Every time I talk tattoo removal with clients there is always one major question I get asked, “How many treatments do you think I’ll need”. While normal full tattoo removal averages 12-13 sessions, Black and grey tattoos offer us a much better result in a much faster time frame.
What is a black and grey tattoo?
Black and grey tattoos are a specific style of tattooing that involves only using black and white inks and relying on the skin to create depth and shading. Its very popular in the portrait and realism styles of tattooing. Black and gray tattoos’ have a look that could be compared to a rendering done with graphite. It is particularly suitable for large, elaborate tattoos that contain a lot of details, but it’s not limited to that. Black and grey styles are also very popular with with sacred geometry, small designs and lettering. In this Marilyn Monroe Portrait you can see how the skin plays a major part in creating the depth and shading of the face, which is a great example of a black and grey tattoo style.
Why is removing black and grey tattoos the best?
Tattooers don’t typically use heavy amounts of solid black ink over huge areas and pack the ink it over and over like they would in say a “Tribal” style tattoo. This is why removal of them is typically very easy. On average I see a 50% or more difference in the first 1 or 2 treatments, It’s quite remarkable. Here is a good example of only one treatment to a black and grey tattoo. This is a very basic black and grey tattoo but the results are pretty consistent when removing this style. What you can notice here is all of the grey that was used to fill in the design is mostly gone while the line work remains a little. This is a great example of how heavier, darker inks need more treatment that lighter Softer ones do.
Does age still play a part in faster removal of black and grey tattoos?
The simple answer to this is Yes. Age is 100% always a factor in tattoo removal and as discussed in our post Tattoo Removal Factors You Should Know even in the black and grey world if the tattoo is brand new or let’s say under 2 years old it will be slower process. Now that’s not to say the grey wash wouldn’t come out quickly but the few places in the tattoo that have been heavily filled in to create the depth in the overall look of the design will take more treatments than say something over 10 years old.
What about covering up a black and grey tattoo?
When we discuss coverups we have quite a few factors to go over. The biggest being “what style are you going to cover this tattoo with”. Black and grey tattoos covered with a full color tattoo is a lot easier than trying to go black and grey over black and grey. Now thats not to say it can’t work. The black and grey style uses so much skin tone to create depth and shading, you’ll need to think about your coverup design throughly and work with your artist on how they can cover the tattoo up successfully. Over the years I’ve done quite a few lightenings of Black and grey tattoos for coverups and we’ve been able to make it work quite well. The key was always working with the tattoo artists closely and allowing them to make the decision on how many treatments are needed in the end.
Remember, whether you’re doing a cover up or a full removal, black and grey tattoos are in your favor so rejoice in that! Knowing that your path will typically be faster than the average tattoo removal is alway something we love to hear!
Cheers and thanks for reading.