Reviewed & updated: March 18, 2023 by Jamie Wilson BA
Are you tired or embarrassed by your old, faded tattoos? Then here are some amazing ideas for a cover up tattoo to hide your old ones in a fantastic way!
If you are wondering, “How to cover up a tattoo?”, the answer is very simple.
A cover-up tattoo is a new tattoo that is done on top of a previous tattoo. It can either be completely hiding the original tattoo with a newer design and idea. It can also be improving upon the older tattoo by modifying the design and making it sharper or adding colours.
A lot of people often feel they do not want their old tattoo anymore. They may feel they have grown out of it, they do not agree with what they had gotten tattooed anymore and some simply do not like the way the older tattoo looks. After all, if a tattoo is badly done initially, its lines may start to fade over time and it may lose its bold dark contours.
Therefore, there are two solutions available to every person. Either they completely remove the older tattoo through laser removal which costs a lot and takes a lot of time as well. Instead of that, they can also choose to get a tattoo cover up. A tattoo cover up is a smart way of covering up your older tattoo without going through the hassle of removing it.
However, a tattoo cover up also costs quite a lot because the tattoo artist has to spend a lot of time in trying to cover your previous tattoo up in an expert way. In addition to that, it also takes a lot of time and may require you to sit for several sessions till it is covered up perfectly. Consequently, you may want to reach out to the best professional tattoo artist near you who can do the job expertly and seems to have a lot of experience in this style already.
Tribal Designs For A Cover Up Tattoo
When you have a huge tattoo to cover up, the easiest way to do that would be to get a tribal cover up tattoo. Tribal designs are known for being quite large and extremely detailed and elaborate. As seen in the picture, the tribal tattoo on top with its layers and nuances is the best way to cover up the original tattoo. Another great thing about the tribal cover up tattoos is that they can also be placed anywhere according to your wishes. As seen in the picture, you can place it on the back of your neck, on your chest, shoulder, bicep or maybe your legs as well.
If you are looking for more awesome tribal tattoo designs and have a keen interest in history, you can check out these wonderful Aztec tattoo designs for some inspiration.
Animal Designs For Cover Up Tattoo
Animal designs are another of the most popular mong tattoo cover up ideas. You can get the tattoo of a big animal like a lion, tiger, cheetah or leopard to cover up your original tattoo. The tattoos of these big animals will automatically take up a lot of space. So you can easily cover up your original tattoo no matter how big it was. In addition to that, animal tattoos also look amazing especially if your tattoo artist has an eye for details and making sure every line is in its right place. You can also add colour to your tattoo cover up to make your animal tattoo look more realistic.
There is also plenty of tattoo cover up photos on the internet which you can go through and take note of the ones you like. Consequently, you can ask your tattoo artist to follow the pictures you liked and create a great tattoo cover up design for you.
Cover Up Tattoos That Are Easy To Place Everywhere
A lot of people often look at the internet for tattoo cover up ideas and think that cover up tattoos are only for large tattoos. However, that is a great misconception. Although many people use cover up tattoos to hide their larger tattoos, they can also use it to cover up their smaller tattoos.
As seen in the picture, the wearer has cleverly crafted a floral design that is placed on their shoulder. The actual design is not taking up a lot of space but you can barely understand if it is a cover up tattoo or not. The intricate pattern of the flowers is also helping in hiding the original tattoo. A lot of people also try to cover up their scars through these tattoos. Therefore, if you are wondering how to cover up a wrist tattoo or how to cover up a finger tattoo, do not worry about it anymore. Just approach a professional tattoo artist who you know are good at their job. They will guide you expertly and create an amazing cover up tattoo design for you which will completely remove any trace of the original tattoo no matter where it is or how small it is.
Colourful Cover Up Tattoos
If you are wondering how to cover your old and faded tattoo without going through the painful and long process of laser removal, then you can just choose a new design for a cover up tattoo. A cover up tattoo is a great tactic for anyone who does not want to go through laser removal but wants to conceal their old, faded tattoo or scars nonetheless. After all, we often get tattoos that become faded or light over time due to a lack of appropriate and adequate care. The dark lines become quite faded and the tattoo does not look as good anymore.
The easiest way for covering that tattoo is to get a cover up tattoo. However, if you do not like monochromatic, black-coloured tattoos, you can also easily add colour to your cover up tattoo. Adding bright and vibrant colours to your tattoo will also help provide more coverage to your new tattoo. This will actually be useful in the process of hiding your previous tattoo. The vivid hues of your tattoo will provide great coverage and people will not be able to see through it anymore. In addition to that, colourful tattoos are always a piece of art and look beautiful no matter what. You just have to ensure that the tattoo shop you go to for the task is trustworthy and the tattoo artists over there are experienced in tattoo cover ups.
Cover Up Tattoo Arm Sleeve
If you have a large expanse of area to cover up such as your arm sleeve, you have to carefully think about the tattoo design you want to get. If needed, you can also consult your tattoo artist regarding what kind of a cover up tattoo would fit perfectly with your arm sleeve.
As seen in the picture, the tattoo of the female face or the angel along with geometric patterns and lines is creating a great effect of covering up the older tattoo on the bicep area of the body.
Cool Ideas For Blackout Tattoos
Blackout tattoos are a unique and unconventional way of cover up tattoos that very few tattoo artists can actually do expertly. In this process, the tattoo artists completely cover up the entire area with black ink. However, they also carve out silhouettes, contours or lines within that black ink which they keep empty. These lines actually resemble a design. Therefore, once the blackout is completed, it looks as if there is a tattoo design where the black area is the new canvas and the design is made by the bits of skin that have been left out.
This black out tattoo is an awesome way of covering up your old tattoo and creating stunning new art out of the darker area. With the old tattoo or scars covered with the help of black ink, the artist can then focus on creating the new related tattoo design on your body.
Cover Up Tattoo Ideas For Your Back
As seen in the picture, an animal tattoo may be a great way to cover up a tattoo you have on your back as well. The dark, shaded effect of the cover up tattoo is completely concealing the older tattoo. In addition to that, if you get a cover up tattoo like this, people will definitely stop and want to admire and comment on your tattoo. You can also add a flower or roses to the tattoo on the back to make it look more elaborate.
Floral Designs For Cover Up Tattoos
Floral designs or designs with a flower are one of the most popular tattoo cover up ideas. After all, tattoos of flowers are also the most malleable of all tattoos and can be easily modified. Regardless of the size and type of your tattoo, you can ask tattoo artists to draw flowers any way you want.
As seen in this picture, the bright and bold red roses over the wearer’s shoulder are the best way to cover their older tattoo.
The coloured ink also seems to add to the beauty of the cover up tattoo. If you want to get a more unique, unconventional floral tattoo, you can also choose ink of others colours like yellow colour, pink colour or blue colour.
If you are looking for more tattoo cover up ideas with flowers of different colors like blue or white, here are some beautiful Calla Lily tattoo designs for you to see.
Traditional Cover Up Tattoo Ideas
There are many styles of cover up tattoos that can be found on the internet or on the tattoo shop or studio that you go to. There was a traditional pattern of cover up tattoo art initially but now, newer styles of art have also evolved which cover up the old tattoo in a completely new way.
However, if you want to cover up your tattoo in the traditional style of art, then you can ask your tattoo artist to use that art style for you as well. As seen in the picture, the entire arm sleeve has been covered up in dark, black geometric lines which give a very dark, shaded effect to the new tattoo.
Watch A Video Of The Best 100+ Cover Up Tattoos You Need To See!
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Great Ideas For A Small Cover Up Tattoo
If you are looking for ideas for tattoo cover ups for a small tattoo, there are plenty of great ideas and designs to choose from. Many people get cover up designs tattooed instead of going through the lengthy process of tattoo removal. As seen in this picture, the older tattoo was quite small and faded but the newer tattoo is much more pretty and colourful. The new tattoo artist has given a lot of thought into covering the older tattoo in a way that looks good on the skin but also matches the wishes of the client. The older tattoo was not even that dark and it was a weird geometrical design that was not very clear to understand. The new tattoo is much better as it is of a beautiful flower along with its leaves. The tattoo artist has also added fuchsia and petal pink coloured ink to the tattoo to make it more vibrant. This way, it looks great on the skin and does the work of covering the old tattoo on our body perfectly well.
Therefore, if you have an old tattoo that needs to be covered, you can also choose not to go through the arduous and expensive process of tattoo removal. Now, with the help of tattoo cover ups you can simply choose to cover up that tattoo with better and more colourful ink. Consequently, if you want to carry out a full makeup on your old tattoo, go ahead and find the best tattoo artists, shop or studio you can find for the task. Tattoo cover ups can be quite difficult and might take a long time as well, but the ultimate result would be a stunning piece of art that everyone will appreciate.
Feature Image from Pinterest – Love this design? Try a Temporary Tattoo
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