You remember the old Kat Von D. The LA Ink era. The girl with the stars dusting her temple and the hyper-realistic portraits that made her a global icon. For nearly two decades, she was basically the face of modern tattoo culture. But if you've scrolled through her Instagram lately, you might’ve done a double-take. The fine lines and colorful "landmarks" are mostly gone, replaced by solid, deep black ink.
It’s jarring. Honestly, seeing Kat Von D with and without tattoos—or rather, with her original tattoos versus her new blackout aesthetic—feels like looking at two different people.
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The Reality of the Blackout Transformation
People keep asking: did she get them removed? Not exactly. While Kat has dabbled in laser removal for a few spots, like a rose on her neck, she mostly chose a more extreme path. She’s blacking them out. We’re talking about 80% of her body now covered in solid black pigment.
She teamed up with an artist named Hoode Philly. He’s a specialist in this. This wasn't a quick fix or a weekend project. By late 2025, she had clocked over 17 sessions and nearly 40 hours under the needle just to achieve that "clean slate" look.
Why do it?
Kat has been pretty open about it. She says she grew "fed up" with the old designs. Many of them were from a time when she was still drinking—she’s been sober for 17 years now—and they felt like "garbage, drunken tattoos" that just didn't fit who she is anymore. Some were reminders of dark times. She wanted simplicity. She wanted a "sleekness" that the old, cluttered designs couldn't give her.
That Famous Lawsuit
There’s another layer to this. A lot of people don’t realize how much a federal courtroom affected her relationship with the industry. Back in 2017, she tattooed a portrait of jazz legend Miles Davis for a friend. A photographer, Jeffrey Sedlik, sued her for copyright infringement because she used his photo as a reference.
It dragged on for years.
Eventually, in March 2024, a jury sided with Kat. It was a massive win for tattoo artists everywhere, but the stress was brutal. She admitted the ordeal "crushed" her heart. It’s one of the main reasons she stepped away from tattooing others and started focusing on her own skin as a final canvas.
Kat Von D Without Tattoos: The Makeup Era
Long before the blackout ink, we actually got a glimpse of what a "blank" Kat Von D looks like. If you're a makeup junkie, you definitely remember the 2011 "Go Beyond the Surface" campaign for her Lock-It Foundation.
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They covered every single one of her tattoos.
It was wild. Seeing her with totally clear, porcelain skin was a viral moment before "viral" was even a thing. She even did a similar stunt with the late Rick Genest (Zombie Boy), proving that her high-pigment formulas could make even the most heavily tattooed person look like they'd never seen a tattoo parlor in their life.
That foundation—and the brand KVD Beauty—eventually became a separate entity. Kat sold her shares in 2020 to Kendo. She’s moved on from the "makeup mogul" life, just like she moved on from the "occult" aesthetic.
A Spiritual Shift
You can't talk about her tattoos without mentioning her baptism. In 2023, Kat shared a video of her baptism after renouncing witchcraft and the occult. She moved from the chaos of Los Angeles to a small town in Indiana.
Basically, she’s undergoing a total "rebrand" of her soul.
The blackout tattoos are a physical manifestation of that. For her, the black ink isn't "darkness" in a negative sense; it’s a way to erase the noise of her past. She’s mentioned that some people think it’s ugly, but to her, it’s "satisfying" to look down and see a clean, black surface instead of a map of her old mistakes.
- The Process: 17+ sessions of intense blackout work.
- The Reason: Sobriety, spiritual growth, and wanting to move past "landmark" tattoos from dark eras.
- The Result: A minimalist, high-contrast look that keeps only a few meaningful pieces, like the portrait of her father.
What You Can Learn From Her Journey
If you're looking at your own ink and feeling that "tattoo regret" creep in, Kat’s journey offers a few different paths. You don't necessarily have to go full blackout to find peace with your skin.
1. Evaluate the "Why"
Are your tattoos reminders of a person you no longer are? If they’re tied to a "dark time" like Kat’s were, they might be draining your energy.
2. Laser vs. Blackout
Laser is effective but slow and incredibly painful. It can take years. Blackout is a stylistic choice. It’s bold. It’s "all-in." Kat chose blackout because she actually likes the aesthetic of solid black, but it's a permanent commitment that’s even harder to reverse than standard ink.
3. The Power of Makeup
Before doing anything permanent, try a high-coverage concealer or foundation. Spend a day "without" your tattoos. It can help you decide if you actually want them gone or if you're just bored with the specific art.
Kat Von D’s transformation reminds us that we aren't stuck with our past selves. Whether it’s moving states, changing faiths, or literally painting over your skin, you’ve got the right to start over. She’s proof that even the most "permanent" things can be changed if they no longer align with who you’re becoming.
To explore this further, look into the specific work of blackout artists like Hoode Philly if you're interested in the "clean slate" look, or consult with a dermatologist specializing in Picosecond lasers if you're leaning toward total removal.