Tattoos

Sun Mar 11, 2007 9:59 pm

Okay well, my boyfriend got a tattoo the other day, and while he was getting it done I was flicking through the design books, and I saw an absolutely gorgeous design. I know I can afford it and I've asked my parents and they've told me that they dont care, its my body but I'm gonna have it for life and I'm going to end up regretting it. But I dont think I will. Its pretty small, and it would go on my lower back. Its a tribal tattoo, and its like a cross between a pegasus and a dragon (I thought it was a pegasus until I noticed the claws to tell the truth). I know it sounds awfully man-ish but it isnt. Its a girls design lol. Anyway the reason I'm posting is, does anyone has any experiences with permanent tattoo's? And advice? I'm 17 (right age and everything)

Sun Mar 11, 2007 10:37 pm

Personally, I wouldn't get anything put on my body that was picked out of a book or off the wall. Tattoos are something really personal to me, meant to tell a story, or remember something or someone that means a lot to you.

Sun Mar 11, 2007 10:49 pm

Yeah, I've had that said to me a few times by friends. It sorta means something to me though, because when i saw it, it sorta reminded me of being back in Ireland with all my horses, and my best friend who used to argue for hours with me about whether dragons existed or not. (They did, btw). I would do my own design...but I haven't got an artistic bone in my body =|

Sun Mar 11, 2007 11:20 pm

I've got 2 and both were custom made for me. I went to my tattoo artist with an idea and he drew it for me on the spot, if there was something I didn't like he changed it. Personally thats what I would do. They both mean something to me as well. I am thinking of getting another but am still trying to find an idea that fits.

Sun Mar 11, 2007 11:21 pm

You don't actually have to do your own. There are many tatoo parlors that specialize in custom tatoos. You can ask an artist to make you something to your specifications, and then come back, aprove it, and get it inked.

Sun Mar 11, 2007 11:37 pm

I wouldn't worry about getting sick of it, since you're getting it on your lower back. You can't see it all the time, so after you get used to it you'll forget about it more than anything. My tattoo is there, and I don't think I've looked at it in least a year.

Sun Mar 11, 2007 11:39 pm

If you're already worried about becoming disinterested in it i'd suggest waiting. Wait a month, if in a month you still want it, then do it. Search around for designs that appeal to you and/or find an artist who can design you a tattoo that you really love.

You're young. Give it time. I know people who wait years depending on what they want in a tattoo. It's not something you want to rush into considering you will have it for the rest of your life. And laser removal is very painful and it leaves a scar over the whole area of the tattoo.

Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:34 am

If you think you might regret it, then you shouldn't get it done. If there's something you really want to get a tattoo of, you could commission an artist or a tattoo artist to do it for you, and you'll probably like it better than flash art.

I'm getting a tattoo in April, and I've had the design picked out for about six months. If you can wait that long and you decide you still want the same thing, then I'd say that you're probably not going to regret it.

Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:37 am

No.

17 is too young, you Must consider the tattoo for years to be sure.
I mean honestly, I have considered a tattoo for years now (Left shoulder, of my personal mark if you care) and I'm still not 100% sure (Many people dislike my G-D complex, and as the tattoo is a literal announciation of that complex I see it causing problems).

If you get the tattoo you will come to regret it.

Mon Mar 12, 2007 1:18 am

I went to the tattoo parlor and asked for a battleship, right across the chest. The tattoo artist said the best he could do on my scrawny frame was a dinghy.

I am, therefore, unadorned.

Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:10 pm

Setekh wrote:No.

17 is too young, you Must consider the tattoo for years to be sure.
I mean honestly, I have considered a tattoo for years now (Left shoulder, of my personal mark if you care) and I'm still not 100% sure (Many people dislike my G-D complex, and as the tattoo is a literal announciation of that complex I see it causing problems).

If you get the tattoo you will come to regret it.

Who are you to tell someone that? I'm sorry but it's utter crap.

Look, I agree with inrun, wait a few months until you're 18 to see if you like the idea of getting the tattoo still. Personally, I would make sure it meant something to me because even if you don't like it in the future, it'll remind you of being young and your tastes and likes as a teenager. I'd also show the tattoo artist the design and get him to design you one in the same style but more personal and to your own tastes. That's what I did.

I was planning to get a tattoo from the age of 17, had it done just a few months after my 18th birthday. I am now coming 20 and I still love and adore it. It reminds me of one of the happiest times of my life. It's so beautiful and I love showing it off because my body feels more beautiful with it.

I would say, just make sure it means something to you.

Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:40 pm

I also agree with waiting a while, A tattoo is not an impulse buy. I live in a small place and had to wait a while to get a consult with my guy and then another while to get it done. Gives you alot of time to think about it.

Mon Mar 12, 2007 1:10 pm

shapu wrote:I went to the tattoo parlor and asked for a battleship, right across the chest. The tattoo artist said the best he could do on my scrawny frame was a dinghy.

I am, therefore, unadorned.

Hmm. This does not bode well for me, I was thinking of something similiar, you see, and you say only a dinghy? Hmm. I can imagine the artist only managing to fit a small life-raft of some sort..

Mon Mar 12, 2007 7:12 pm

Twinkle wrote:
Setekh wrote:No.

17 is too young, you Must consider the tattoo for years to be sure.
I mean honestly, I have considered a tattoo for years now (Left shoulder, of my personal mark if you care) and I'm still not 100% sure (Many people dislike my G-D complex, and as the tattoo is a literal announciation of that complex I see it causing problems).

If you get the tattoo you will come to regret it.

Who are you to tell someone that? I'm sorry but it's utter crap.

Actually, I can see his point. Tattoos are a permanent thing, and at 17 a lot of people can't think of the future the way they will just a few years later. I'm not saying anyone who gets a tattoo at 17 is going to regret it at 20, but I looked at my friends' tattoos and thought, "Man, you are SO going to regret that later." Tattoos are one of those things you have to think about for awhile before you get them, and you have to think about it in terms of the rest of your life--and that's not the easiest thing to do at 17. Some people can do it, but far more can't.

Mon Mar 12, 2007 8:09 pm

Moongewl wrote:
Twinkle wrote:
Setekh wrote:No.

17 is too young, you Must consider the tattoo for years to be sure.
I mean honestly, I have considered a tattoo for years now (Left shoulder, of my personal mark if you care) and I'm still not 100% sure (Many people dislike my G-D complex, and as the tattoo is a literal announciation of that complex I see it causing problems).

If you get the tattoo you will come to regret it.

Who are you to tell someone that? I'm sorry but it's utter crap.

Actually, I can see his point. Tattoos are a permanent thing, and at 17 a lot of people can't think of the future the way they will just a few years later. I'm not saying anyone who gets a tattoo at 17 is going to regret it at 20, but I looked at my friends' tattoos and thought, "Man, you are SO going to regret that later." Tattoos are one of those things you have to think about for awhile before you get them, and you have to think about it in terms of the rest of your life--and that's not the easiest thing to do at 17. Some people can do it, but far more can't.

I see his point too, but there are more tactful ways of saying it then saying "no". Waiting is a good idea but saying "no" simply implies that it's never to be done.