to have an old tattoo covered up with a bear design. there are an infinite number of ways a bear can be drawn and designed. You will still get a bear, but maybe the exact pose or the shading or the colors might have to be done in certain ways to work as a cover up.

Freehand Tattoo cover up by the author. A skilled artist will be able to create a new tattoo that works perfectly to cover-up the old work.

Consider All Your Options

When deciding if a cover up tattoo is right for you, it’s important to consider all of your options. You are not stuck with the old tattoo as a starting point. There are things you can do to greatly increase the range of options you have for covering up old ink with new.

No matter what your old tattoo looks like, laser treatments might be an option you want to consider. This typically doesn’t require complete removal of the old tattoo. You only need to lighten it enough to have more options with the cover-up design.

How many treatments you need to get the old tattoo light enough for more options will depend on the ink of the old work. How dark it is, how big it is, how old it is, etc. I wrote a whole article about tattoo removal that you can read by clicking here.

If you’re looking for a completely new design, you may need to consider multiple laser treatments to fade the old tattoo enough to start fresh. This is especially true if you have a very specific idea in mind that you are unwilling to compromise on. You may need laser treatments in order to lighten the old tattoo enough for the new design to be exactly the way you imagine.

Also: A cover up doesn’t have to be the first option. Remember You can also use temporary tattoos or makeup to conceal an unwanted tattoo until you’re ready for a cover up tattoo. Talk to your artist about your options and they can help you choose the best solution for your needs.

What makes a tattoo hard to cover-up?

There are a few things that can make a tattoo hard to cover-up. The first is the color of the tattoo. If the old tattoo is very dark or large, it will be harder to cover than a tattoo with lighter colors, very faded tattoos and small designs. The location of the tattoo can also make it difficult to conceal. Tattoos on the hands, neck and face are more difficult to cover than tattoos on other parts of the body.

How to find a good tattoo artist for your cover up tattoo

When looking for a tattoo artist to do your cover up tattoo, it is important to find someone who has experience with this type of work. You want someone who can make the cover up look seamless and natural. Ask around and do some research to find an artist who has a good reputation for cover ups. Once you've found a few artists, take a look at their portfolios to see if their style is a good fit for what you're looking for. Talk to each of them about your situation, what your options are and expected cost.

When it comes to cost you should also be aware that tattoo artists will only be able to give a rough estimate. If they seem hesitant to give you an exact quote, that is not because they want to rip you off. There are many variables when it comes to designing a good tattoo and even more when you have to camouflage old ink with new. Even the most skilled tattoo artists will need the flexibility to change the direction of the design as they begin to work on planning your new tattoo. That being said, they should be able to give you a rough ballpark idea, or at last tell you what their hourly rate will be and a range of how many appointments you ight need.

I wrote an article about choosing a good tattoo shop that you can read by clicking here

I also wrote an article about etiquette when meeting with tattoo artists at tattoo shops which you can read by clicking here. Dont worry, you don’t have to deal with prima-donnas, but its good to be aware of some specifics when going to tattoo shops.

When Can a Tattoo Not be Covered Up?

There are times when a tattoo can not be covered. Although this is very rare it is worth mentioning so you can be aware of all the possibilities.

Actively healing tattoos. If your tattoo is less than a month old or it is still actively healing, you can not go over the area that is healing with new work. Tattoos that are still healing will not hold new ink, the skin can become damaged and you will very likely have bad scarring if you try and cover a tattoo too early.

The healed skin is too fresh. Likewise, if the tattoo is technically healed but still very fresh, the skin may still be delicate and the process of getting new ink injected with a tattoo machine will damage the skin, causing scarring and failure of the new tattoo to hold ink.

Don’t put makeup on healing skin. Even if you are only considering makeup as a means to hide a tattoo, you still need to wait until it is fully healed to apply heavy makeup. Healing skin will be suffocated and is very susceptible to infection if it is covered with thick, air tight material for long periods of time.

Why can I Still See the Old Tattoo Under the Cover-up?

Sometimes, even in the best case scenario of a cover up, you will still be able to see hints of the old ink.

Very often the cover-up can not be an exact 1 to 1 match of the old tattoo, covering everything perfectly. In this situation the old tattoo may show through in tiny areas, usually in spots where the new tattoo has lighter color or shading.

In many cases the best option is camouflage and distraction rather than 100% invisibility of the old ink.

Please don’t be discouraged by this. When your cover work is done by a highly skilled artist, the tiny bits of the old tattoo will likely not take away or distract from the new work. Most often the visible pieces add charm or are perceived to be subtle textures of the new design. 9 out of 10 times no one will ever be the wiser and you will soon forget they are noticeable.

Weigh the Pros and Cons of a cover up tattoo

When you're considering a cover up tattoo, it's important to weigh the pros and cons. On the one hand, a cover up can be a great way to hide an unwanted tattoo. On the other hand, it can be expensive and may not look exactly as you hope. Here are some things to consider:

Cost: Cover up tattoos can be expensive, depending on the complexity of the design. You may need or want laser removal treatments to get the design you want or to give yourself more options.
Time: Cover-up tattoos require more planning to design and more time to execute. You will need to be patient with the process.
Appearance: A cover up tattoo may not look exactly as you imagined. The artist may not be able to create a design that is exactly what you had in mind. Often times there are tiny bits of the old tattoo that can still be seen or that re-appear as the new tattoo ages and fades.
Do you REALLY need to cover it up? This might sound strange but hear me out. Old tattoos, no matter how bad you think they are, can become something special. The older you get the more fond you become of the strange stories of your past and that old tattoo, a cringe worthy event at the time, might become a great story later in life. In the tattoo industry there is actually a saying that goes: “Don’t trust anyone who doesn’t have at least 1 bad tattoo”. Its not to be taken too seriously, and obviously if the memory that is associated with the old tattoo is traumatic then do whatever you need to do. But if it isn’t a horrific memory… do you really have to make it go away? Just a thought.

Conclusion

If you're unhappy with a tattoo, a cover up tattoo may be the solution. However, it's important to weigh the pros and cons before making this decision. A cover up tattoo can be expensive and, if you aren’t careful, may not look exactly as you expected. Make sure you understand the cost and time involved, and be sure you're happy with the artist's portfolio before scheduling your appointment.

Thanks for reading!