Cover Up Tattoos in Pasay City

Not every tattoo ages the way we hoped. Old work fades, styles change, or a piece just doesn’t feel right anymore. A cover up replaces an existing tattoo with a new design built to sit over it — and done well, the old ink disappears into something you’re proud to wear.

Cover ups are some of the most rewarding work we do at Omom Tattoo Studio in Pasay City, because the change is so dramatic. They’re also some of the most technical, which is why we start every one with an honest look at what’s actually possible.

Why realism works so well for cover-ups

Covering an existing tattoo comes down to contrast and density. The new design has to be dark and detailed enough, in the right places, to break up the old shapes underneath so your eye stops reading them.

Realism is built for exactly that. Deep shadows, layered detail, and strong focal points give us the tonal range to absorb old ink that lighter or simpler styles would struggle to hide. A realistic animal, portrait, or floral piece can carry the darkness a cover up needs while still looking intentional — not like a patch over something.

What’s realistic — and what isn’t

We’ll always be straight with you about what a cover up can and can’t do.

As a rule, a cover up needs to be larger and darker than the original, so the new piece has room to work. Very dark, solid, or large existing tattoos are harder to cover and sometimes need a few sessions of laser fading first to lighten them before we design over them. Lighter, older, or faded tattoos give us the most freedom.

In your consultation, Aaron assesses the existing tattoo — its size, colour, and how saturated it is — and tells you honestly whether it’s a straight cover up, whether fading first would give a far better result, or which design directions will genuinely work over it. We’d rather set the right expectation up front than promise something that won’t hold up.

How the process works

1. Assessment — send a clear, well-lit photo of the existing tattoo when you reach out, along with any ideas for what you’d like instead.
2. Design — we build a custom piece around your concept that also works technically as a cover up, planning the placement of darks and detail around the old shapes.
3. The session(s) — depending on size and what’s underneath, a cover up may take one session or several. If fading is needed first, we’ll map that out before we begin.

See the transformation

Before-and-after photos tell the story better than anything we can write. These are real cover ups done at the studio.

Built on realism

Every cover up we do draws on the same realism work the studio is known for. To see the range of detailed pieces behind our cover ups, take a look at our realism tattoos page, or read more about Aaron Olaguivel.

How to book

Cover ups start with an honest assessment, so the more we can see up front, the better. Message us on Facebook or Instagram, or email [email protected] with a clear photo of the tattoo you’d like covered, your new idea, and the placement. We’ll tell you what’s possible and plan from there.

We work by appointment — for health and safety reasons we don’t take unannounced walk-ins, and cover up work is worth booking 2–3 weeks ahead so it can be properly designed.

Omom Tattoo Studio — 575 Protacio, Pasay City, Metro Manila. Open daily, 8am–6pm.