But, for each of these positives, there’s a potential downside. Since white ink tattoos are less saturated, they’re harder to see. If you want your friends or a passersby to notice your new design, having a white ink tattoo isn’t ideal. As it heals, white ink tattoos fade quickly, and they will either revert to your natural skin color or turn into a light grey or yellow. Once this happens, it’s very difficult to re-establish the original white ink look. In fact, white ink tattoos often end up looking like a decorative scar.

“It’s not like doing a regular black ink tattoo. You have to insert the needle deeper than usual, and stretch the skin as much as you can, so that the ink sits perfectly.”

So what do the professionals have to say about white ink tattoos? Gabino, a professional tattoo artist from Spain, believes white ink tattooing is a trying process: “It’s not like doing a regular black ink tattoo. You have to insert the needle deeper than usual, and stretch the skin as much as you can, so that the ink sits perfectly.”

Marcos, a professional tattoo artist from Sacramento, California, isn’t a big fan of white ink tattoos either. “It’s a losing battle for both the artist and the client. They’re becoming more and more popular these days, so naturally there are more requests for them. The first thing I tell my clients is that the tattoo will not stay. Even when the tattoo is freshly healed, it will not look white. You will barely be able to see it. Secondly, you can’t touch up white. If you try to touch it up, it will most likely turn a yellowish brown color once healed.” He goes on to say that he’s “educated [his] clients on these points…but they always end up dissatisfied with the healed result,” wanting it “to ‘pop’ more.”

Despite what some professionals say, there are still many people out there who get white ink tattoos and love them. Courtney, a student from Texas, got a white ink butterfly tattoo, done at Love & Hate in Lewisville. She tells us, “I love my tattoo so much! I was really nervous at first, but it’s only gotten better as my skin has darkened!”