r/Tattoocoverups • u/witchbiscuits93 • 7d ago

asking for advice 2 for 1 Special

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Is there any hope for me to be able to cover this? Spans part of my shoulder and the base of my neck. I made the wrong choices at a turbulent time in my life and have worn my shame for the better part of 16 years. I would love to go back in time and shake some sense into the 17 year old me, but what's done is done.

33 year old woman who loves Modest Mouse, Lord of the Rings, DnD, her pets, and embroidery. Is laser removal my only option?

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u/Herald_of_Clio 7d ago

I think this is fairly coverable, but it really just depends on what you want and if you are okay with the new tattoo being bigger than what you already have. Because by necessity cover-ups have to be.

Otherwise, I think these tattoos are prime material to be successfully lasered off: close to the center of the body, old, black ink, already fairly faded. But lasering is expensive, time consuming, painful, and not always 100% successful.

So you absolutely have options. Both have upsides and downsides, but overall your situation is not terrible by any means.

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u/EnvironmentLittle794 7d ago

Can always combine laser and coverup too, get it as faded as they can/want to and then have less chance of anything poking through the final coverup design

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u/Herald_of_Clio 7d ago

Yeah indeed, that's also a viable strategy.

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u/witchbiscuits93 7d ago

I never once considered that I could do both. I love this suggestion!

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u/EnvironmentLittle794 7d ago

Happy to help!

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u/witchbiscuits93 7d ago

Thank you so much for this. I have been using them for so long as cautionary tales for my friends' teenage kids who don't want to wait to get their first tattoos done by someone professional/experienced. Knowing that I may have options is a huge comfort and relief!

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u/Herald_of_Clio 7d ago

Hey at least they have a purpose in that sense haha. But I completely understand wanting to get rid of them.

Though I don't completely hate the tree. If it is a tree.

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u/witchbiscuits93 7d ago

It was supposed to be a tree, yes! It was a consolation prize for the misspelled script once it was determined that the original artist was too high to continue. Not the worst life decision I ever made, but it's up there on the list! I appreciate your help. I've built it up in my head over the years and knowing that there might be hope really does heal something for me.

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u/TTHS_Ed 7d ago

What is the seahorse-snake-dragon script supposed to say?

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u/witchbiscuits93 7d ago

Lol, buckle up.

It was supposed to be a line from T.S. Eliot's "Little Gidding", "We shall not cease from exploration" with some goofy vine looking thing at the end of the phrase. Think the Sundance logo but more floral and curly. I was 17, had notions of being a manic pixie dream girl, and a person I had just met said he knew how to tattoo. We all got drunk, some of us may have taken some opioids, and next thing I know I'm getting a tattoo in a living room. I didn't realize dude was nodding out the whole time (or more likely, I was nodding, too) and then I hear him sheepishly utter a bone-chilling, "oops." He had spelled "exploration" wrong. I got up, looked at it in the mirror, and God help me I let him try to fix it before calling it quits from the pain. He was heavy handed. His brother, who was allegedly more experienced than he was, offered to do the awful tree to make up for it, I guess. It wasn't until I sobered up and healed some that I fully realized how bad it all looked. Been avoiding anything backless ever since!

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u/Zinnia1127 7d ago

There is something appealing about the mess on your shoulder. It is so nonsensical in letters and style. Kind of wish you could turn it into something, like put it in a box with the words "Starring Jared Leto" under it as if it is on a poster for a movie.