Much like with any other skin tone, it’s perfectly possible to get a bright and bold-colored tattoo if you have dark brown or black skin. The trick, according to Allure, is finding an artist who has worked extensively with dark skin and understands color theory and undertones. Just like with pale skin, some brown skin will have yellow undertones and others will have cool or neutral undertones. As Liquid Amber Tattooing outlined, those colors may not show up as well against dark skin.
Healthline suggests that anyone with darker skin should consider designs that rely heavily on green, magenta, orange, or red. Depending on the undertone of your skin, these colors can provide enough contrast to stand out. Avoid colors that go darker than your skin tone, Healthline says, because they won’t hold up as well over time unless they’re standard black ink. Much like pastels and white ink on pale skin, the lack of contrast makes it harder to work with. Where Healthline also recommends yellow for darker skin, Liquid Amber Tattooing points out that many people with dark brown skin have yellow undertones and the color won’t always show up as clearly.
