Kat Von D Covers up ‘Garbage, Drunken Tattoos’ With Blackout Ink

Kat Von D may be a famed tattoo artist, but even she has a tattoo or two that she’d rather forget. In fact, several tattoos were so bad that the L.A. Ink alum recently began the lengthy process of covering them up with a complete black tattoo on her leg, Von D dubbing the former ink decorating her skin. “garbage, drunken tattoos.”

Von D opened up about her decision to cover her tattoos in a Wednesday, June 8 Instagram post. Sharing a photo of her bare legs, one of which was completely black other than a single tattoo of a woman’s face, the 40-year-old celebrity tattoo artist and makeup mogul revealed that she recruited a tattoo artist named Hoode, who operates out of Black Vulture Gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the job, adding that she is “so happy with how this blackout tattooing… is coming together!” Von D went on to reveal that on Wednesday they “knocked out my entire upper thigh all the way to my butt.”

“Before anyone starts criticizing, I encourage you to remember that it’s ok not to like or even understand things. Trust me, I’ve seen plenty of tattoos I personally would never get. And those differences make this world so much more interesting! So no need to comment any negativity,” she continued. “Just know that I absolutely LOVE it, and it’s extremely refreshing for me to see all the garbage, drunken tattoos I had scribbled all over my leg that I got before I became sober, be covered by sleekness and simplicity.”

Von D concluded her post with a message of thanks for her tattoo artist, who specializes in blackout tattooing. In the post, she thanked the artist “for sharing your incredible abilities with me,” adding that his “blackout tattoos are my ultimate favorite!”

At the beginning of the post, Von D seemed to hope to avoid any haters, writing, “read my caption before commenting please!!” Thankfully, the overwhelming response to the post seemed to be positive. Taking to the comments section, one person wrote, “Wow! Very cool!” Somebody else commented, “it’s really beautiful Kat!! I’m glad you enjoy it and it comes as something positive for you and that you can enjoy, that’s what matters.” Several others expressed their own desire to one day get a blackout tattoo after seeing Von D’s, one person writing, “I have been wanting a blackout tattoo . I think it looks so pretty.”