Chances are you don’t find yourself under a blacklight often. If you do, live your life! But, most of us aren’t in very many situations where a blacklight tattoo or UV tattoo is going to even be visible. Glow in the dark tattoos, despite being a novelty, are growing in popularity. These tattoos light up at night slightly, but they really only dazzle when they’re exposed to UV rays. Glow in the dark tattoo ink is infused with phosphorous which is the same mineral that is in glowsticks. While small amounts of it are harmless, if too much is absorbed by the skin it can be unhealthy. That’s why many glow in the dark tattoos are small in scale with the UV ink used as a highlight. Now that you know a little bit of background about these tattoos, let’s discuss design. Glow in the dark tattoos can be extremely clever and often reveal a hidden element to a standard tattoo or even a visual punchline. We lurked in the shadows to find the best glow in the dark tattoos we could lay our eyes on. Here are 25 mindblowing blacklight tattoos that will entertain you and hopefully inspire you to try this emerging tattoo trend.
25. A Neon Ghost
This ghostly tattoo of an apparition inside of a jar has made great use of glow in the dark ink to make the design even more haunting. We love the way the tattoo artist has also utilized normal black ink to reinforce the design. What a fun tattoo!
24. A Starry Night
This take on Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night is livened up a bit by glow in the dark ink. The ink is used to highlight the celestial bodies and swirling in the night sky. It’s not only unique it’s a very creative use of UV ink.
23. A Luminous Bouquet
Glow in the dark ink jazzes up this simple tattoo design. The ink brings so much color and brightness to the petals of the flowers and leaves. Further, the tattoo looks great when it’s not under a blacklight.
22. More Floral Fun
These flowers are really budding and bursting with color. This simple tattoo design really benefits from the application of the UV ink. We love the way the little dots of the mountain-laurel sparkle.
21. Let the Stars Be Your Guide
Stars, but make them flowers. This interesting tattoo design combines a constellation with small flowers. The tattoo doesn’t look too terribly appealing until the blacklight gets turned on, but it really shines at night.
20. Give in to the Glow
A great thing about glow in the dark tattoos is that they’re barely visible in normal light. However, they come to life under a blacklight. This person has really run with it and gotten a bunch of glowing tattoos. We wonder if they’re even visible during the day.
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19. Press Play
This music lover turned the user interface of Spotify into a tattoo! He shared the image with a message that said he was inspired by music and his nightshift job. Most of us will not get much from a glow in the dark tattoo because our time is spent in well-light spaces. But, for those working in the dark, it would be very visible and meaningful.
18. An Egyptian Queen
This beautiful tattoo of Nefertiti is made infinitely more interesting by the addition of glowing ink. Nefertiti and her husband, Akhenaten the Egyptian Pharaoh started a religious revolution and worshipped only one god, Aten who was a sun god.
17. Just Fangtastic
This fun tattoo of costume vampire fangs dripping with blood is something you don’t see every day. Regular black ink has been used for the outline of the fangs and glow in the dark ink for the blood. We love the way the drops of blood look under the blacklight.
16. Stay Stellar
This simple design utilizes green glow in the dark ink that reminds us of those glow in the dark star decals every science teacher had in their classrooms. The cute little alien in a spaceship is a nice touch.
15. Got a Light
As you might expect, people get clever with their glowing tattoos and UV ink can be used for more than just stars. This tattoo of a lighter has glow in the dark dots that illuminate the spark of a lighter. This is a really fun design.
14. Cats are Everything
For many of us, our pets are the center of our universe. This cat tattoo takes that to a whole new level with a cat with the Jovian ring system like the planet, Jupiter. We love the little squiggles of glow ink inside the rings.
13. Lisa’s Lit
Lisa Simpson was the best Simpson, full stop. Here, she’s designed wearing a glow in the dark outfit that’s pretty psychedelic. We love the rainbow colors of the hat and we’d like to meet the person who actually got this tattooed on themselves.
12. A Glowflake
Points for creativity! This person has gotten a tattoo of a snowflake and if you saw it in the daytime, you’d never know it holds a chilling surprise. Under a blacklight, this tattoo glows ice blue.
11. Come on Baby, Light My Fire
This is another tattoo of a lighter, but the tattoo artist has done something completely different here. They’ve used UV ink to give the flame of the lighter a glow that radiates out and reflects in the nail polish of on the fingers. This is a wild one!
10. Laser Kitty
Do we know what’s going on here? No. Do we care? No! This fun tattoo of a cat with superpowers took some imagination. We don’t know why this kitty is roasting a stegosaurus, but we’ll take it.
9. Tatts Fit for a Queen
These cute crown tattoos are meant to be a his-and-hers deal. The glow in the dark ink has been applied liberally and these tattoos really shine.
8. Get Sorted
Are you a Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, or Hufflepuff? The sorting hat from the Harry Potter books might not be the first thing that comes to mind when considering a tattoo, but with glow in the dark ink, it really does look cool.
7. It’s Electric
This tattoo of the sun behind clouds comes to life under a blacklight with bolts of lightning electrifying the design. While you won’t be able to see the sun or the clouds in the dark, those bolts will be bright.
6. Spread Your Wings
This beautiful tattoo of a moth and a skull gets even more interesting at night. The colors on the wings of the insect glow giving the whole design an eerie sort of aesthetic.
5. Gives One Paws
We at MU are huge fans of pet tattoos. This person’s beloved cat’s paw has been turned into a tattoo. This cute little paw is such a fabulous tribute to a pet and most people aren’t even going to notice it’s there at all. It’s a micro tattoo and a glow in the dark tattoo in one.
4. I Want to Believe
Glow in the dark tattoos are, by nature, weird. This person really leaned into that when they got this UFO tattoo that’s abducting someone. This tattoo gives us Keith Haring vibes, and we’re here for it.
3. The Webs We Weave
This spider tattoo with a glowing web looks slightly terrifying but we love how the black spider looks nearly transparent on its web. It’s a cool effect and the spider probably looks just as creepy during the day as it does under a blacklight.
2. Light Up My Life
This glow in the dark butterfly tattoo looks like a neon sign! The heavy application of UV ink gives this tattoo so much sparkle that it almost looks metallic.
1. The Ghost of Bart
We love a good joke, and this Bart Simpson tattoo is hilarious. During the day, Bart looks like he’s laughed his last laugh. But, at night, you can tell that Bart has risen. This funny tattoo really plays to the niche qualities of UV ink and the fun you can have with it.
Glow in the dark tattoos are trending right now because they’re novel and relatively new. As tattoo artists and people’s imaginations wrap their heads around all the possibilities, we expect to see even more extravagant designs and applications. These tattoos aren’t going to be for everyone but for some they’re a great way to get a tattoo that’s not in your face. These tattoos are fascinating when done properly. We can’t wait to see where this trend goes.
Contents
- 1 25. A Neon Ghost
- 2 24. A Starry Night
- 3 23. A Luminous Bouquet
- 4 22. More Floral Fun
- 5 21. Let the Stars Be Your Guide
- 6 20. Give in to the Glow
- 7 19. Press Play
- 8 18. An Egyptian Queen
- 9 17. Just Fangtastic
- 10 16. Stay Stellar
- 11 15. Got a Light
- 12 14. Cats are Everything
- 13 13. Lisa’s Lit
- 14 12. A Glowflake
- 15 11. Come on Baby, Light My Fire
- 16 10. Laser Kitty
- 17 9. Tatts Fit for a Queen
- 18 8. Get Sorted
- 19 7. It’s Electric
- 20 6. Spread Your Wings
- 21 5. Gives One Paws
- 22 4. I Want to Believe
- 23 3. The Webs We Weave
- 24 2. Light Up My Life
- 25 1. The Ghost of Bart
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