30 impressive tattoo cover up ideas with before and after

30 impressive tattoo cover up ideas with before and after

Unlike other pieces of paper arts, tattoos are not easy to erase or take off once they are inked on a particular part of your body. Therefore, it is important to think through the type of tattoo you want. Inevitably, some of the previously adored pieces will no longer be appealing hence the need to cover them up. So, what are some of the most impressive cover-up ideas you can try?

Tattoo cover up ideas
Tattoo cover up ideas. Photo: @the_tattoo_art_, jai.gilchristtattoo (modified by author)
Source: UGC

Tattoo cover up ideas come in handy when you want to remove or fade the unwanted tattoo. This is done by inking a new image on the body part with the previous one. Since the previous ink is usually in a lighter shade, you can cover it with a darker tone.

Best tattoo cover up ideas

Effectively removing or fading unwanted ink requires multiple sessions. However, all this is dependent on the previous tattoo's style, size, colour and technique used in its creation. So, what are good tattoo cover up ideas to try? Here is a list of the top 30 impressive tattoo cover up ideas with before and after.

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1. Realistic warrior on arm cover-up

tattoo cover up ideas
Realist warrior on arm. Photo: @kvtedavies
Source: UGC

What kind of tattoo is best for cover up? Revamping the ink art with a real warrior is one of the best cover-ups. For instance, the image of a struggling tiger has been covered with a 3D Samurai image. The shading and shadowing technique leaves no sign of the old designs,

2. Crow on upper arm cover-up tattoo

tattoo cover up ideas
Crow on upper arm. Photo: @sincerelymedia
Source: UGC

A crow is a great cover-up idea. The previous tattoo is a discernible tribal tattoo covered with a realistic crow. Even though some of the previous parts were not entirely covered, the artist designed them to look like part of the new design.

3. Wing and heart tattoo cover-up

tattoo cover up ideas
Wing and heart. Photo: @thomexinxan
Source: UGC

The previous image reflects the shape of a heart and two wings. Even though it is a popular design among many people, it has become almost unrecognizable because of the faded colour. For its cover-up, the artist has used the wings' blue colours to create the background of a beautiful hummingbird on top.

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4. Butterfly tattoo cover-up

tattoo cover up ideas
Butterfly cover-up. Photo: @emp_creative
Source: UGC

Flowers and butterflies go hand in hand with most female tattoos. In this case, the shoulder design was initially a single butterfly that faded over time. It has been covered up by redesigning it to create a butterfly and flower.

5. Leaves cover up tattoos on the shoulder

tattoo cover up ideas
Leaves on the shoulder. Photo: @agathayosefina
Source: UGC

Leaves come in hand as tattoo cover up ideas for people who get their boyfriends' initials or full names tattooed on their bodies. The initial design has some words and love heart symbols at the end. The cover-up is numerous beautiful leaves that totally cover the initial image.

6. Ouroboros to wreath cover-up tattoo

tattoo cover up ideas
Ouroboros to wreath. Photo: @jjjordan
Source: UGC

Ouroboros is a common design of a snake eating its tail to signify unity and infinity. While it may be meaningful at the beginning, you might outgrow it over time. This can be covered by turning it into a beautiful wreath.

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7. Quote to art

tattoo cover up ideas
Quote to art. Photo: @seteph
Source: UGC

Most quote tattoos are inked with fine lines, which tend to fade over time. This can be easily covered with a stroke of pain above the quote, where the dense and dark colour offers the perfect coverage. In this case, the artist has incorporated a tree line under a starry night, making the design artistic and creative.

8. Tiger cover-up tattoo on the ankle

tattoo cover up ideas
Tiger on ankle. Photo: @stevenerixon
Source: UGC

In most cases, the cover-up designs occupy more space than the original ones. For instance, the tattoo above was a simple image on the neck, while the cover-up is a much bigger image. In addition, the artist has covered it with the portrait of a huge tiger making the original one totally invisible.

9. Symbol tattoo cover-up

tattoo cover up ideas
Symbol cover-up. Photo: @lucaslenzi
Source: UGC

Talented artistic do their cover-up so well that it is hard to know what was initially tattooed. For this design, the artist has managed to hide the initial lines making up the symbol with black colouring. He has created clean lines and colourful blocks resulting in a modern and artistic tattoo.

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10. Stars tattoo retouch

cover up tattoo ideas on wrist
Stars retouch. Photo: @clesulie
Source: UGC

Minimal retouch can be an impressive cover-up tattoo idea on the wrist. In this case, the small wrist tattoo is a perfect example of how minor changes can bring a whole new difference to a design. The artist has just incorporated a curvy line and red colour to bring new life to the original star.

11. Small wrist tattoo cover-up

tattoo cover up ideas
Small wrist cover-up. Photo: @brianna_santellan
Source: UGC

While some artists might completely cover a previous design, others opt to use it as a part of their new creation. In the above image, the artist has used the fading colours of the moon as the perfect background for the new tattoo. The colours of the moon and flowers have been used to create a gorgeous contrast.

12. Pear into grapes arm cover up tattoo

tattoo cover up ideas
Pears into grapes on arm. Photo: @jjjordan
Source: UGC

Feminine scar cover ups tattoo comes in different shapes and forms. The pear stamp image above is covered with a grape design by adding shades and other intricate details. The original frame is modified to become the floral window for the new design. By using darker shades, the pear seamlessly turns into grapes.

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13. Meaningful tiger tattoo cover-up

tattoo cover up ideas
Meaningful tiger. Photo: @lucaslenzi
Source: UGC

When you want to cover up an old design, choosing coverage over the meaning you will achieve is common sense. However, if you are lucky enough, you will achieve both in equal measure. The simple tiger above is one such instance of luck where a baby tiger is transformed into a fully grown one.

14. Lettering tattoo cover up with rose

cover up tattoo ideas for names
Lettering cover with a blue rose. Photo: @seteph
Source: UGC

A rose is a good cover up tattoo idea for names. If you have a name tattooed on your body, you can turn it into a dark colour such as grey or black and then fill it with other colours. For example, the name above has been covered with a beautiful blue rose. It glows well on the skin, making it appear as lovely as a new design.

15. Letter tattoos into landscapes

cover up tattoo ideas for names
Letter into landscape. Photo: @stevenerixon
Source: UGC

What tattoos are hardest to cover up? Black tattoos with other colours other than black are the hardest to cover. However, you can consider turning it into a landscape if you have not found a perfect cover-up. The new image will be made of trees and mountains, which will use the initial black colour.

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16. Feminine lion sleeve cover-up tattoo

tattoo cover up ideas
Feminine lion on sleeve. Photo: @sincerelymedia
Source: UGC

A simple tattoo can be covered by combining a lion with intricate flowers. In the case above, the tattoo artist has combined the cat and the sun to form a beautiful feminine lion. The new design is a masterpiece that will keep your eyes glued to.

17. Coloured feather tattoo

tattoo cover up ideas
Coloured feather. Photo: @kgadia87
Source: UGC

Are you looking for the best cover-up tattoo ideas for a name? A beautiful coloured feather will be a great choice. With such an original design, the artist has plenty of room to work on. The name design above has been covered to form a colourful feather that compliments the body's curves.

18. The mandala-style cover-up tattoo

tattoo cover up ideas
The mandala-style. Photo: @emp_creative
Source: UGC

Shoulder cover up tattoos come in different shapes and sizes. However, the mandala style is unusual since the original shape is the centre of the new art. In this case, the artist has used fine black lines to work over the top in creating the centre flower. Finally, he has moved outwards symmetrically to finish off the look.

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19. Skull cover-up tattoos

tattoo cover up ideas
Skull cover-up. Photo: @clemono
Source: UGC

Skulls are some of the best and most common cover-up tattoo designs. Many people love them because they bear various approaches and styles. In addition, they are an excellent choice due to their ability to incorporate numerous other elements.

20. Chinese character to sunflower

tattoo cover up ideas
Chinese character to sunflower. Photo: @thomexinxan
Source: UGC

Like the common ex-name tattoo cover up, a Chinese character can be transformed into a beautiful sunflower image. Most names tend to fade over time, making adding deeper colours to the new pieces of body art easier. On the harder-to-conceal sides, darker parts are strategically placed.

21. Old tattoo with portrait cover-up

tattoo cover up ideas
Old tattoo with portrait. Photo: @lucaslenzi
Source: Depositphotos

Is your old tattoo boring? If yes, you can recreate it by adding numerous other themes and components. For example, when you recreate a portrait, all the attention will be drawn to the new piece as the old one will be barely visible.

22. Faded tattoo with flowers on the wrist

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tattoo cover up ideas
Faded design to flowers on the wrist. Photo: @duvaccari
Source: UGC

When your tattoo has faded, it is easier to come up with numerous cover up tattoo ideas female designs, and a flower is one of the best. For example, a faded bird is seamlessly covered with beautiful dark-coloured flowers in the image above.

23. 3D dragonfly cover-up tattoo

tattoo cover up ideas
3D dragonfly. Photo: @clesulie
Source: UGC

Even though words are some of the easiest tattoos to cover up, the new design takes more space than the initial one. One of the possible word cover-ups is the 3D dragonfly. You can easily convert the words to a huge and cute 3D dragonfly which is super realistic, as seen above.

24. Baby devil with lily flower cover-up

tattoo cover up ideas
Baby devil with lily flower. Photo: @agathayosefina
Source: UGC

Sometimes you can get a tattoo with great meaning, but it fails to resonate with you over time, as is the case with the design above. Initially, the person had a baby devil with a fork inked on her body. Later, the tattoo artist turns it into lilies in different shades of red, black and orange. The outcome is a darker tattoo that wholly conceals the baby devil.

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25. 3D rose cover up tattoo

tattoo cover up ideas
3D rose. Photo: @kgadia87
Source: UGC

A 3D rose can be used as dark tattoo cover ups for various images. Both complicated and detailed tattoos like the five stars above can be fully concealed with a rose flower. The artist has covered the stars with dark colours and shadows with a vibrant red to lay out the roses.

26. Magnolia cover-up tattoo

tattoo cover up ideas
Magnolia cover-up. Photo: @brianna_santellan
Source: UGC

Magnolia can be used as a beautiful female cover up tattoo to a bad original design or one that has faded away. For instance, words that are no longer meaningful or important to you can be converted into a beautiful and artistic magnolia. Then, you add other elements of your choice to make the tattoo a masterpiece.

27. Full sleeve cover-up tattoo

tattoo cover up ideas
Full sleeve. Photo: @duvaccari
Source: UGC

Different people choose tattoos that originally cover the whole sleeve, while others get that kind to cover up a previous bad or outdated one. For the case above, the previous tattoo was placed in the middle of the arm, but the artist replaced it with a tattoo covering the entire sleeve.

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28. Diamond cover-up tattoo

tattoo cover up ideas
Diamond cover-up. Photo: @lishakov
Source: UGC

Many people get cartoon tattoos inked on their bodies for the love of animations. However, their love might fade over time, creating the urge to cover it up. However, that can be perfectly covered with a cute gem such as the shining red diamond above.

29. Moth cover-up neck tattoo

tattoo cover up ideas
Moth on the neck. Photo: @clemono
Source: UGC

In most cases, neck tattoos are smaller than those placed on other body parts. To conceal such, it is recommendable to get one that is closer to the initial piece. For instance, the cross tattoo above has been covered with a moth so that the cross is no longer visible.

30. Skull with cherry blossoms cover up tattoos

tattoo cover up ideas
Skull with cherry blossoms on the back. Photo: @kvtedavies
Source: UGC

The good thing with having to cover up a back tattoo is that you would have more space to occupy so that the old tattoo can be covered well. Also, bigger, darker and more beautiful tattoo designs like the cherry blossoms above come in handy in covering up the smaller tattoo.

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Tattoo cover up ideas come in handy if you want to conceal the previous designs. Luckily, there are thousands of options to choose from regardless of the type and shape you want to cover.

Yen.com.gh shared an interesting about the best name tattoos ideas. Name tattoos are just more than words inked on your body. They are ideal for people who want a reminder of their significant others or loved ones. They are a significant mark not only to you but also to your loved ones.

Different people go for different shapes and designs when it comes to getting an inking on their bodies. They can either be simple or intricate, depending on what you want. Others go for name tattoos in remembrance of people they hold dear.

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Source: YEN.com.gh

Authors:
Julian Mireri avatar

Julian Mireri (SEO editor) Julian is a content creator who has been working with Yen since 2018. She graduated from the University of Nairobi with a Bachelor’s Degree in Project Planning and Management in the year 2013. Think of her as a content whisperer and a gifted storyteller who never disappoints when it comes to finding the right words for her pieces. Email: julianmireri@gmail.com

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