White Ink Tattoos

With musician, songwriter and record producer Grimes announcing on her Instagram that she is very seriously considering getting a white ink face tattoo, the searches for white ink are bound to increase significantly over the next few weeks. But what exactly is white ink, and will it be worth the hype that is sure to follow should the artist phenomena/mother of Elon Musk’s two children go ahead with the latest addition to her body art collection? 

White ink tattoos are, unsurprisingly, entirely done in white ink. They can look incredibly elegant and mesmerising, and are a good match for someone who would like to have visible tattoos but still like them to be less conspicuous. However, they do come with their fair share of drawbacks. 

Consider how a white ink tattoo will heal

For instance, they will not have the same longevity as black or coloured ink tattoos. They lose their intensity after a few years and are, without exception, prone to early fading. While this might be a plus for someone who is unsure whether or not they want to commit to a design “for life,” tattoos do entail a certain amount of investment (both financial and pain-wise), and most of us like to have our pieces of art to show for it for longer. That being said, they are still pretty unique, so if your aim is to provoke interest for the short-term rather than look at a still vivid piece ten years on in the mirror, then up to you.

Take into account that as beautiful as a white ink tattoo may look in an online image, the photo has, in all likelihood, been taken within minutes of the work being completed. This may lead to unrealistic expectations of what a white ink tattoo will look like when it is healed and a few months and years down the line. Because of the qualities of the white pigment compared to the black, it is also more difficult to achieve clean and sharp lines, which means that they are more prone to blurring. At Vivid Ink, it is up to the discretion of the individual artist if they will agree to do a white ink tattoo or not. 

Grimes’ fantasy creature body modifications

Speaking of Grimes’ relationship with body art, it is not as if it would be the artist’s first tattoo (and getting a face tattoo might not be the most accessible option for anyone considering getting inked for the first time). She already has a significant collection of body art, including a large abstract relief-like white ink creation on her back and more on her chest, a brush stroke tattoo going from her thigh all the way down to her foot, as well as words in Quenya (Tolkien’s language of the elves) on one hand. A couple of years ago, Grimes admittedly made an appointment with a plastic surgeon to have her ears modified to look like elf ears, but never went through with it. Although, given her penchant for body modifications, it may still happen. The singer has talked about her body art as “post-human,” and has complained that she was born a couple of generations too early.