On October 19, the 41-year-old founder of the KVD Beauty Makeup Collection took to Instagram to update her 9.5 million followers on the progress of her unique tattooing journey. She posted a video of the symbolic ceremony and provided a ‘blackout tattoos FAQs’ in the caption, giving her fans a glimpse into the lengthy process.
Von D, who recently underwent a baptism, revealed that she had undergone ’17 sessions’ spanning ‘almost 40 accumulative hours’ to reach the point of being ‘about 80% done with blacking out’ her body. She explained that she had consistently traveled to Philadelphia to get tattooed by the artist Hoode Philly at his tattoo shop, the Black Vulture Gallery.
In the Q&A session, Kat Von D began by encouraging her followers to remember that “What you consider ugly might be beautiful to someone else” before addressing some common questions about her blackout tattoos.
One of the questions was about tattoo removal using lasers, to which she explained, “I actually did start lasering tattoos, and although I think laser tattoo removal is effective, I personally wasn’t a good candidate considering how much coverage I wanted to remove.” She noted that laser removal is a slow and painful process, which may require more than ten sessions with lengthy healing periods.
Another question asked if she planned to tattoo white over the blackout ink, and her simple response was ‘Nope.’ She added that she loves the simplicity of black but has seen some beautiful tattoos where people tattoo white over their blackout ink.
Regarding the potential impact of her blackout tattoos on her health, Kat Von D reassured her followers that she had been getting tattooed for almost three decades and had never experienced any negative effects. She suggested that there might be more toxicity in the foods people eat, makeup they wear, and cleaning supplies they use. She asked her followers if they consumed 100% organic foods, eliminated seed oils from their diets, cut out processed foods, sugars, and food dyes, and used makeup and perfumes without hormone disruptors or cleaning products without harsh chemicals. She emphasized that individuals can make choices regarding the substances they expose themselves to.
Finally, she addressed the question of why she was covering up her existing tattoos. She explained that many of her tattoos represented a part of her life that no longer aligned with her current self. She mentioned that some people prefer to keep these landmarks of their past on their bodies, but she personally grew tired of waking up to those constant reminders in the mirror. She expressed her love for the aesthetic of a clean slate on her arms and concluded by sending ‘lotsa love’ to her fans. Kat Von D’s unique journey of covering her body with blackout tattoos continues to be a source of fascination and inspiration for many of her followers.
