Why color shifts in the first place

Tattoo pigment is not stable forever in anybody. It softens with time and UV exposure, and the colors used for areola work, warm browns and pinks built out of several pigments, do not always fade evenly. One pigment in the blend can hold on while another goes, and what is left behind reads gray, or pink, or a color nobody chose. Skin color can also affect how the ink appears. I take your skin tone into consideration when tattooing. I will do my best to give you a color that will settle the most natural.

None of that means the original work was bad. It usually means it was done a while ago.

What color correction can do

Warm up work that has cooled to gray.
Neutralize a cast that has drifted pink or orange.
Rebuild depth where the shading has flattened out.
Redefine an edge that has blurred.
Bring two sides back into agreement with each other.

What it cannot do

It cannot remove existing pigment. Tattooing adds; it does not subtract. Correction works by putting the right color over and around what is there until the eye reads the result differently. When old work is very dark or very saturated, there is a limit to how far that can go, and I will tell you where that limit is before you book rather than after.

If what you actually need is pigment taken out, that is removal — a different job, done by someone else, usually with lasers. One thing worth knowing before you assume it can simply be undone: permanent-makeup pigments often contain iron oxide, and a laser can turn a flesh-tone or pink area darker, sometimes permanently. That is a conversation for a board-certified dermatologist. I do not do removal.

Does it matter who did the original?

No. Bringing me work somebody else did is completely ordinary. Start with words. You do not need to send a photograph to ask whether something can be improved. If it gets to the point where I need to see the color, I will say so, and daylight without a flash is the only way to photograph it usefully. Depending on how your old tattoo healed, I may ask to see it in person. I will not charge anything to assess the old tattoo.

How healing goes

Much like the first time. Some color lifts out with the scabbing, which is normal, and light areas can be corrected at a touch-up six to ten weeks on. Aftercare is the same as for any areola work, and my written areola sheet is on my booking page.

Request Your Appointment

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