White Ink.

[Tight-Lines]

Hey dudes/dudetts,

So, a chick im kinda into wants to get a tattoo in white ink and asked me about if there were any cons to something in all white ink. I dont usually ask questions on here like this, but im completely ignorant on the subject and would enjoy some opinions from the best.

Thanks friends,

Dan

[Shmitty]

I have done a couple of them, usually small names or phrases, and healed they end up looking kind of like a scar. That said you should keep the design really really simple. Pro's i would say that it is a subtle kind of tattoo if it holds well. Cons would be that it could almost be considered a temporary tattoo, sun damage will eventually fade it to the point that it is hard to see. Oh and it would be kind of hard to talk most tattoo artists into doing it.

[Tight-Lines]

Thanks buddy. Good info.

[Stewart Robson]

Ive never been 100% happy with a white tattoo that I've done. 95% of the people who want then are not happy with the results either.

"Can you just touch this bit up, can you make it a little thicker/thinner, can you make it MORE white"? etc.

Most of the time these people don't have many tattoos so all their attention is on this one small thing.

At our shop we usually explain why getting a tattoo in light grey is better than only white. (kinda like the drop shadow thing in california style script.) They get the same 'subtle' effect and we don't get the headache of doing an all-white tattoo that may or may not look totally white when it's healed.

If they insist, I'll do it, but let them know touch ups are not free for that kind of tattoo.

[Tight-Lines]

Thanks Stewart. Major help.

[slayer9019]

more images here. tumblr.com/

they look like this....

[Lance]

I have a friend who has an all white tattoo on her wrist and she regrets it. My friend doesn't regret having a tattoo but as Shmitty said, it looks like a scar so when people see it they think she's into cutting herself or something of that sort.

[David Flores]

I concur with the general consensus. I had a friend ask me about it, I discouraged her but she went and did it anyway. Three months later she got it redone in black. Had a lady and her daughter who insisted on white tattoos because she didn't want a tattoo to interfere with her daughters modeling career. Explained to them what to expect (not much) and they seem to be happy with it. Of course when your goal is an invisible tattoo, it's pretty easy.

[slayer9019]

I concur with the general consensus. I had a friend ask me about it, I discouraged her but she went and did it anyway. Three months later she got it redone in black. Had a lady and her daughter who insisted on white tattoos because she didn't want a tattoo to interfere with her daughters modeling career. Explained to them what to expect (not much) and they seem to be happy with it. Of course when your goal is an invisible tattoo, it's pretty easy.

Why do people want invisible tattoos? Isn't that the opposite of a tattoo?

[David Flores]

Some people want to be tattooed, but don't like tattoos. They can't all be panther, sharks, and lady heads I guess. Honestly I think it was mother's way of appeasing the daughters need for a tattoo without her really having one. She probably figures at the least she can prolong it a couple of years. Nice enough people I suppose.

[Tight-Lines]

Thanks again for everything people. I have the same views some of you do in the way that tattoos should pop and be noticed to some extent. But, I have an understanding for people who want to be tattooed but dont want to have the constant reminder every time they look at themselves in the mirror.

All this will be relayed to said female.

[JAllen]

@dcostello, i fear this may be your first warning sign! :)

the last one i did on someone, i explained all the drawbacks to getting it done and she stated "i don't give a shit".

[Tight-Lines]

Shes actually really timid about getting a tattoo. She really wants one but is scared about what her family might think. I think the negatives in this case will overturn the positives. All I told her was that Ill take you to a good shop and they will do what you want to some extent.

I told her to just say fuck it and get a back piece. She looked confused and then laughed. This is getting hella emo.

[The Hyena]

There are a lot of people who want the experience of having a tattoo, to have the story of getting a tattoo, but not have the responsibility of having one. It seems like that is actually a huge portion of clients lately. All you can do is treat them well, offer them the best advice you can, give them all the info, and either you don't do the tattoo, or you explain touch ups on things like this aren't free, and give them a clean tattoo to the best of your ability.

You might be able to turn them into a person who had a good enough experience that they want more tattoos in the future.

Treat 'em well, cover your ass, and take the business.

[Dr Benway]

I remember many, many years ago seeing Paula P. Orridge's white tattoo in the Modern Primitives book and thinking how subtle and effective it was. However, Paula also has many black tattoos, so it seemed more of a stylistic choice than an attempt to hide it. I do wonder if white tattoos are generally requested by people as their first tattoo because they don't want to commit to full black or colour work?

[Ursula]

I think the two photos posted earlier look really neat actually. I also think they were probably taken very shortly after the tattoo was done and probably don't look like that anymore, especially if they are out in the sun in a place like California where I think DCostello lives. I personally have never seen a white tattoo healed that looks good. Every one I've seen in person is small and in a harder place to tattoo like the palm or wrist so it ends up just looking like a weird scar blob or not even visible after a few weeks. But like Ron said, maybe it will make the chick realize that she wants to have real tattoos.

[lving4today]

Yea it seems odd to have a tattoo that doesn't show, but I guess everyone is different. A girl I know got a glow in the dark and it follows kind of the same thought. But honestly how many places are you gonna go that has a blacklight -_-

[dooktruck]

i know a girl who has one but the only way i know she has it is because someone told me...and its on her forearm...i've never actually noticed it myself...and i've been around her tons of times and her tattoo isn't small.

i saw a girl in portland working at a coffee shop who had a large white tattoo on her forearm as well. hers just looked like a skin affliction like she had gotten poison ivy.

[CaptCanada]

I think the two photos posted earlier look really neat actually. I also think they were probably taken very shortly after the tattoo was done and probably don't look like that anymore, especially if they are out in the sun in a place like California where I think DCostello lives. I personally have never seen a white tattoo healed that looks good. Every one I've seen in person is small and in a harder place to tattoo like the palm or wrist so it ends up just looking like a weird scar blob or not even visible after a few weeks. But like Ron said, maybe it will make the chick realize that she wants to have real tattoos.

Not everything is sunshine and sandy beaches on the west coast.... But yeah, I do agree that those two pictures look like they were taken not right after the tattoo was finished but not when it was healed, it just looks to perfect to be a white ink tattoo.

[dari]

Wow, if I thought they'd really come out that cool, I'd get some all white tattoos myself. I think, perhaps, someone has adjusted the colors on this photo. The white pigment is under the skin, not sitting on top of it, so any naturally occurring pigment will tint the tattoo. And I think part of why it fades is that it's a pigment, not an ink, which is why colors need black outlines. But if that's what she really wants then that's what she wants, just find a tattooer who will be cool and make her first experience a good one.

[Turquoise Cherry]

I spoke to a woman with a white sleeve who said that when she spends time in the sun, the white ink starts turning brown.

[briankelly]

i met a girl who had some white tattoos, little stars on her feet and they looked pretty cool. she said they were "discovery" tattoos, which i liked the idea of, meaning that you really had to discover them after knowing her and being intimate with her body. but i think the problem with people who get white tattoos are that they are never happy, or it never turns out exactly how they want them. i thought her little stars looked fine, but she thought they needed to be done again, and when they got done again, (by an apprentice) they greyed a little. i generally won't do white tattoos.

[slayer9019]

I think it runs along one of my favorite sayings....

"It's not what you wanted but it's exactly what you asked for"

I have personal experience with this.

[David Flores]

I spoke to a woman with a white sleeve who said that when she spends time in the sun, the white ink starts turning brown.

White ink turning brown? Sounds like it's her skin turning brown, unless she has some magical color changing ink.

[Scott R]

what would white over black look like? I imagine it would just be black but wondered if anyone had first hand knowledge