White ink tattoos have grown in popularity due to their subtle and delicate nature. Harder to detect than other colors, they fade much quicker than any other color. White ink will last longer on paler skin than dark skin tones.
Generally, black ink takes the cake for lasting the longest. Black ink tends to outlast any other color because it is super pigmented. Other darker colors like dark blue, dark green, gray, and dark purple will have a similar lifespan to black ink.
Black and gray: Black and gray inks are the boldest and most dense; thus, they are the most fade-resistant colors. These are suitable for any skin tone, especially with tan or black skin. With proper aftercare, black and gray colors last for up to 10 years or longer before requiring a retouch.
Red pigment often causes the most skin reactions and is considered the most dangerous because it contains cadmium, mercury or iron oxide. Choose a red ink with naphthol instead.
Light/Fair Skin: White, or other light colors like pale blue, usually works well on people with fair skin. Medium Skin: Red, green, orange, and blues look great on tan or olive-toned skin. Dark Skin: The darkest colors on the color spectrum work best.
* If you really want to get a permanent tattoo, stick with the basics. Black remains safest. Blue and green inks with copper phthalocyanine pigments are safe too. Some parlous mix their own inks; it's generally safest to use branded inks that list their ingredients, says Dr Amit Karkhanis, laser and cosmetic physician.
Pale Light Skin Tones
If you want your tattoo to stand out, the general rule is to choose an ink color that is significantly lighter or darker than your skin tone. People with pale light skin tones, in particular, should go for the bolder colors like bright red, orange, green, even purple, and of course blue or black.
Colored tattoos, when repeatedly exposed to sunlight, tend to fade easily. This means that they will not age well and will need regular touch-ups to keep them looking sharp and fresh.
Tattoo Allergic Reaction. It is possible to have reactions to the inks or the metals in the needles used in tattoos, causing swelling and even damage to the skin tissue itself. Allergies to the red dyes are most common. This person is having an allergic reaction to the red used in the flames around the skull tattoo.
They're removing pigments Blue 15:3 and Green 7, which will destroy most artists' palettes. These two pigments make up almost 70% of tattoo and permanent makeup inks. It'll affect blues and greens, reds, purples, and yellows as well as skin tones and components for a white tattoo.
Black and dark green are the easiest colors to remove; yellow, purple, turquoise and fluorescent dyes are hardest to fade.
Black tattoos are some of the most difficult to cover up. This is because black ink is very dense and has a large particle size. As a result, black tattoos tend to hold their pigment better than other colors.
Black and blue pigments are generally tolerated the best in your skin: they're easily taken up, and they're removed with the least effort. People with fairer skin will show more tattoo pigment, whereas people with darker skin will require a higher concentration of pigment before anything shows.
Black and gray are the most common colors used in tattoos. They suit all skin tones, from light to dark.
The Benefits of Color Tattoos
If you want a tattoo as bright as your personality, then color is the way to go. Several tattoo schools naturally gravitate to colorwork: Old School Traditional, New School, Watercolor, Japanese, and Illustrative are all styles that lend themselves well to color.
Don't worry, this is completely natural. It happens because the old skin, damaged during the tattooing process, forms a thin layer over your tattoo and masks its true appearance. In time this old skin will naturally exfoliate itself, revealing your tattoo underneath in all its vibrant glory.
Older tattoos may be raised due to scar tissue
Thicker lines, and more pressure applied during tattooing, can cause some scarring. It's nothing to be concerned about, but it can sometimes raise up, and this is generally caused by changes in body temperature or weather conditions, as well as general health.
Color ink is not inherently more painful than black or grey ink. Getting a tattoo with color canbe more painful than a black or grey tattoo because some colors require more ink, which means thicker tattoo groupings and more passes over the same spot with the tattoo gun.
Generally speaking, a well-cared for tattoo that has more fine lines will fade in fifteen years. Bigger, bolder lines can maintain their look for thirty to forty years plus if you got them when you were young and cared for them well.
"[The longest-lasting tattoos are] on flatter, less abused areas of the body like the flat of the forearm, upper arms, shoulders, back, and thighs," tattoo artist Toby Gehrlich tells Bustle. "These areas can usually withstand the test of time."
Nearly half (46%) of young people older than 18 have tattoos, and the older they get, the more likely they are to have them. In fact, the young people most likely to be tatted now are Millennial parents, 62% of whom tell YPulse they have tattoos.
Those attracted to women saw a three-way tie between the upper back, shoulder and hips (with a 3.3 rating). The back: a top-rated tattoo location for women and men. The hip: a top-rated tattoo location for women. The upper arm: a top-rated tattoo location for men.
Minimalist tattoos don't necessarily have to be small; designs of this style are more driven by simple, clean lines and the heavy use of negative space. The idea behind minimalism is that “less is more,” and minimalist tattoos follow this same concept by featuring graphic designs and varying delicacies of linework.
Skin tone plays the biggest role in how the tat will look on your particular body. "Tattoos look great on paler skin—they're super bright and look fresh," says O'Neill. In probably the only time ever being pale is more advantageous than being tan, light skin is the best canvas for both color and black-and-grey tattoos.