Brighton is home to one of the biggest tattoo conventions in the country, and plenty of the people that live in the city are tattoo fanatics, so it should come as no surprise that there are lots of incredible places to get tattooed in Brighton. Here are some of the best places to get a tattoo in Brighton.

The list comes from the best Google Ratings, as well as the most Instagram followers and recommendations.

Gilded Cage Tattoo

Address: 106 St James’s St, Kemptown, Brighton BN2 1TP

Gilded Cage has now been open for 8 years and has a solid rating of 4.8 stars on Google. Their Instagram page has over 8 thousand followers. The tattoo shop has 3 artists at the moment, one of whom is an apprentice.

James’ profile largely consists of epic, incredibly beautiful, and detailed tattoo designs. They are incredibly colourful and many of them feature supernatural and mythological imagery.

Jay C’s designs focus on incredibly fine and detailed linework, bringing together really intricate and stunning black linework tattoos of all sorts, from moths and waves to animals and people.

Amy is an apprentice at Gilded Cage, and her designs focus on cottagecore and slightly feminine designs with a penchant for slight oddities.

To contact the studio about consultation and possible tattoos, you should email the tattoo shop gildedcagetattoostudio@gmail.com.

Black Sails Tattoo

Address: 94 North Rd, Brighton BN1 1YE

Black Sails started in 2010 and ever since has been receiving praise from all who get their tattoos done there. They have a high rating of 4.7 on Google and almost 10k followers on Instagram. They have six resident artists.

Lisa is the owner of Black Sails, and her designs are incredibly pretty. She focuses on blackwork and floral designs with animals and insects. The designs are very detailed and inexplicably gorgeous.

 

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The only word possible to describe Dan Grimm’s work is: impressive. The designs on Dan’s profile are large, beautifully curated Japanese traditional style pieces in full colour and in black and white.

Mike Maddox’s tattoos are dark, incredibly well-shaded, and detailed, and he has a large focus on lettering, faces, and animals. His designs are domineering and really well-shaped and planned, earning him a space on our list.

 

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Lauren is a junior artist at Black Sails, but her art speaks for itself. She has a very distinguishable style that pulls together floral motifs and cottagecore-esque focuses with expert precision and style!

Sarah has a taste for the colourful, with a lot of cartoon characters and well-beloved movie and film characters filling her portfolio. She’s got a brilliant hand and her tattoos look straight out of the film or TV show they came from! But she’s not a one-trick pony, there are plenty of florals and detailed designs on her page too.

Sam has a very distinguishable style that has roots in the traditional tattoo styles, but with a splash of his own personality. His designs are pretty, stylish, and incredibly cool.

Amy is the apprentice at Black Sails, and her gorgeous style largely consists of fine line tattoos (which are all the hype right now) with pretty florals, tarot cards, and even some puppies and kitties available for people to grab.

To contact Black Sails about a tattoo or to book a consultation you can check out each artist’s Instagram page, or you can email the studio at blacksailstattoo@hotmail.co.uk.

Blue Dragon

Address: 94 North Rd, Brighton BN1 1YE

One of Brighton’s oldest tattoo parlors, Blue Dragon was established in the city in 1989. There are currently four artists working there.

Will Taylor Barbour-Brown’s designs are very bold and bizarre with a tinge of tradition, and they go from the usual sparrows and flowers to skulls and designs from The Simpsons.

Paolo is a realism artist with a taste for faces and incredible shading. With beautiful architecture, faces, and a bit of mythology sprinkled in there.

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For appointments and inquiries, email the studio. They have two other artists available whose stuff is available to view on the website here.

Heartbreaker Tattoo 

Address: 87 Gloucester Rd, Brighton BN1 4AP

Heartbreaker is based in the North Laine, and it is a very popular tattoo parlour with 16.9k followers on Instagram. They have six artists at the moment.

Nikki uses fine lines and shading to create incredibly detailed designs. From flowers to animals, small and simple fine line designs, and lots more, her portfolio is large and intricate.

 

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Lara’s style is summed up simply: incredibly fine lines in gorgeous designs. There are lots of florals and shading, and they’re all expertly done.

Genie is very well known on Instagram for her incredibly thin lines, shading, and detail. She does everything from portraits, and animals, to cartoon characters and anything else you fancy.

Sophie does full colour animal designs that are incredibly cute and very bright. Her designs vary from sweet little designs to comedic animal designs.

Alba’s tattoos are unlike the other artists in Heartbreaker, with a focus on realism and dotwork. They’re incredibly pretty and detailed.

Do you love wiggly lines? Then you’ll love the wiggly style of Helena’s completely unique and gorgeous tattoo designs.

To contact the studio about tattoos or consultations, email the studio at heartbreakertattoobrighton@gmail.com or check out an artist’s Instagram!

Dead Slow

Dead Slow Co Tattoo was opened in November 2014 and has regular guest artists throughout the year, often international ones. They have 5 resident artists.

Jack Applegate is one of the owners of Dead Slow and has a large focus on blackwork and shading, but he also has a skill with colour and simple line work.

 

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Kirsty is the co-owner of Dead Slow Co, and her style is all about blocks of colour, floral designs and flowing lines. It’s completely her own and recognisable anywhere.

Do you like fun tattoo designs that don’t really mean anything? Or thick lines and sick cartoon drawings? Well, then you’ll love Mr Heggie. His designs are well-loved by locals, and he has a lot of return clientele.

Kotone has an incredibly dainty style that produces truly beautiful designs that are intricate and sweet. Largely in blackwork, her designs are very focused on nature.

 

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Vegan and eco-friendly tattooist Mark Ford is also based at Dead Slow, and has a very distinct spooky style with lots of sketched lines and pumpkins and bats.

To contact the studio about booking a tattoo or a consultation, email them at contact@deadslowco.com.

Gun and Pedal

Address: 21 Ditchling Rd, Brighton BN1 4SB

Gun and Pedal is based just opposite The Level, in the very centre of Brighton. They have 5 artists.

Long boy describes his own tattoo styles as trashy chunky blackwork, and it tends to consist of logos, cartoon characters or anime figures. It has deep black lines and perfect curves, making the tattoos look incredibly slick – even if they’re of Bart Simpson.

Blackwork and shading feature heavily in Kind Soul’s portfolio, with great floral designs, animals, and even some beautiful minimalist designs popping up on her page.

With a selected colour palette and trippy thick-lined designs, Josh has a very distinct style that is unlike any other artists around in the city.

Becci has a mix of styles including things like great cartoon designs, beautiful nature portraits with expert shading and bright vibrant colours.

An apprentice at Gun and Pedal, this artist describes his work as ‘vintage and gross’. It features lots of black work and fun black lines with bizarre and vintage designs.

To contact the studio about booking a tattoo or a consultation, email them at gunandpedalbrighton@hotmail.com.

The BlackHouse Club

BlackHouse is one of Brighton’s “famous” tattoo shops – it has 15.4k followers on Instagram, and they have 9 incredibly talented artists. One of which is Helena from Heartbreaker!

Roblake is a fan of slightly wacky and modern blackwork with a bit of a twist and a splash of traditional. He has a wide range of examples in his profile that demonstrate great skill.

Modern, yet seemingly timeless and ancient, Loverat’s designs use timeless techniques to make fresh and fun designs.

Fun cartoon designs with a quirky edge are definitely Andrea’s cup of tea. Think memes, but in tattoo form, and with a bit more class.

 

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Jordan also works in Woking, but when he’s about in Brighton he spends his time making beautiful fine line tattoos.

Traddy Issues is at BlackHouse on Mondays and Fridays, where he works his magic on thick line traditional tattoos that are absolutely timeless and original.

Luna describes their tattoos as “cute tats for cute peeps”, and many of her posts feature cartoon characters like Hello Kitty, Betty Boop, and other beloved Sanrio stars.

 

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Poppy’s style is cute, simple and cartoony. You can expect lots of smooth curves and smiley faces from her designs.

Mikala’s designs are sweet and mostly linework, and they are incredibly cartoony with the occasional smiley face and text thrown in.

To book a tattoo or a consultation, contact the artists directly and if this is your first tattoo, be sure to read our essential guide of things to know before getting your first tattoo.