How to: Tattoo Cover

As a way to show my bridal clients that I can cover tattoo's, I went ahead and covered my own tattoo on my wrist.  After posting the pictures, I got a bunch of requests to post a step by step of what I did.  There aren't many steps to achieve this but I will explain in full detail what I did along with pictures.

1. Clean it up

• Wash area with soap and water
• Use toner or alcohol to make sure there isn't any left over soap or oils from the skin

2. Apply Neutralizer

• Use an orange neutralizing base.  I used Make Up For Ever 5 Camouflage Cream Palette - #4
• Extend the edges a bit farther that what the tattoo goes
• Make sure to blend the edges

3. Airbrush

Since the compressor doesn't have numbers, I took photos of how I had the psi knob set up.  Please note that every compressor is different.  Some have knobs while others have a slide bar.  Some have numbers while others don't.  It's up to you to practice, use your judgement and know how to set the psi on the compressor you own.

• Apply several coats of Airbrush Foundation.  I used the Temptu S-One Airbrush System (compressor and gun) along with the Temptu S/B Foundations.
• I used 2 over all coats holding the air gun about 3 - 6 inches away, spraying in a circular motion (psi #1).  Remember different tattoos require different amounts of coats and coverage depending on the size and color.
• To really cover the letters and heart, I got in closer at about .5 - 1 inch away.  I also lowered the psi - still spraying in a small circular motion (psi #2)
• Let dry between coats for maximum coverage about 3 - 5 minutes.
• As you can tell, we're already half way there.

4. Finish Up

• Wait until completely dry and apply translucent powder to set the foundation.  I used Laura Mercier Invisible Loose Setting Powder but any translucent powder of your choice would work just fine.
• If the skin looks a bit lighter compared to the rest of the area (this can happen if you apply too many coats), just brush on some bronzing powder on the covered area feathering out to the rest of the area not covered so it blends flawlessly.