I Hate My Tattoo – Now What?

“I hate my new tattoo!”. Nobody wants to think this. You should be prepared to wear a tattoo for the rest of your life. It is important to be happy. Marriages can at least end in divorce.
A bad tattoo does not mean the end of the universe. Below , you will find the best ways to deal with this situation.

Make a Cover-Up Tattoo

Your Current Ink Can Be Replaced With a New Design

This is called ‘covering-up’. It’s unlikely to work if you have a fully colored back. But if you’ve got a small piece of tattoo or lettering, or if you want to replace an older piece, you can try. Some artists specialize in covering up tattoos.

Here are a few guidelines to help you understand the concept better:

• You don’t usually draw over your existing tattoo when you do a cover-up. It’s more about mixing colors with the existing tattoo. It is easier to conceal lighter colors than darker ones, so you can easily turn the former into the latter. Your artist could, for example, change pink into magenta and blue into purple.
• Black is the most difficult color to conceal. Most artists use black as a primary color to cover up.
• Tattoo experts generally recommend that a cover-up should be 30%-40% bigger than the original tattoo. It is important to conceal the undesirable parts.
• It is easier to cover older tattoos.
• Be honest. After two sessions, your skin will have been worked out and will require better care. It will take longer for a cover-up tattoo to heal than an original. You will feel itchy, but it is worth it if you maintain good hygiene. If you need tips on how to care for your tattoo, click here.
• Remember that a cover-up can also go wrong. Choose the best tattoo artist you can.

Tattoo Laser Removal

The Ink-shy?

“I don’t like my tattoo and I don’t want to draw any more!” It’s understandable. Laser removal is the best solution in such cases.

This is how it works: a laser beam is fired at your skin. Your skin will then shade the image by causing an immune response. It sounds simple, doesn’t it? Not really. What you should know about laser removal

• A dermatologist can remove laser tattoos.
• The whole process could take as long as 12 weeks.
• The laser does not guarantee that your tattoo will be completely removed. The removal of a tattoo depends on a number of factors, including the color, the depth with which it was applied, the size, etc.
• Laser removal can remove tattoos but leave permanent scars.
• It hurts worse than getting a tattoo. Most often, the doctor will inject local anesthetic or numb your skin.
• It is harder to remove light colors. For example, you may have to use different wavelengths and green and yellow.
• This is not an inexpensive process.

Make it Bigger

Most People Won’t See the Trees When They Look at a Forest

You may be a tattoo enthusiast. You may have several pieces but dislike one in particular. You can “minimize impact by growing a forest” if that is the case. This would mean getting more tattoos. If you make the unwanted piece into a sleeve, or even a back full, it will be a minor, insignificant part.

This time you will need to be more cautious – by either selecting the right tattoo artist, or not making rash decisions.

A new perspective

Meanings Change with Time

Give yourself time if you don’t like the tattoo’s design. You might come to love it again after a few months. You can try giving it a different meaning if you don’t like it. You can go back to your original state of mind and try to extract the meaning you felt when you made the piece.

This post was written by J Michael Taylor. J Michael Taylor is an artist and owner of Black Amethyst Tattoo Gallery. Black Amethyst is the best amongst tattoo shops in Clearwater Florida. They provide an art-first approach to custom tattooing in a gallery setting.