Tattoos...

[Peter J Poole]

So, the fruit of my loins has decided - after a fair bit of discussion and deliberation - that she's getting a tattoo next week.

She's 18, been talking about it for a while, she's going to a reputable studio, getting a reasonably discreet swallow inked just below her left front collarbone.

Mrs P and I are (reasonably?) OK with it all, though on some levels the appeal eludes me.

So, tattoos...

Anecdotes, recommendations, horror stories, what is the appeal...?

Enlighten me, mes amis, enlighten me!

Cheers

[gaetanomontera]

I got a wolf on my hip when I was 14 and a cross on my chest when I was 17 and I regret them both immensly! People really shouldn't get tattoos before 18. Even then you can get some really dumb ones. The only one I like I got when I was 27. One piece of advise I always give friends is to think not just of the tattoo itself, but think of your body as a pallete you have to really think about placement and negative space too. And of course how it looks in combination with any existing or future tattoos. Nothing looks worse than an arm full of little unconnected tatoos.

[Nicholas Smith]

Tattoos are cool. I've been getting tattooed for a few years now, everything from winged sugar skulls, to dragons to my most recent of a robot destroying a city. In a sort of abstract, childlike way.

The only recommendation is to research the artists, don't settle for second best as it's the one round the corner who's cheap. Pay the money, enjoy the art.

[iclimb1998]

She will either be happy or disappointed with her choice of tattoos in twenty years.
But your support of her as an adult capable of making her own decisions will be a gift for the rest of her life.
I wouldn't get one though!
___________________
star wars

[Peter J Poole]

Mrs P just got an ankle chain tattoo for her nnth birthday. Now Loinfruit wants another.

I'd say it was like watching gangrene spread, but that's probably not a meme I want to go for...

Cheers

[Kinnon]

For anyone getting their first tattoo, the thing I'd recommend would be to talk to the parlor about the ink they use, and consider that there's always a chance you could suffer an allergic reaction to the metals in the ink.

It's worth considering getting an allergy test, like a dot of black ink somewhere on the body about a month beforehand, so you can carefully monitor your bodies response to it. I've only seen 2 instances of bad allergic reaction over the years, but they were truly horrible. Traditionally black ink causes the very least problems, but if the design incorporated any red, then I would err on the side of caution first time out, and get the dot.

[devilinanewdress]

I feel like tattoos can either be super cool, or very tacky. I've been dying to get a tattoo forever, but can't seem to find an image/symbol/saying that I feel like has such a deep impact on my life to last forever. Currently though, I'm really loving tattoos that are on the foot or ankle.

[getoffthecouch]

people evolve into different people over the years - even at 24 i feel too young to "define" something about myself. tattoos mean different things to different people though. some are memorials to lost ones, and some are just reminders or symbols of experiences they want to remember or show off. i personally dont know what id tattoo on myself - i want to, but i dont have anything that means much to me other than art, and i want to design it myself. im a growing artist though, and nothing i create now will be as good as when im a more developed artist in several years

[kaiho]

i got one done 10 years ago and i feel now is the time (my budget says the same) to get a new one (possibly a sleeve of various personal and artistic tidbits that i will try to connect in some way).

Tattoos are kind of an addiction. If you get past the fear of doing one then there is possibly no end to it.

i wish i lived in Ukraine though ... this guy is an unbelievable artist.