Kat Von D is taking her unofficial title of queen of tattoos to a whole new level. The LA Ink star took to Instagram to share a video of herself inking a massive “eleven-eleven” tattoo onto her friend’s forehead. In the clip, which pans down from a large red chandelier to a spooky workspace surrounded by candles and artwork, Von D can be seen hard at work on Majesty Black designer Joshua David Reno’s face.
“Loved getting to do this special ‘eleven-eleven’ tattoo on my dearest friend, [Majesty Black] for his birthday here at [High Voltage Tattoo],” Von D captioned the post shared on Wednesday.
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Reno is the creator of glove and handwear brand Majesty Black, which Von D frequently wears.
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Many of Von D’s 7 million Instagram followers took to the comments section to react to the video.
“Such a beautiful tattoo, on the most beautiful person,” one user wrote.
“This is soooo epic and so so so special!” someone else said.
“Beautiful hand lettering!” another said.
“My god! The lettering is absolutely gorgeous!” someone wrote.
Others wondered how Reno was able to sit through the painful experience without even flinching.
“The pain on my rib tattoos were insane… How can people stand it on their face? But on a side note… The decor… Whoa,” one person wrote.
“Hoooooooooooowwwwwwww he’s not even flinching,” another said.
Von D is used to making waves on social media. Earlier this month, she gave an emotional defense of her blackout tattoo on her arm after it was criticized by some fans as “horrendous.”
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“Having been in the tattoo industry for the greater part of my life, I’ve seen countless tattoos of all types of styles — but NEVER have I felt inspired to tell anyone ‘that’s ugly’ or ‘you’re stupid,’” Von D wrote in a lengthy Instagram post. “Tattoos are funny in the sense that ultimately it is one of the most intimately personal things we can do for ourselves. But even though tattoos are an outward expression, they really aren’t for anyone else other than the person wearing it.”
Going on to write that she loves “sharing and giving the world a window into aspects” of her life, she said that “just because I choose to share my experiences, it shouldn’t be an invitation for such negativity.”
“Yes, I did decide to black out a large portion of old, crappy tattoos on my arm that I posted yesterday, and regardless of what people might think about it, I absolutely LOVE how simple and clean it looks now,” she continued before going on to directly speak out against her critics.
“No, it doesn’t matter that you don’t like the way my arm looks. To each their own,” she wrote. “No, this isn’t bad for my health [but thank you for caring!] When done correctly, tattoos don’t penetrate passed the second dermis layer of skin. During the healing process, our skin naturally filters out any excess pigment through our pores. And no, there is no lead, plastics, toxins in the professional-grade tattoo pigments that we use.”
“No, this isn’t a lazy attempt at a coverup. It actually takes an extremely skilled artist that specializes in blacking out tattoos,” she continued before ending her post with a piece of advice. “Before you label something ‘ugly’ or ‘horrible’ try to remember that beauty is subjective. Your idea of a dream tattoo, might be someone else’s idea of a nightmare.”