Cover Up Advice

[Gingerninja]

You are not alone. Many people have tattoo regret. Sometimes, when people have tattoo regret, they end up figuring out that they have a lot of other things going on in their world and the tattoo was just the final straw. Be good to yourself...your health (both mental and physical) are the most important things!

[byzantine]

I totally feel your pain. When I got my elbow tattooed it didn't turn out how I expected at all. I hated it. It was the only tattoo on my arm and I spent around 6 months wearing 3/4 or long sleeve because I couldn't stand the sight of it. I already had quite a few pieces but had a weirdly emotional reaction to this one and lost sleep and just felt really regretful and unsettled. I also considered getting laser and even went for a consultation - it was so dark a cover wasn't an option. 

In the end I decided to get another tattoo, rather than laser. Right next to my elbow tattoo. I loved it and have got more since. I'm so glad I didn't get laser - it would have been so painful and expensive. 

If you can - live with it a little longer. It's only been a couple of months. Give it 6, even a year if you can. You'll be surprised how much your feelings change. 

I found the hardest thing was not to obsess over it and stare at it all the time, so it was easiest to just get up, put a long sleeve on and not think about it. 

IMO it's a good tattoo. Remember it will fade more still aswell - it usually takes 6 months for them to fully settle/ fade.

[ByeBye]

5 hours ago, SStu said:

Right. And 'dark and feminine' is a narrow target to aim for. 

What do you advice then? 

[ByeBye]

42 minutes ago, byzantine said:

I totally feel your pain. When I got my elbow tattooed it didn't turn out how I expected at all. I hated it. It was the only tattoo on my arm and I spent around 6 months wearing 3/4 or long sleeve because I couldn't stand the sight of it. I already had quite a few pieces but had a weirdly emotional reaction to this one and lost sleep and just felt really regretful and unsettled. I also considered getting laser and even went for a consultation - it was so dark a cover wasn't an option. 

In the end I decided to get another tattoo, rather than laser. Right next to my elbow tattoo. I loved it and have got more since. I'm so glad I didn't get laser - it would have been so painful and expensive. 

If you can - live with it a little longer. It's only been a couple of months. Give it 6, even a year if you can. You'll be surprised how much your feelings change. 

I found the hardest thing was not to obsess over it and stare at it all the time, so it was easiest to just get up, put a long sleeve on and not think about it. 

IMO it's a good tattoo. Remember it will fade more still aswell - it usually takes 6 months for them to fully settle/ fade.

Exactly!! I’ve had two laser consultations so far. And one of them was a tattoo shop that told it me it wouldnt be able to be covered without laser which sucks cuz i wanted a cover up. I’ll have to live with it as I dont have my own money and my parents wont pay for anything unless I wait a whole year and am a 100% sure of it. Sucks. I went to a cover up specialist here and he basically just told me he’d cover it with flowers. 

[bongsau]

that is a great looking tattoo. just leave it and learn from it, he (the fish monster) may remind you (in time) that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

here's an idea...put something bigger, brighter and more 'feminine' on the outside of the forearm to juxtapose and contrast the scary merman-monster...perhaps a elegant mermaid with flowing hair and a shimmering tail, tonnes of aqua blues and greens, with finger waves splashes wrapping around to the inside of the arm fading in and around the monster head. That gives you bright/feminine on the outside of the arm, dark/bold on the inside.

but hey, you gotta send us a pic and give me an internet high-five if you use that idea ;)

you'll figure it out, don't rush, good ideas come with time...cheers

[ByeBye]

15 hours ago, bongsau said:

that is a great looking tattoo. just leave it and learn from it, he (the fish monster) may remind you (in time) that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

here's an idea...put something bigger, brighter and more 'feminine' on the outside of the forearm to juxtapose and contrast the scary merman-monster...perhaps a elegant mermaid with flowing hair and a shimmering tail, tonnes of aqua blues and greens, with finger waves splashes wrapping around to the inside of the arm fading in and around the monster head. That gives you bright/feminine on the outside of the arm, dark/bold on the inside.

but hey, you gotta send us a pic and give me an internet high-five if you use that idea ;)

you'll figure it out, don't rush, good ideas come with time...cheers

Your idea is so awesome and exciting! But I just dont know if I can do it man. I dont know if I can live with a mistake on my forearm forever...and so huge... I don’t know man it’s unbearable. This whole thing has made me bitter about tattoos. I used to love em. 

[SStu]

"narrow target" means limited options. Darker images, especially those via cover-ups don't lend themselves to traditional feminine images. If you don't want to live with it, laser it lighter (hopefully 3-4 sessions?) to open up your options on a cover-up.

There are a couple of world class tattooists in Puerto Rico - but I'm drawing a blank on names at the moment . . . 

[Hogrider]

On 3/23/2018 at 5:55 PM, ByeBye said:

I’ll have to live with it as I dont have my own money and my parents wont pay for anything unless I wait a whole year and am a 100% sure of it. 

Sounds like good advice. You've already done one thing you regret.

On 3/24/2018 at 12:45 PM, ByeBye said:

I don’t know man it’s unbearable. 

This is a recipe for disaster. I've seen a lot of God-awful tattoos on people who couldn't wait to cover them. If you rush into this, you are more likely to make it worse than better. Take a deep breath, calm down and just accept that it's going to take time to fix. If you are old enough to get a tattoo, then you are old enough to get your own money. Get a job , earn money , fix it . 

[ByeBye]

4 minutes ago, Hogrider said:

Sounds like good advice. You've already done one thing you regret.

This is a recipe for disaster. I've seen a lot of God-awful tattoos on people who couldn't wait to cover them. If you rush into this, you are more likely to make it worse than better. Take a deep breath, calm down and just accept that it's going to take time to fix. If you are old enough to get a tattoo, then you are old enough to get your own money. Get a job , earn money , fix it . 

I was thinking about starting to get laser now even if I dont have an exact idea for a cover up? To start the process at least? Know that I am doing something? And yes one of my goals now is getting a job. 

[Tornado7]

Aw, but it is such a good tattoo.

Why did you like the design in the first place? Can you get back there?

Let it sit. Wear long sleeves for a while. Don't rush into another decision that may not help.

[oboogie]

I have daggers, devils, skulls, and shit like that all over me. I also have flowers and more feminine stuff.  You may learn to love it. Try not to worry so much.

You can laser it if you want to, but as @Gingerninja said, just own your inner badass  and own it!

Edited March 28, 2018 by oboogie

[Synesthesia]

I might have missed it earlier in the thread, but is this your first tattoo? Or at least your first in a highly visible spot? The forearm can be tough to live with because you're seeing it every day, it was a little jarring when I got my first piece done there so I think this is something a lot of people go through. 

I would say add more around it and on your other arm. A juxtaposition like the mermaid mentioned above might be nice, something feminine and brightly colored to add contrast and show your varied interests. Just make sure whatever you add to it (or cover it up with, if you so choose) is something you really want and not just something to make others happy. Women can absolutely rock more traditionally masculine tattoos, don't let people get you down about it!

[ByeBye]

1 hour ago, Synesthesia said:

I might have missed it earlier in the thread, but is this your first tattoo? Or at least your first in a highly visible spot? The forearm can be tough to live with because you're seeing it every day, it was a little jarring when I got my first piece done there so I think this is something a lot of people go through. 

I would say add more around it and on your other arm. A juxtaposition like the mermaid mentioned above might be nice, something feminine and brightly colored to add contrast and show your varied interests. Just make sure whatever you add to it (or cover it up with, if you so choose) is something you really want and not just something to make others happy. Women can absolutely rock more traditionally masculine tattoos, don't let people get you down about it!

It’s my second large tattoo. The other large one (my first one) is in my back so yeah this is my first visible one. And thanks! (About the women thing) I will really think about this. 

[Boiled Dove]

Many people have said things much more eloquently than I can but I like the tattoo. I've had a few tattoos that I got when I was young that were bad (think home made Walkman motor machine bad). I wore those for over 20 years before I was able to cover them. They were bad, and I hated them, but a part of me misses them. 

My solution now to tattoos I might not like as much as I thought I would is just more tattoos. New tattoos are fun and they eventually obfuscate the one you don't like. 

Just my thoughts as reading through, do what makes you happy. If the tattoo causes you pain, get rid of it.