Public Service Announcement: Tattooing on Black Skin
Public Service Announcement:
Tattooing on Black Skin
If someone tells you that they can tattoo the same exact thing on different skin tones they are flat out lying. Now, if they say that they can tattoo the same design concept, and simply apply it into the skin differently, that makes a lot more sense.
It is not the same. You can’t tattoo the same exact way, the same exact strokes and colors on dark skin that you do on light skin. When people try to do this, ultimately it creates a mess. The tattoo ends up healing too dark, and you can’t see what’s going on in the design.
The technical is the same, the application of the design can be completely different.
Color Multiplies with Skin Tones:
Once tattoos are healed, they can look very different from when they are fresh.
When you tattoo on darker skin you have to take into consideration that specific person’s skin tone, and adjust the design according to what will look best. This is true of all melanistic skin of all lineage, including, African, Indian or Samoan.
Skin colors range from yellow, to yellow black, and red to red black. They are not simply “black” or “brown”, there is always a dominant color that makes up the brownish tint. Understanding that is important when selecting colors for darker skin tones.
When you tattoo color in the skin, the color mixes with the skin tone it is tattooed into.
As a rule, “dark green”. “blue” and “purple” will not work on most darker skin tones… When they heal, the color multiplies with the color of the skin, and it becomes too dark, and appears almost black. To avoid this, use lighter versions of colors whenever possible. For example, instead of blue, use baby blue. When it heals it will be a few shades darker.
The Judgement is Unfounded.
Have you ever noticed that tattoo artists post a lot less black skin than they do light skin? There is a reason for it. Many people don’t like seeing photos of fresh ink on black skin, because they don’t know how to judge it. They don’t know what they are looking at, it’s harder to see. Fresh tattoo photos of tattoos on skin with melanin are not accurate representations of what the tattoos will look like healed, so untrained eyes will just assume they are bad tattoos and won’t like the photo on social media… regardless of wether it’s a good tattoo or not… and artists don’t like to post things that don’t get likes… it can screw with their outreach and ability to make money… it’s an unfortunate cycle.
It is not just hard to take photos of darker skin, there is always a shine, and skin with more melanin has a tendency to get puffier when it’s tattooed making it harder to see the design. This is not saying all dark skin gets puffy. Simply noting a certain tone can not tell you if someone will be a puffy or spongey skin type. I’ve had some lighter skinned clients who’s skin puffed up too, but it is a lot more common with darker skin tones. Simply put, the chances that your skin will puff up is a lot higher if you have more melanin in your skin.
If your tattoo gets puffy, don’t worry, it’s not necessarily something to be alarmed about. It is not an indicator that your tattoo was done poorly. Many people puff up once their adrenaline relaxes, when you take the first break, or after finishing the tattoo. The mental reaction of relief relaxes the body, and it’s no longer stressed in anticipation of being tattooed, the puffiness, is your body rushing to repair the open wound.
If I had my way, I would post photos of tattoos both fresh and healed together so that people would know better what they were looking at.
The most difficult hurdle when tattooing on black skin is knowing, the tattoo will heal differently than what it looks like fresh. You have to know what you are doing, otherwise you can go too dark, and once it heals you won’t be able to see any of the detail. You have to know that the tattoo will heal properly. You will not be able to trust what it looks like when it’s fresh, and for new artists, this can be nerve wrecking.
Some general rules when working with darker skin:
- Increase the contrast of the design. More black and more skin tone, less in-between.
- Use light versions of colors instead of dark colors. Colors will always heal darker.
- Go bigger with the design. With tattoos, it’s always best to go bigger, It’s more important on darker skin.
- Black skin is sensitive. It keloids and scars more easily, so be gentle.
- When in doubt, go lighter on the shading. You can always darken things up if you need to in a touch up session.
You can’t “Just add white”:
It’s important to note that you can’t “just add white” over a tattoo. It may look good initially, but once it heals it will be much darker again. The black is in there… any white will multiply with the black, and there’s no telling how many sessions it will take of applying white before you’ve put enough of it in the skin to make a difference. This isn’t cost effective, and it’s not reassuring to the client. One shot is just not going to work, it is less painful to simply get a tattoo done right the first time.
The other problem with white ink, is that it doesn’t stay white. On a lot of people it turns into a yellowish cream color after a while…this is because the melanin in their skin will eventually mix with the white ink. Whenever possible, I avoid using white ink.
Another thing people have asked me to do is tattoo their skin color over the tattoo, in an attempt to erase it. This isn’t possible. Even if I could match your exact skin tone in ink, it would still multiply with whatever is currently there and become a bigger mess than it was originally. There are videos of people doing this online… and I assure you, it’s just for the views. It will not last.
What brought this post on?
I was at a convention and someone who made it to the finals on inkmaster said to a crowd of artists at a seminar that you can tattoo the same exact tattoo the same exact way on any skin tone and I nearly died. Are you fucking serious? You can’t say that kind of thing to people they will believe you and then they’ll fuck people up. You are an influencer… people trying to be politically correct instead of correct is part of what is wrong with the tattoo industry.
I’ve spent the last few years tattooing in Silver Spring and Rockville. The number of bad tattoos I’ve seen walking around thanks to untrained “artists” working out of their house is insane. I really hope this article helps tattoo clients and tattoo artists alike understand darker skin better. Everyone should be able to have an awesome tattoo, sometimes it just takes someone with the right experience to make that happen, so don’t forget to ask to see the portfolios!
These are some excellent Instagram accounts that I really appreciate.
Instagram Links:
Is a project to show tattoos applied in skin with Melanin
A great page that shows good fresh and healed tattoos, separated by
