Tattage

[stgulik]

Showed my 14 year-old daughter this page of Harry Potter-themed tattoos. Now she wants one.



This is the one she liked best - at least, she liked the sentiment, if not the sheer acreage the girl in the picture devoted to it.

"It's too big," she said. "I might want to get a job some day."

"It's along her side," I countered, playing devil's advocate for some unknown reason. "What job would you take where a side tattoo would be a problem?"

"Stripper," she answered promptly. I walked right into that one.

Luckily there's that "not until you're a legal adult" rule. We made that rule years ago regarding tattoos, piercings, marriage and the military, and it has saved us many an argument. I have no doubt she'll get one someday, but I hope she chooses a more timeless piece of work than this.

Comments

[bonsaibetz.livejournal.com]

I followed the link. Some of those are awesome tattoos. But just remind your daughter of what tattoos look like on old sailers, after the color has faded, and the skin sags. And when the skin sags. And the health risk of getting a tattoo. Every time I donate blood, they ask if I've had a tattoo in the past 12 months as hepatitis and other diseases can be transmitted through needles unless the tattoo artist has been very diligent to keep it sanitary.

And then if she wants it removed, remind her how painful laser tattoo removal is as well.

[stgulik.livejournal.com]

When it came to the stomach tattoos, my kid said, "Sure it looks okay now, but wait 'til she gets pregnant!"

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

But just remind your daughter of what tattoos look like on old sailers, after the color has faded, and the skin sags.

I've had a tatto for 28 years. Yes, there's some fading, but modern dyes fade less than the old dyes. Also if the tattoo is done on a part of the body that isn't constantly exposed to the sun, fading is minimal.

My tattoo is on my upper arm, so it's only gotten exposed to the sun during the summer when I went sleeveless, the rest of the time it's been covered by even short sleeves.

When I first got the tattoo I was warned by those who either had tattoos of long standing, or those who knew people who had tattoos for a long time, that the red coloring would fade fast. But apparantly the dye formulation had recently been changed just before I got my tattoo, because 28 years later the red is still a strong, deep red with minimal fading. The most fading has been with the yellow, but it's still obviously yellow, just not as bright as when it was new.

Basically most of the colors are still strong, but what IS different is that the image isn't as "crisp" as when it was new...it sort of looks like something that was printed on an inkjet printer and then spritzed with water so that the edges bled a little.

And maybe it's my DNA, but my 58 y.o. upper arm is still smooth and firm!

hepatitis and other diseases can be transmitted through needles unless the tattoo artist has been very diligent to keep it sanitary.

Most legitimate parlors autoclave their equipment. Even back in 1983 they were doing this, plus used new needles for each customer (I watched as the tattoo artist broke the needles out of a sealed package)...but I made sure I went to a parlor that had been around a long time and had an excellent reputation.

And then if she wants it removed, remind her how painful laser tattoo removal is as well.

Which is why *I* say no one should get a tattoo before the age of 30! LOL

And under no circumstance have someone's name tattooed on your body! And choose a location like I did that you can hide under clothing so that you can still work at a bank or investment firm or lawyer's office! :-)

[bonsaibetz.livejournal.com]

All good an valid points, but called me old fashioned, I just don't think tattoos are something for most of the population. I find this tramp stamp fad and desire to get ink a fad on par with the multiple ear piecing fad of the 80's, when I would see girls with up to ten piecing on each ear. I got my ears pieced when I was 10 and it hurt like all bloody fuck. I had it done at a good earring place with one of those piecing guns and the pain was incredible. So much I almost didn't get my other ear pierced. My mother had to convince me that I'd look like a pirate if I didn't get the other one done to match since I already got the first one done. That was enough pain from self-mutilation for me for the rest of my life.

Getting waxed a few times was the end of the "pain for beauty" pursuit for me.