Tattoo Cover Ups.
Tattoo cover ups are a great solution to an old problem. These days, I hear people saying they aren’t worried about their tattoo choices because they can just get them removed if they decide they don’t like it. Keep in mind, tattoo removal can be a very expensive, not to mention painful experience. The results of removal can sometimes be less than satisfactory as well.
Most tattoos can be covered up as long as the tattoo artist knows the process and has the experience necessary to get the job done correctly. If you can tell it’s a cover up, it probably wasn’t very well done.
Obviously, it’s harder for the artist to cover a tribal arm band than to cover up a name or your ex-wifes color portrait.
The popular water color style tattoos with no line work will be the easiest to cover because much of the color in these tattoos will go away with time anyway. The black ink tends to stay very well over time, so it is not easy to cover. This is where experience becomes very important.
It’s probably most common to cover name tattoos. I’ve been married for over 37 years and still have not put Becki’s name on me. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t care if I have her name on me or not. That’s good, because I don’t plan on it any time soon. I have been getting tattooed for over 25 years and haven’t had a touch up or a cover up done. Does this mean I make good decisions? I don’t know. I try. I feel that if you are going to go through the painful process, (yes, it hurts) I just want to add a new tattoo instead of dwelling on the past like so many folks do. If I don’t like a tattoo I have, I just surround it with more tattoos so you don’t notice it so much!
Covering a large tattoo without removal is possible, but more difficult than the smaller stuff. A good tattoo artist can educate the customer on what it takes to make that shit go away. The tribal and Celtic stuff has so much black it’s always a pain to hide. In most cases, it can be done.
I see these guys with their whole arm tattooed black and wonder why? What decisions were made that put them in that position? When the sun hits that much black ink, it’s very hot. Las Vegas summers are not conducive to this type of tattoo. Just my humble opinion. Maybe they just got really cheap tattoos from amateur hacks and had no other choice than to do solid black. Who knows?
Think before you act. Tattooing should be fun. Don’t think too much or you’ll never decide what you want tattooed on you until you are no longer with us!
Chas. T. Spencer @21tat – Owner