The guide
Fading for a cover-up:
less removal, on purpose.
A cover-up doesn't need bare skin — it needs room. Sometimes the smartest removal is the one you stop halfway.
Cover-up clients are the one group we regularly tell to book fewer treatments. Full removal takes an amateur piece two to five sessions and a professional one five to twelve. Fading for a cover-up often needs only a fraction of that — because the goal is not bare skin, it is giving your artist something they can actually work over.
Why artists send people here first
A cover-up has to out-shout what is under it. Over dark, dense, or blown-out work, that forces the new design to be bigger, darker and busier than anyone wanted — the classic cover-up look that reads as a cover-up from across the room. Knock the old piece back a few shades and the math flips: lighter lines, open space, color that sits true. The best cover-ups are planned over faded ink, which is why tattoo artists themselves are a steady source of referrals to this clinic.
How much fading is enough
It depends on what is going over the top, which is why the plan starts with your artist, not with us. A loose rule of thumb from the chair: a piece being covered by something substantially larger and darker may need only a couple of sessions, while a subtle cover-up over heavy black work needs more. Black ink responds fastest — the 1064 nm wavelength that breaks it up is the most efficient tool in the kit — and since most of what compromises a cover-up is dark ink, fading tends to show meaningful progress quickly.
At the free consultation we measure the tattoo, look at what your artist has sketched, and give you a realistic count for the level of fade the design needs. Bring the artist's input if you have it — a photo of the concept, or even "they want the outline gone and the shading knocked back."
What fading costs
The same measured pricing as a full removal — $99 for the first square inch of ink per treatment, $49 each additional — just for fewer treatments. You pay per session, so there is no removal package to buy and nothing wasted when your artist says "that's enough." Stopping early is built into how the pricing works.
The timeline to plan around
Treatments sit five to eight weeks apart, because your body does the clearing between sessions — and the skin should be fully settled before new ink goes into it. Practically, that means a two-session fade is roughly a three-to-four-month runway before your cover-up appointment, and more sessions stretch it accordingly. If you have a date in mind for the new piece, start the fading well ahead of it; this is the one part of a cover-up that cannot be rushed at the end.
The short version
- Fading beats covering dark ink directly — it frees the design instead of constraining it.
- Your artist sets the target, we set the treatment count to hit it.
- Start months before the cover-up date — sessions are five to eight weeks apart.
Ready to see what yours would take? The consultation is free, the tattoo gets measured while you are there, and you leave with a per-session price and a count.