Waihi Tattoo Studio - Waihi Tattoo Studio 8 Haszard Street

Covering up a tattoo follows a procedure where your previous and unwanted tattoo is replaced with a new one. You can also opt for a cover-up tattoo if your old design is fading. Light or faded tattoos are easier to work on. The choice of a design to cover your old tattoo makes a significant difference to the end result and certain designs will not cover the old tattoo. For example portraits/faces can not be placed directly over existing ink. Our artists will be able to guide you in this.

Designing Your New Piece

The difference between a new tattoo and a cover-up is with the choice of designs available to you; depending on what you’re getting covered certain images may not fit. It’s really a matter of finding what works best with the existing tattoos lines, shapes, colours, even the area where it is placed. We want to make sure that the cover up will not only flow well with the curves of your body but will also be sure to leave as little trace as possible of the previous ink. The same can be said of scars: if you’re okay with some of them showing or not being covered fully, any design will do, but if you’d like them completely camouflaged, it’s best to get creative. When getting a cover up tattoo, you may have to accept that your initial idea may not work, but with perseverance an awesome design will come!

Sizing Your Cover Up Tattoo

When covering a tattoo, the new tattoo is always going to be bigger; there’s no way around it if you’re going for complete coverage of the old tattoo. In terms of cover up tattoos bigger is most certainly better, and having a bigger tattoo covering the old one gives you more freedom in what images or designs can be tattooed. We will help you along and let you know what parameters you can work within. We will be there to tell you what size will work best.

Choosing Colours

The colours most used in cover up tattoos are blues, browns, greens, purples and blacks. This is simply because they are the best at covering old ink. Pigments like shades of red, yellow and orange often fail to fully conceal pre-existing ink, especially if it the shades beneath are too dark. Think of tattoo ink like watercolor: you can’t cover a dark red with blue, but you can make purple. Usually, the bolder and darker you go the better the cover up will be.

Old Tattoos are Easy to Cover

The age of your tattoo matters as well. It is evident that tattoos fade over time. This is because the ink of your tattoo is likely to break down as time passes. Red and yellow colours are prone to quicker fading whereas shades like black and dark blue stay for an extended time period. Concealing a years old tattoo is less time-consuming as compared to a new one. And, old designs often do not show through the cover-up design like new ones do. Of course that is dependant on how deeply or dark the original tattoo was applied.

Getting rid of a regrettable tattoo design has become possible with concealing. So, opt for a cover-up and make a difference. Whether you have scars or bad tattoos, we’re here to help.