Looking for tattoo cover up ideas? Welcome to the club. When I was 17, I got a Canadian maple leaf tattooed on my right shoulder with a ribbon underneath that read “carpe diem”.
Groan.
After that, I realized very quickly that the tattoo didn’t align with my life goals. Not like it was an Arlo DiCristina tattoo, right? It was large, flat, kind of masculine, and… cheesy. So I had it removed.
The laser removal cost me 12.5 x what the tattoo did. It was one of the most painful things I’ve ever experienced and felt like a blow torch on my skin. So, because of this, if you’re looking to get rid of a tattoo, my recommendation would be to find a cover up tattoo design that works for you.
Here are seven of our top picks for good cover up tattoos, and feel free to check out these awesomely cosmic space tattoo ideas.
7 Clever Tattoo Cover Up Ideas To Hide That Old Ink
1. Kiss From A Rose
Basically, this one went from a blob to a really gorgeous rose and you can’t tell a thing. The detail on the finished work is beautiful, and we love the juxtaposition of the spatters and the black.
This is a great example of how you can take an old expired tattoo and make it fresh and new.
2. Rose Geometry Dream
The finished design is gorgeous! We’re big fans of the dimension added by the little dots underneath the rose. The detail and shading are so superior to the original design, and the placement at the top of the spine also fits really well.
I guess, however, she didn’t really have much of a choice where it went.
3. Tribal Band to Murder of Crows
Ah the old tribal arm band… we love how the solid bar at the bottom perfectly hides the old design. In addition, the detail on the branches and the birds adds so much artistry to the work. It’s mysterious, intriguing, and has far more depth than the original.
4. Tongue In Cheek Asterisk
This one is a bit of a funny one and not exactly a “good” cover-up. Instead of covering it up, he stipulated with an asterisk that this was done when he was 17 years old. Not exactly a genius move to add more bad to bad, is it? However, providing some context in this case may have helped him with “Bad Tattoo Insecurity Syndrome”. I think that’s a thing, and if it’s not it should be.
5. From Sharp Tribal Blob To Cube Robot
This one made the list because I didn’t even know they could do this. What an interesting challenge as a tattoo artist! Looks like they used lighter colours to make this strange (terrible) before tattoo something pretty cool.
6. Asian Symbol To Private Dancer
A lot of people got the Asian symbol for peace, love, freedom, or whatever misspelled tattooed and now they want it gone. There are lots of reasons for this… potential appropriation being one of them. Being boring an unimaginative is another.
7. Shifting Religion
To go from a simple cross to celebratory cherry blossoms seems a fitting shift. We absolutely love the shading on the blossoms. The tree perfectly covers the old design. And those dots surrounding the design as so pretty! Loving this one.
