Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders rookie Emily Awbrey must conceal her tattoos to follow the team’s strict style rules.
“If you didn’t already know, I have a hand tattoo,” Emily, 23, said in a recent Instagram video, revealing she had two pieces of ink on one hand. “I take this most disgusting, dusty, gross beauty blender that I only use for this, and I put DermaBlend leg and body makeup. I take that, and I’m gonna put it all over.”
Emily stressed that she doesn’t apply a “super heavy layer” of the DermaBlend foundation to her skin since she will “double layer it” anyway.
“I’m just tapping her in, and since mine is on my hand … it [can] kind of get a little messed up, but it’s still covered,” she acknowledged. “I try and do the whole hand, even though I don’t have a tattoo [on the entire surface], it just kind of blends better if you just do the whole thing.”
According to Emily, she also tries “to move [her] hand around” to help the makeup “get in the creases” for further coverage.
Next, Emily applies “just a bit” of DermaBlend’s loose setting powder as a barrier between the makeup layers before a second round of foundation.
“It’s not perfect, but I don’t think anyone knew I had a hand tattoo until the [Netflix] show came out,” she quipped. “Sometimes if you patch too hard, you pick up what you just laid down. So, you’ve got to be careful. On the second round, I go a little thicker or heavier with the foundation. I don’t fully blend it [and] let it sit on top.”
Emily will add another layer of powder before getting “the color match” from a different brand of foundation that better coordinates with her skin tone. The pro dancer, however, doesn’t always cover her inner finger tattoo of a ghost — and there’s a reason for that.
“When you’re holding the poms, you really can’t see it,” she admitted. “Sometimes I do a little bit, but it also [is] almost impossible ‘cause my hands are rubbing. When I put makeup there, it doesn’t stay.”
The DCCs famously have clear-cut guidelines about the dancers’ images, including how to wear their hair, makeup and whether tattoos are allowed to be visible on game days.
“Our policy is that even the smallest of tattoos may not be visible in the uniform or in rehearsal attire,” the DCC website explains. “For tattoo coverage, there are many effective products available at stores or online. Additionally, concealer, followed by setting powder, then bronzer to match color, can also be effective.”
For Emily, her journey to become a DCC began on America’s Sweetheart: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader season 3 when it aired on Netflix earlier this spring. The former cruise ship dancer, however, was cut at the end of training camp. Despite the setback, Emily returned for the 2026-2027 tryouts this summer and made the final roster.
“No words can describe this feeling. All I can think to say for now,” she wrote via Instagram on Thursday, July 16. “Thank you 💙. Man, I’m blessed.”
