Fine line tattoos are great when done properly. They are delicate, clean and allow for a higher level of detail in a small space than traditional tattoos. If you don’t want the full coverage look but have loads of tattoo ideas they are a great way to not look heavily tattooed if that’s just not your thing. Because at the end of the day, your tattoos should be a reflection of your personal style.
We know that fine line tattoos get a lot of hate (almost as much as Cyber Sigilism tattoos but that’s for another blog!) We have seen a lot of misinformation out there so we wanted to clear some of that up if it helps you to decide on whether to get that fine line tattoo or not.
Myth busting
‘Fine line tattoos spread.’
All tattoos spread over time. It’s the nature of what happens when putting ink, a foreign substance in the body. When creating tattoo designs of any style, all artists (should) take this into consideration and generally they do, ensuring there is enough negative space for the tattoo to still have clarity over time. When it comes to fine line tattoos the same rules apply. You just have to take different design elements into consideration.
‘Fine line tattoos fade’
All tattoos heal lighter than they look when they are fresh as you are seeing them through the skin that has healed over them. During the healing process if you rub or pull at the skin that is flaking off you can disturb the ink and essentially be pulling it out before it has settled into the skin. When this happens with a fine line tattoo you may end up with whole gaps or a faint tattoo. Whereas with a bolder tattoo with heavier linework, if you are lucky, you would end up with it being a bit patchy because there was more ink in the skin to begin with. Moral of the story… don’t pick, pull and rub the peeling skin, follow the aftercare advice from your tattoo artist to ensure a long lasting tattoo, whatever the style.
‘Fineline tattoos blowout’
Any tattoo can blow out. It’s not because of the style, it’s because of the application and it means that the artist went too deep. Your tattoos can also look blurred or like ink is bleeding out, if you have them out in the sun when healing. Moral of the story… pick a good artist and follow your aftercare.
Now if you think we’re just saying all this to get you to book in for fine line tattoos, or to piss off some old school tattooers, here’s one of our personal experiences with fine line tattoos. This is a photo of Nicole’s neck tatt. It’s over 2 years old and as you can see, it’s doing great.
