21 Before-And-After Photos Of Bad Tattoos And Cover-Ups That Prove Even The Worst Mistakes Can Be Fixed

"I got Jack the Pumpkin King when I was about 17. It’s not my vibe anymore and reminded me too much of my father, who helped me choose and pay for it.
I got a fresh cover-up yesterday. It's not quite finished. I think I’ll get a bit more color on the darker bits. The before of Jack was when I was sunburnt, hence the red skin."

—hayleyj89

"It’s nothing major, but when I was 19, I got my first tattoo, and then at the age of 52, I decided to have it refreshed and pay homage to my grandma Bea, who always signed notes with a picture of a bee."

—staceystewart

—smellyogre213

"So I went to school to become a paramedic. After graduating, I decided to get a stethoscope tattooed on my wrist to celebrate, which was all fine and good, until I put on a watch. I literally had this tattoo for 10 years before my brother one day asked me why I got a penis tattooed on my wrist. I had never ever noticed that when my watch covered the middle of my tattoo, it looked like a penis!!! It’s now been covered by wildflowers that represent my children and my late mother."

—afazz

"This terrible angel tattoo that I got during a drunken college night vs. this awesome cover-up that I love!"

—a451f8c189

"The original was supposed to be an underwater-type scene in watercolor, and the dude just completely botched it. I had it covered up about two months ago."

—lilladylili

—lindsaya43cd11aac

"Someone told me this Muhammad Ali quote 'described me,' and over the years, it became more and more unflattering. My friend/tattoo artist came to the rescue with my gorgeous peacock. It's my favorite tattoo!"

—lindseyb4a334f6e9

"I always go to a professional for my tattoos. I decided to let a family member who was trying to start his own tattoo business put my daughter’s name on my shoulder 'cause I figured you can’t screw up a name, right? Wrong. After years of having an ink blob on my arm, I finally got it covered up with the start of a full sleeve. Lesson learned. Leave it to the professionals!"

—baseballmel

"This is my before and after. Such a huge difference. It looks so much better."

—michelleandresh

"One of my favorite tattoos."

—kristynjanelle

"In my early 20s I thought it was a good idea to get a rather large sunset thing on my back from a woman who had ONLY DONE TWO TATTOOS PREVIOUSLY. Not only was the work shoddy, but the placement was weird (lower back, but off to the side 'cause I didn’t want a 'tramp stamp'). Fast-forward a decade and I finally bit the bullet and paid over $1,000 to cover it up. I had to go big because of the weird design and placement. Think before you tattoo."

—crazyjenn

"I was super excited to get my first tattoo, and I tried to cram a lot into one piece. I wanted to represent my art, faith, and sexuality all in one design. I liked the concept, but it didn't turn out great and I wasn't super confident as a tattoo customer at the time, so I settled for a design I didn't love. There was also a line of red in the yellow band of the triangle that the artist messed up, among other frustrations. I now have a great artist back home and she worked with me to cover it up. This picture just shows the completion of the covered portion, but the whole piece is a full half-sleeve on my forearm."

—l43a497689

"The original tattoo was supposed to be the initials of my twin brother who died by suicide when we were 17. The artist shaded it way too dark, and it faded poorly. I decided to get a massive cover-up with our birth flower!"

—kabauer

"I had an idea for lightning that just ended up looking like a vein. I’m obsessed with my cover-up. It's a Scottish thistle in honor of my grandparents. I love it so much, and I’ll be turning it into a half sleeve. I can’t wait. I love that a failed tattoo turned into a beautiful piece."

—kelseylurvey1

—emmylou13

"Covered up my crappy (but sick) $20 goat with a dragon."

—wickedsword78

"I was 19 and wanted a small phoenix tattoo about the size of my palm. I went to a tattoo artist who others I knew had gone to and he said he could do it. He slapped some Google image on me and made it bigger to 'fit the space better,' and I didn’t say anything because maybe bigger wouldn’t be such a bad thing, right? After 45 minutes, he said I was twitching too much, and he was going to just 'trace' where the paisleys would be for the next session. He SCRIBBLED SPERMS on my body with a tattoo gun. My new tattoo artist managed to work around it and make it great, but it ended up costing three times as much as it would have if I’d gone to her in the first place. And it’s a LOT bigger than my palm. Lesson learned: don’t just go to a tattoo shop. Go out and find your artist."

—everythingisstressful

"My stick-and-poke with my boyfriend's initials in the wings that I did myself in high school vs. my gorgeous floral wrist wrap now! Major upgrade!"

—bellatrixter

"I got my first tattoo when I was 17, and it was a heart that said 'equality', but it was done at someone’s house, and the quality was horrible. I also was tired of the tattoos facing me instead of out. Just got them covered."

—babybiekman

"A blurred hummingbird everyone thought was a bruise turned into this beautiful piece."

—kat9426