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: Michael Myers 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 tattoo, Michael Myers, just tattooed 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 Wulf

#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, Red 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 Adriana

#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 Lion Scar Cover Up Tattoo

Tattoos can cover up more than just other tattoos, they can cover scars too. And not just cover them, but cover them beautifully like in the lion tattoo below. So if life gives you scars that you don't want, then cover them up with an awesome tattoo, and turn those scars into scar-aid!

Tattoo done by Wulf

#6: Butterfly Cover Up Tattoo

Shading can do wonders in hiding unwanted tattoos. This cover up shows just how well.  The Butterfly looks like it casting a shadow on the skin as it flaps its wings. Creating a 3D effect, and showing no trace of the tattoo that was covered up. This strategic shading not only completely covers the unwanted tattoo, it also looks beautiful.

Tattoo done by Wulf

#5: Millennium Falcon Cover Up Tattoo

Do you wish your tattoo was in a galaxy far, far, away? Well don't worry, because there is a "New Hope", you can just cover up the tattoo! This cover up tattoo shows that even the biggest, darkest blob of a tattoo, can be rescued from the dark side and brought back to the light.

Tattoo done by Cambria

#4: Black and Grey Cobra Cover Up Tattoo

You can even get small cover up tattoo like the one below. So, don't think every cover up tattoo needs to be huge. You can still have that small, delicate, tattoo you wanted even with a cover up. As long as you chose a skilled cover up artist. 

Tattoo done by Adriana

#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: Watercolor Flowers Cover Up Tattoo

This tattoo cover up proves that cover ups don't have to be bold and thick, they can still be very fine and dainty. This watercolor style cover up tattoo looks great, and you wouldn't even know it was a scar cover up. It just shows you want is possible in a cover up when you have a talented artist tattooing you.

Tattoo done by Wulf

#1: Colorful Butterfly With Flower Wing Cover Up Tattoo

At the top of our Best Cover Up Tattoo Ideas list, is this amazing cover up. An old, faded, black, tattoo is being covered up with a beautiful vibrant color tattoo. 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  Adriana 

*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, comes great responsibility..".

Tattoo done by Wulf

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!