Cover-Up Tattoos That Put The Original To Shame

Some tattoos that people get should've never even touched their skin. Still, they get it, but that doesn't mean it'll last forever.

Eventually, they realize it was a terrible mistake. At that point, they either get it removed or covered up. Here are some of the best cover-up tattoos.

A Beautiful Dolphin

dolphin cover on the body
Photo Credit: @tattooist_sigak / Instagram
Photo Credit: @tattooist_sigak / Instagram

I can't tell you what the original tattoo is supposed to be, but the cover-up looks stunning.

A dolphin jumping through the skies with beautiful colors is what they should've gotten the first time.

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From Wings To A Feather

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new feather to cover the wings
Photo Credit: Imgur
Photo Credit: Imgur
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It's a modest cover-up, but one that is much better than the original. The first one wasn't even all that bad.

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It's something about the feathers that stands out more. It has to be the added detail.

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She Needed A New Spade

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spades on her neck
Photo Credit: @idemtattoo79 / Instagram
Photo Credit: @idemtattoo79 / Instagram
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The first spade on her neck looks like a child drew it for her, then the artist copied it.

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The second one looks like what she should have originally received. Thank goodness for cover-ups.

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That's More Like It

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covering up the old
Photo Credit: Gobobo / Imgur
Photo Credit: Gobobo / Imgur
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This is a very meta cover-up. It's as if his body knew that the first tattoo wasn't it, so they hired a little man to cover it up.

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That's a pretty cool idea you don't see all the time.

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What Was The Original?

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bear to butterflies on the arm
Photo Credit: @tattooist_sigak / Instagram
Photo Credit: @tattooist_sigak / Instagram
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I can't tell if the original tattoo was a bear or a sea otter. It doesn't matter anymore because it's butterflies in space now.

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Did you know there were butterflies in space? Well, I'm pretty sure everything exists out there.

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Making It Better

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enhanced cover up for a skull
Photo Credit: @markedonetattoo / Instagram
Photo Credit: @markedonetattoo / Instagram
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This is a cover-up as much as it is an enhancement. The original was dead and empty.

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The updated version looks more life-like and it belongs on his arm—good job to the artist.

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Green Lantern Done Right

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green lanturn updated tattoo
Photo Credit: HerpDerpMcGurk / Reddit
Photo Credit: HerpDerpMcGurk / Reddit
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I don't know who this guy let do his first tattoo, but was it an elementary kid? That isn't very good.

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Thank goodness he got it done again, but with better features. It looks like it's really coming out of his chest now.

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Nice Choice For A Cover-Up

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koi cover on the back
Photo Credit: few23 / Reddit
Photo Credit: few23 / Reddit
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Wow, this is amazing work. You can tell the first tattoo was something that he got on a whim or when he was younger.

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The koi is more mature and took a lot more money to complete.

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Bye-Bye Cute Animal

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ice ball from an animal
Photo Credit: @tattooist_sigak / Instagram
Photo Credit: @tattooist_sigak / Instagram
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As cute as the animal was for the first tattoo, the cover-up is that much better. It's the colors for me.

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Still, that baby cub or whatever it is looks pretty adorable. I wonder why they wanted it covered.

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This Is Pure Art

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no more yin yang on the arm
Photo Credit: markedonetattoo / Reddit
Photo Credit: markedonetattoo / Reddit
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There isn't really much wrong with the Yin and Yang tattoo, but the cover-up is a masterpiece.

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How long does it take for regret to set in after someone gets a tattoo they don't like?

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From Scribble To Beautiful Sky

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the night sky from scribble
Photo Credit: @tattooist_sigak / Instagram
Photo Credit: @tattooist_sigak / Instagram
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No offense, but the first one looks like a scribble or a hurried autograph. The cover-up is a welcomed sight to see.

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The colors and the moon make it seem like something out of animated series if I'm honest.

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A Pretty Mighty Cover-Up

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the ultimate cover up tattoo is real
Photo Credit: Diablo31x / Imgur
Photo Credit: Diablo31x / Imgur
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How did he go from a black bird to koi fish squaring off? This must've been the idea of the tattoo artist.

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The first tattoo is too simple for this to be the new one the person wanted. It's sensational, to say the least.

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Unlocking The Inner Demon

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regular to demon lady with horns
Photo Credit: SomeJagaloon / Reddit
Photo Credit: SomeJagaloon / Reddit
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It would appear that someone decided to unlock their inner demon with this cover up. What made them want to go so evil?

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I have no clue, but it's a job well done. The final product actually looks horrifying.

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What A Brilliant Decision

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letters to dancer on the neck
Photo Credit: @junior_cesconetto / Instagram
Photo Credit: @junior_cesconetto / Instagram
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While there's never anything wrong with getting foreign languages tattooed on you, you can still do better.

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She went from a simple phrase or word to a woman dancing in colorful flowers. That's a pretty nice upgrade.

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What She Deserved

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nice whale on the arm
Photo Credit: @tattooist_sigak / Instagram
Photo Credit: @tattooist_sigak / Instagram
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The cover-up is what this person really deserved to get the first time. That whale in space is beautiful.

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It's majestic and has wonderful detailing. It also isn't too big so it isn't that distracting.

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That Has To Be King Kong

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terrible king kong needs a re-do
Photo Credit: NaveenAlexandraXOXO / Reddit
Photo Credit: NaveenAlexandraXOXO / Reddit
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The original tattoo has to be King Kong, right? Since it's so hard to make out who it is, a cover-up was necessary.

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The rework is a beautiful piece of art featuring a whale that seems to be in trouble again.

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The Tiger Is Beautiful

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lady to tiger that is way more colorful
Photo Credit: CrowKingZero / Reddit
Photo Credit: CrowKingZero / Reddit
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When you see these cover-ups you always have to ask how come they didn't get the new one first.

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Whether they came up with the idea or not, their first mistake is almost always just that — a mistake.

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The Original Desperately Needed To Go

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Game Boy for the save on the cover up
Photo Credit: MrsMeowsifer / Reddit
Photo Credit: MrsMeowsifer / Reddit
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What you can appreciate about this one is that they kept similar colors with the cover-up. Also, the original needed to go.

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Is that supposed to be The Joker with a green face and blood on his mouth or what?

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The Old Scissors Had To Go

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a scissor cover up
Photo Credit: @dean2738 / Instagram
Photo Credit: @dean2738 / Instagram
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Sometimes, you get fed up with something and need change. The person who got these scissors had enough of them.

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They'd rather have a little worker partially crossing it out then having the full look on them.

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Everyone Has Their Own Taste

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mary to marge simpson tattoo cover up
Photo Credit: Facebook
Photo Credit: Facebook
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Of all the ways that I could've thought of covering up a tattoo that says "Mary," there was never a point where I considered a Marge Simpson tattoo to be a viable option, but what do I know?

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It's their body.

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Destined To Be Replaced

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chris baseball tattoo coverup
Photo Credit: @renmeltiong / Instagram
Photo Credit: @renmeltiong / Instagram
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Sorry, but even if Chris is still in your life or is still important to you, it was the right decision to cover that tattoo up.

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We would've walked straight out of the shop and onto the next artist to do a fix.

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That First One Can't Be Legit

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day og the dead tattoo coverup
Photo Credit: Kami_No_Tanjou / Reddit
Photo Credit: Kami_No_Tanjou / Reddit
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Whoever did that first tattoo should be looking for another career path.

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There's no way that the demon girl on the left with black holes for eyes is what the client wanted.

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How Meta Of You

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pikachu tattoo coverup
Photo Credit: jaapgrolleman / Reddit
Photo Credit: jaapgrolleman / Reddit
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Pikachu wasn't happy with that first drawing of him, so why not let him fix the mistake that someone else made?

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It only seems fair to let him fix the mistake too.

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He Let His Batman Out

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the name Jessi is covered with a large image of Batman riding a monster into town.
Photo Credit: Sliding Pictures/Youtube
Photo Credit: Sliding Pictures/Youtube
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Whoever "Jessi" was, they now are no longer featured on the arm that now bears a detailed Batman tattoo.

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While the person you're dating may change over time, childhood superheroes are timeless. Now this man can feel confident when he looks at his arm.

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It Gets The Job Done

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ex's face to gorilla tattoo
Photo Credit: Sliding Pictures/Youtube
Photo Credit: Sliding Pictures/Youtube
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The problem with getting a coverup like this one is that people are definitely going to ask you why you got a giant gorilla tattooed on your shoulder.

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You're still going to have to talk about your ex.

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Embrace The Errors

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covering up spelling error in tattoo with fake teacher markings
Photo Credit: GOR31LLY / Reddit
Photo Credit: GOR31LLY / Reddit
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When will people learn to double and triple check the spelling and grammar of the words they're getting tattooed on their bodies?

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It's like they've never seen a tattoo fail article.

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That's One Way To Fix It

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name tattooed blacked out and replace by arrow saying 'your name'
Photo Credit: @dy.rt / Instagram
Photo Credit: @dy.rt / Instagram
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No one ever has to know what the original name was on your arm, and now you've basically got a "fill in the blank" option for any future relationships, whether they work out or not.

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It's the best name tattoo option you can get.

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There's Always Room To Change

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geometric tattoo coverup
Photo Credit: pschell / Reddit
Photo Credit: pschell / Reddit
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The advantage of getting a small tattoo is that it doesn't take a huge piece of work to cover it up.

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Plus if it gets to the point where you hate flowers or triangles, it'll still be easy to cover that one up too.

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It's Clear How You Feel About Her Now

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tattoo to skull transformation
Photo Credit: everythingistakenyet / Reddit
Photo Credit: everythingistakenyet / Reddit
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If you're choosing to turn a tattoo of a woman's face into a tattoo of the grim reaper, we probably don't need to ask about whether or not the relationship ended on good terms.

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The art speaks (loud and clear) for itself.

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Sorry, Chloe

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name coverup with mountains
Photo Credit: @tony_nos / Instagram
Photo Credit: @tony_nos / Instagram
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Rather than looking at your ex's name on your wrist for eternity and hearing her voice when she told you that you shouldn't have done something permanent, you now get to look at a lovely mountain range.

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Much more peaceful, right?