Red Ink Linework Tattoos
A Growing Trend - But Is It Worth It?
Hi! I’m glad you’re here - I hope you’ll take the time to read this page and get some insights into a Tattooer’s opinions on Red Ink linework tattoos.
(*I must stress, this blog is JUST about red ink LINEWORK tattoos or red tattoos with no black outline. The ways shading and linework are applied in a tattoo are much different, so the healing prospects of red LINEWORK does not translate the same to red ink overall when applied correctly.)
Red ink linework tattoos have become increasingly popular in recent years, and there’s no shortage of photos of examples that can be found on sites like Instagram and Pinterest. The enthusiasm of clients who are attracted to these designs is completely understandable.
While tattooing is a highly personal choice and a client has the right to ask an artist for a tattoo in this style, it’s important to note that images on the internet don’t always tell the full story. I believe clients deserve to know more information before making a permanent decision about their body, and I think artists have a responsibility to inform clients before agreeing to a project of this nature.
In my tattoo career so far, I’ve had the privilege of being trained by, and working with, tattooers who have multiple decades of experience. Throughout my apprenticeship, I was educated about the objective realities and limitations of tattooing, real-world experience of how things heal over a lifetime, and nuanced information that can’t be found in YouTube tutorials or self-taught experiments. Not all newer tattooers have had this advantage, which I think leads to a disconnect in expectations. Sure, I certainly don’t know everything, and tattooing is a constant process of learning, but there are certain unalienable truths, and based on everything I’ve seen and been taught: red ink linework tattoos, no mattter how expertly applied, tend to heal like sh*t.
A red linework tattoo can, of course, look nice when it’s fresh. However, a photo of a fresh tattoo can be digitally manipulated to make it look more saturated, more evenly applied, etc. And, you can’t see what it looks like when it heals. Especially in melanated skin, a red ink tattoo can look bright and saturated fresh but may heal much darker, not matching the client’s expectations. An unscrupulous artist may post a manipulated or enhanced picture of a fresh tattoo online which will make the design seem exciting, artistic, unique. It’s possible that some modern artists who do red ink linework tattoos and post them on social media don’t know the potential pitfalls of tattoos they’re doing. Maybe some don’t care and are just interested in a pretty picture for the internet and taking the clients’ money, but I do think a lack of knowledge could explain a lot of this snowballing trend.
You may be asking: “but my friend got a red outline of a heart on their wrist and it looks great?”. That may be true. They got lucky. A more important question is *how many* examples have you seen, in person or online, of a red ink linework tattoo after it’s healed?
I ask this because, I’ve seen, in person, several healed versions of red-ink-only tattoos. Some were unrecognizable from what the original tattoo was, and others looked like scar tissue. It didn’t matter how “well” they were applied initially - this is just the reality of how they healed in the clients’ skin.
All that being said, if you are genuinely the type of person who is only interested in a tattoo looking sharp and perfect in the week or so after its freshly done, you see it as a spontaneous decision and are in it for the moment, and have no serious concern for the conventional appearance of the tattoo, that’s totally fine! Some people really are like that and it’s not my place to pressure them into a tattoo with better objective longevity. However, if you are concerned about the lifetime quality of your tattoo, then 10 times out of 10, I would recommend getting black linework instead of red.
But y Tho?
On a microscopic level, Black is still the optimum ink for linework because the carbon particles that give the ink its black pigment are very small and very densely packed in the ink. This makes it easier to saturate a line in the skin, and harder for your body to break up the ink. A black ink linework tattoo will be much more visible and recognizable as its original form over time. On the other hand, color pigment particles (such as red) are MUCH larger than carbon particles and less densely distributed in the ink, making it difficult to saturate a single line properly, and easier for your lymphatic system to break the ink apart - causing the tattoo to have a higher probability of quickly fading and looking “patchy” compared to black linework.
Color ink is broken down much more quickly by UVA/UVB rays so any sun exposure will damage your red ink linework tattoo much more quickly than a black ink linework tattoo. Many artists know this, and will not offer any free or discount touch up sessions to red ink linework. Therefore, if you’re unhappy with any fading or patchiness due to sun exposure, and want to get it touched up, you’ll likely have to do so at your own expense (and it will hurt more the second time around)
Different inks are specially formulated for different things. There are even “shading” blacks versus “lining” blacks on the market. But color inks are never formulated to work well with lining needles. They’re meant to be used with shading needles, which are shaped differently, applied differently, and used differently. A lining needle simply isn’t engineered to carry large loads of color ink pigment particles evenly or easily. Can it physically be done? Yes, but that doesn’t mean it’s good idea. Like, sure, you could cut your hair with garden shears instead of scissors, but would you? You could use dish soap instead of shampoo, but should you? Trust that an experienced artist is looking out for your best benefit and will use the best tools for the job. And red ink is objectively not the best tool for a linework job. ♥
Hopefully this guide has provided some new information to you as a client and given you some things to think about. Remember that not every artist who tells you “no” is a snobby gatekeeper. And not every artist who tells you “yes” is someone you can trust to have your best interests in mind. Thanks for reading. Knowledge Is Power! :) ♥
(c) Katy A.D. Tattoo 2023
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All opinions expressed are those of the Artist based on their experience and should not be assumed universal truths or the opinions of other artists or the shop in which they work
