50 Tattoo Regrets That Got A Major Upgrade (New Pics)

The next steps depend on what artist you choose for the coverup process. Some may like to give options of what is possible in each case. Others start by asking: "What would you like?" Electric Linda, founder of Attitude Tattoo Studio, is the proponent of the latter. "When I do cover ups, I want to make something that you really, really want," she says in her YouTube video.

"When they do tell me what they want, I will have to look at what they had before," she goes on. "And think about all the ways that I can make this come true. And I just have to pick the one that will look the best. Almost anything is possible. You just have to be creative," the tattoo artist believes.

Choosing an artist is a critical part of the tattoo cover-up process. You'll want a professional and experienced tattooist, but also one whose work you love. Chronic Ink lists trusting your artist as one of the main steps in getting a cover-up.

"Tattoo artists spend years perfecting their craft. If you can’t trust them to realize your vision, you’ll never be satisfied. Some doubt is natural, even healthy, but you have to trust your tattoo artist if the two of you are going to successfully collaborate and produce an incredible cover-up tattoo."

There's another thing to keep in mind – the cover-up design will definitely be bigger than the old tattoo. Artists can only cover the existing outlines if they go over them. "Your cover up tattoo will need to be, at a minimum, the same size as the original," Removery claims. That's why laser removal is not such a bad choice – if the old design is big, people can remove part of the tattoo, and cover up the rest.