Tattoos can be an excellent addition to people with darker skin tones, who might worry that their designs won’t appear correctly. This is an old wives tale; with proper technique, you can obtain vibrant, detailed Tattoos on dark skin!
Finding an artist familiar with tattooing on skin tones similar to your own is vital when searching for the right tattoo artist. Request healed photos from them and conduct a color test before making a decision.
What Colors Look Good on Darker Skin Tones?
If you have dark skin, you may have wondered which colors suit it best. While many assume warm hues work best with it, this is not necessarily true; black skin has both cool and warm undertones that can vary considerably between tones.
To determine your undertone, examine the veins inside your wrist. If they exhibit blue tones, that indicates cool-toned skin; conversely, if they show green hues, that indicates warm-toned skin.
Olive-skinned people generally have cool tones, making the best colors to complement them with pinks, light creams, gold, and rich shades of green. Also, try bolder hues like purple or teal; celebrities with this skin tone include Selena Gomez, Amal Clooney, and Kerry Washington.
How Do I Care for Color Tattoos on Darker Skin Tones?
Color Tattoos look just as striking on dark skin tones as on lighter ones, so you must work with an experienced artist who understands how best to tattoo this type of skin. An appointment for a test and researching artists’ portfolios are the best ways of supporting this process.
Tattooing dark skin often creates the false belief that it can cause scarring and keloids. While this may be partially true, overworked tattoo artists could apply too much pressure and damage tissue, resulting in discolored spots where ink once resided.
At the same time, it’s also crucial to utilize a body balm with UV ray protection that won’t fade the colors of your tattoo. Our favorite natural sunscreen, made of shea butter, coconut, and red palm oil, is designed for optimal hydration and to fight UV radiation’s damaging effects.
What Colors Should I Avoid?
Specific colors do not pair well with medium to dark skin tones, particularly pastel hues. As your skin heals and adds melanin onto its surface, light pigments may overpower their golden hues and look muddy; rich shades such as blue, green, red, and purple tend to work best.
Tattoos featuring small designs with fine lines often fail to stand out on people with darker complexions as their intricate details are more complex for the eye to distinguish. Larger Tattoos with more negative space tend to work better as their contrast between color and skin tone helps them stand out more.
Finding an artist experienced with tattooing dark skin is paramount, says Snax and Parker. They suggest viewing an artist’s Instagram to view photos of their work on d
