Your tattoo over the years
Touch-ups, cover-ups, removal and the natural changes a tattoo goes through over time.
OlyaGuide author · Tattoo artist · 7+ years of experience
A tattoo changes along with your skin, and that’s normal. This topic is about what happens to it over the years, and what you can do if you want to refresh or change a piece.
A touch-up fixes lines or colour after healing. A cover-up puts a new design over an old tattoo. There’s also a guide to laser removal and what to expect, plus an article on how tattoos age and which styles and placements last longest.
All articles on this topic
4 articles
9.1Tattoo touch-upsWhy you might need a touch-up after healing, when to book it, how it differs from reworking a tattoo, and what to agree with your artist beforehand.
9.2Covering up an old tattooWhat can and can't be covered, why the new design is almost always bigger and darker than the old one, and when you need laser first.
9.3Tattoo removalHow laser removal works, how many sessions it usually takes, which colours are hardest to remove, the risks, and when lightening is enough.
9.4How a tattoo agesWhy lines soften over time, what makes a tattoo age faster, and how to keep the design clear twenty years from now.