Thinking About A Cover Up?

 

Making the decision to cover a tattoo can be tough…

When love for your old tattoos fade, it can be pretty difficult to figure out what your next step should be. With so many options for covering, fading, and removing tattoos in an ever-changing artistic landscape, it’s no surprise many people are considering fading or removing tattoos that are no longer aligned with their expressive visions.

At Black Diamond Tattoo, we’re very lucky to work side-by-side with our partner-business, LaserTat Tattoo Removal. Our unique insights into the processes of fading and removing unloved tattoos means that we can offer a cover-up concept tailored to your needs as a client, as well as a plan for fading and covering your tattoo which includes artistic advice and consideration of your goals and desired outcome.

But with the costs and logistics of tattoo fading and removal, how can you be sure it’s for you? Laser fading and removal can be considered a big step and can be quite daunting without an understanding of what to expect or what to do once your tattoo is faded.

Luckily, thanks to the talented technicians at LaserTat and our collective artistic experience in covering unloved tattoos, we are able to offer demonstrated, knowledgeable advice to guide you through the fading-to-cover up process.

Why should I consider fading my tattoo before covering it?

The biggest and most common reason we recommend fading before a cover up is because it drastically opens your ‘cover up canvas’ – the more ink we can get out of the existing tattoo, the more control you as a client have over the outcome of your cover up.

If you’re looking to cover a tattoo without fading it, the cover up piece itself generally needs to be bigger and darker than the existing tattoo, unless the artist is able to incorporate the existing design into a bigger concept.  

This means that people who’d like to move toward artistic styles that are different, lighter or finer, are often heavily restricted in what designs they can actually choose for their cover up, especially if the client is determined not to have the existing tattoo show through.

Fading your tattoo even just 20-50% can offer significantly more design freedom to you and your artist, bringing you even closer to your ultimate tattoo goals.

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Sounds great! What next?

If you’d like to have an artistic ‘game plan’ before beginning your fading treatments for some peace of mind, you’re always welcome to pop by the studio and discuss your cover up ideas with our studio assistant Tayla, who can take a look at your existing tattoo and your cover up ideas and offer some generalised advice or point you in the direction of a suitable artist.

Alternatively, you can book a free consultation with your chosen artist to discuss your aspirations for your cover up to ensure what you want can be achieved.

If you have a specific end-goal for your cover up, you can also discuss this with your Laser Technician, who can tailor your fading treatments to suit your desired end results. If we don’t need to treat the whole tattoo, we won’t!