Getting a new tattoo always feels amazing. Does not matter if it is your first tattoo or your twentieth. As you get more and more into tattooing you probably understood or at least heard the phrase that tattooing can be a little unpredictable. Your tattoo may lose its shape and bright color if you don’t take proper aftercare. Or your artist may make a blunder and ruin the perfect idea of the tattoo you had. One of the most common issue people face is getting an off-center tattoo.
Your tattoo artist may make a mistake and make an off-center tattoo on your skin. Personally, I don’t think it is that big of an issue. I see many people rocking with an off-center tattoo with confidence. And there are tattoo designs that are meant to be off-center too. But not everybody is into it. So if you got yourself an off-center tattoo by choice or by mistake and now want to fix it, how would you go about it? Today I will shed some light on this topic.
Key Takeaways
- A tattoo that has been not placed accurately or in the center is an off-center tattoo.
- You may fix or get rid of the off-center tattoo by tattoo cover-up, dermabrasion, or laser treatment.
- You may prevent getting an off-center tattoo by choosing a professional tattoo artist, applying a tattoo stencil, not rushing the tattooing process, etc.
What is Off Center Tattoo?
A common rule is your tattoo should face your heart or the center of your body. And where ever you put the tattoo it should be on the center of that area. Now by choice or by your tattoo artist’s mistake, you may get a tattoo that is not really on the center or an off-center tattoo. Many people get an off-center tattoo by choice. You can find many off-center tattoos designs online to get an idea. Getting an off-center tattoo can give you a cool and carefree look. Men and women both can get off-center tattoos at any place on their body.
But I get why you may want to fix or change an off-center tattoo. It may look a bit awkward or out of place for some people. An off-center tattoo can be a cause of low self-esteem. So if you are not comfortable with your off-center tattoo there is no harm in changing or fixing the tattoo. You may even get rid of the tattoo completely.
Ways to Fix an Off Center Tattoo
Do not stress yourself over an off-center tattoo as it can be fixed easily. But make sure you wait till your tattoo is helped completely. Seeing an off-center tattoo might be a bit annoying to you and you may want to fix it as soon as possible. But doing anything to an unhealed tattoo may ruin the tattoo and lead to permanent scarring. You may need to wait two or three weeks for your off-center tattoo to heal and then take the necessary steps to fix it. You may follow the below methods to fix your off-center tattoo.
1. Tattoo cover up
There are off-center tattoos that have a design that can be covered or changed by a tattoo cover-up method. You can change the design and make it appear not off-center anymore. You can discuss with a professional tattoo artist to get an idea of how can you fix the off-center tattoo by adding more color or shading or getting a new design over the existing one. Colored off-center tattoos are the easiest to fix with a tattoo cover-up. You may face some difficulty with black or brown inked-off center tattoos. And the tattoo cover-up cannot fix all the off-center tattoos. There are specific designs and big-sized off-center tattoos that might not be fixable by a tattoo cover-up. The only way left to fix such tattoos is to get rid of them altogether.
2. Dermabrasion
If the off-center tattoo is small in size, you can remove it easily by dermabrasion. Dermabrasion is a safe way to remove small tattoos. It is a surgical way of tattoo removal. They use a medical grinding machine to remove or grind the top layer of your skin hence fading or removing the tattoo. There is nothing to fear as it is a very controlled grinding and only the layer of skin where the ink resides will be removed.
3. Laser treatment
A laser beam breaks down tattoo pigment and then your body gets rid of those broken pigments. It is an effective way to fade or completely remove permanent tattoos. You might be able to fix your off-center tattoo by first fading the design and then getting a new tattoo design over it. But after consulting your tattoo removal specialist or tattoo artist if the advice is to remove the tattoo completely then you should do so. In some cases, removing the off-center tattoo completely is the only choice you may have.
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Ways to Prevent Getting Any Off-Center Tattoo
After reading how to fix off-center tattoos section you probably understand that fixing such tattoos is not a walk in the park.
1. Choosing the right artist
Choosing the right artist can make a difference. By right artist I mean a professional tattoo artist who has plenty of tattooing experience. Such artists are less likely to make any mistakes. So you are less likely to get an off-center tattoo if you choose the right artist to get your tattoo.
2. Creating s center line
Before starting tattooing your tattoo artist may create a center line using a mark pen. This way the artist won’t be going off-road while tattooing since the center line is there to keep him on the track. And mark pen does not interfere with tattooing.
3. Applying stencil
There is no shame in using tattoo stencils. Many professional tattoo artist uses tattoo stencils to do faster tattooing and erases any possible mistake during tattooing. So you can ask your tattoo artist to apply if he is not doing it already.
Using stencil does not undermine the capability of an artist. Applying tattoo stencils can prevent off-center tattoos. When your artist apply the stencil take a good look if it is in the right place or off center. If it is off-centered, then you can remove that stencil and apply again until the positioning of the tattoo is right. And when you get the right placement of the stencil, you can give your artist the green signal to start tattooing in the same place.
4. Stay alert
Staying alert during the tattoo session can also prevent off-center tattoos. Keep an eye while your tattoo artist is making your tattoo. If the design feels a bit off-center or the design loses its original shape, then you can let your artist know immediately. Depending on how much work has been done, it can be fixed sometimes.
5. Let your artist focus
Many of my clients tend to chit-chat during tattoo sessions. I don’t mind that at all but it can definitely break the concentration or focus. An artist losing focus while tattooing is a recipe for disaster. So make sure not to talk or distract your tattoo artist and let him focus on tattoo making.
6. Don’t rush the process
If you are in a hurry then ask for another appointment, but do not rush your tattoo artist to do the tattoo. Remember haste makes waste. Rushing your tattoo artist to do your tattoo can cause off-center tattoos, tattoos with crocket lines, tattoo blowouts, etc.
Liability of A Tattoo Artist for Making Off-Center Tattoo
If you get an off-center tattoo by choice, then it is fine. But if your tattoo artist made an off-center tattoo by mistake then there are some things the tattoo artist may do. First of all, the artist should apologize to the customer for making the mistake. Secondly, the artist can either some money as compensation or contact his superior or an expert on the matter who would fix the off-center tattoo. And sometimes a tattoo artist doesn’t do any of these as the customer does not complain about getting an off-center tattoo. Some people just accept the tattoo the way it is and go on living as if nothing wrong happened.
That said some clients prefer perfection, so when such clients get an off-center tattoo they may sue the tattoo artist for ruining their appearance. It is not clear how much they could win in these lawsuits but the amount depends on the severity of the case.
FAQs
Are off-center tattoos fixable?
Yes, off-center tattoos are fixable.
How to fix an off-center tattoo?
You may fix an off-center tattoo by tattoo cover-up or get rid of it by dermabrasion or laser treatment.
How much does it cost to fix an off-center tattoo?
If you choose to fix it by tattoo cover it may cost around 100-300$ and if you chose to get rid of it by dermabrasion it may cost around 400$ and laser treatment can cost around 200-300$ per session.
Final Thoughts
Getting a tattoo can be a bit unpredictable. Because nobody can guarantee what the outcome or final result of your tattoo would look like. You may face many issues like crooked lines, tattoo blowouts, or off-center tattoos that could affect how the tattoo looks. Even though these issues occur due to the artist’s fault but there are necessary precautions you can take to prevent them. Especially off-center tattoos can be prevented by choosing a professional tattoo artist to make the tattoo, staying alert during the procedure, applying stencil before tattooing, not disturbing the artist during the procedure, etc. You can fix off-center tattoos by tattoo cover-ups or get rid of the off-center tattoo by laser treatment or dermabrasion.
Even though personally I wouldn’t change or get rid of an off-center tattoo if I had any and I see many people wearing off-center tattoos with confidence. That said, some off-center tattoos just look awful and the urge to fix them is understandable.
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