Best Tattoo Cover Up Ideas: The Best Way To Cover Up Your Unwanted Tattoos

Tattoos are permanent, that is what makes them great, they last forever. Until you don’t want it anymore. Who knows, maybe it brings up bad memories or just isn’t your style anymore. Whatever the reason, you want to cut this lifetime commitment short.

Then, you are left with three options, keep the tattoo, remove the tattoo, or cover up the tattoo…

You can keep the unwanted tattoo, hiding it with stage makeup, clothing, or something else, and make sure your tattoo never sees the light of day.

You can remove the tattoo,  spending thousands and go through the long and painful process of tattoo removal. Or, if you are price conscious, you can remove the tattoo yourself “Gladiator” style cutting it out of your flesh with a nearby sharp rock (This method of tattoo removal is highly not recommended)

Or, you can choose in my opinion the best thing to do when you have a tattoo you do not like…..  

Get a tattoo cover up, and turn that unwanted tattoo into a tattoo you will love the rest of your life.

You obviously like tattoos if you have one, so what better to do with that unwanted tattoo than to cover it up with some amazing new tattoo?! Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, your new tattoo cover up will shine bright for all to see. It will symbolize the transformation from who you were when you got the original tattoo to what you have now become.

We all make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes happen to be tattoos that will stay on our bodies our whole lives. Point is, don’t beat yourself up about it, there is something you can do to make that tattoo something that you want to have on you forever again.

Whether the tattoo you want to cover up is big or small, light or dark, or anything in between, we can cover it up and make a tattoo that you want to show off. That is why we put together this list of our favorite cover up tattoos, to show what is possible when it comes to tattoo cover ups and help give you tattoo cover up ideas. 

#10: Grim Reaper Cover Up Tattoo

Sometimes you like the subject of a tattoo, just not the tattoo itself. In this cover up tattoo it is the same type of tattoo, just much, much, better. This is also a very large tattoo cover up and you would never know, as the new tattoo shows no evidence of being a cover up tattoo.

Tattoo done by Steve

#9: Color Flower Cover Up Tattoo

Can you cover up a black tattoo with color? As you can see from the tattoo below the answer is "Yes!". This old black script tattoo is expertly covered with a beautiful, vibrantly colored, flower. The leaf sticking out at the bottom of the tattoo makes sure that it covers up the entire old tattoo, so no one will ever notice it's a cover up tattoo at all.

Tattoo done by Steve

#8: Butterfly Blast Over Cover Up Tattoo

A "Blast Over" is a different kind of tattoo cover up. This Butterfly blast over of an old Butterfly tattoo below is an example. With a blast over cover up tattoo the artist doesn't try and hide the tattoo below, they simple tattoo the new design right over it using the the old tattoo below to enhance the aesthetics of the new tattoo. This also gives the new tattoo some more uniqueness than the average tattoo.

Tattoo done by Devon

#7: Realistic Narwhal Cover Up Tattoo

If you can cover up black tattoos with color tattoos, then of course you can cover up color tattoos with different color tattoos. This cover up tattoo demonstrates that perfectly, and shows again that no matter the size of a tattoo, a cover up is still possible. Also, this may be the only Narwhal tattoo cover up on the internet, after you are done with this list "Google it" and see.

Tattoo done by Steve

#6: Dagger and Flowers Cover Up Tattoo

Shading can do wonders in hiding unwanted tattoos. This cover up shows just how well.  The roses are not over saturated with ink, just lightly shaded, however you can see no trace of the tattoo that was covered up. This is due to strategic shading and tattoo know-how. 

Tattoo done by Steve

#5: Realistic Heart Cover Up Tattoo

I want to quickly get to the "heart" of the matter, the fact is some tattoos (especially those tattoos you get done in your garage by your friend with a paper clip) just suck. But don't lose hope, those with sucky tattoos, your poor life decisions can be corrected with the right tattoo artist. This cover up tattoo proves that point, it even incorporates some of the lines into the new tattoo, so they can always remember how bad of an idea DIY tattoos are.

Tattoo done by Steve

#4: Black and Grey Cobra Cover Up Tattoo

“Strike first. Strike hard. No mercy.” That is exactly what this Cobra cover up tattoo does by totally destroying the tattoo it is covering up. This tattoo looks great with it's black and grey realistic look, that leaves no trace of the tattoo it covered up. It shows that with proper shading you can cover up any tattoo.

Tattoo done by Steve

#3: Black and Grey Leaves and Flowers Cover Up Tattoo

This tattoo cover up is very delicate, lightly shaded, and very clean. It shows that even a tattoo cover up can have minimal ink, yet there is no sign of the previous tattoo. This is great because a lot of people fear that their cover up tattoo is going to have to be huge and very saturated with color. Thankfully, that doesn't always have to be the case, as shown below.

Tattoo done by Devon

#2: Ancient Skull with Tribal Designs Cover Up Tattoo

This tattoo cover up proves that even the darkest, largest, blob of a tattoo, can be covered up. And not just covered up, but made to look incredible. The intricate fine line work layered with dark shading makes this cover up tattoo really pop, and almost gives it a 3D look. If you have a tattoo, and think there is no hope for a cover up, this is proof that with a skilled tattoo artist anything is possible.

Tattoo done by Steve

#1: Colorful Flowers with Butterfly’s Cover Up Tattoo

At the top of our Best Cover Up Tattoo Ideas list, is this amazing cover up. Another very large tattoo being covered up, this old faded butterfly with name tattoo was covered up with beautiful vibrant color. You would never know by looking at this tattoo that it was a cover up, and if you did know, you would recognize how big of an upgrade this tattoo cover up was over the previous tattoo.

Tattoo done by Steve

*Bonus Cover Up Tattoos*

Spiderman Cover Up Tattoo

This is a "super" tattoo cover up idea! If you have a really "sticky" tattoo you want to get rid of, then cover it up with a Spiderman tattoo. And remember, "With a great tattoo, come great responsibility..".

Tattoo done by Steve

We hope you enjoyed our 10 Best Cover Up Tattoo Ideas, and hopefully it showed you what is possible in a cover up tattoo. Now you know that even if you have a tattoo you don't want anymore, you can easily cover it up with a new tattoo you will love. If you are thinking about getting a cover up tattoo anytime soon, make sure to book your tattoo at Mr. Inkwells tattoo shop. Our tattoo artist are experts at cover up tattoos, and will ensure that your next tattoo you will want to keep for a lifetime.

See You Soon!