# Q for people with tattoos: Would you have any interest in having your tattooed skin preserved? Displayed? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 12, 2026, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-people-with-tattoos-would-you-have-any-interest-in-having-your-tattooed-skin-preserved-displayed/1026598 "2026-01-12T16:30:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-people-with-tattoos-would-you-have-any-interest-in-having-your-tattooed-skin-preserved-displayed/1026598/1 "2026-01-12T16:30:58Z")
Maybe sixty decades ago I saw a “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not” item about some massively tattoo-ed guy whose skin was removed, preserved somehow, and displayed in a ‘travelling museum” (aka circus side show?) for spectators to view. I don’t think it gave any real details but if so, I don’t remember them. It made me wonder, though, given the present day popularity of tattooing. Would any of you want to preserve your tattoos? As in, not just a photo of you in life with the tattoo showing, but the actual skin of your body, some section featuring a particular image you’re proud of or even the entire body suit if you’ve gone way past the sleeve stage? Does the idea of some future people gawking at your fabulous back dragon please or amuse you? What if it was a private family thing? Is the idea of your greatX3Grandchild looking at the wall plaque and saying, yep, that’s a piece from great-great-grandpappy’s bicep. He got that to comemorate winning the 1987 World PacMan Tournamen” please you? Would it make you feel like your memory is being honored in some way? Sort of related: After my father died, one of my mother’s friends who was into that sort of thing collected the family’s floral display from his coffin, and dried some of the flowers/leaves, and make an “artistic” display of them in a sealed glass frame and gave it to my mother as a ‘memento.’ My mother’s reaction was … mixed. She never hung it up, but she kept it sitting in a closet. I always though it was just flat out strange, and gave the emptied out frame to Morgan Memorial when I was clearing her possessions. (The crumbling bits of leaves and such just went into the trash.) ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-people-with-tattoos-would-you-have-any-interest-in-having-your-tattooed-skin-preserved-displayed/1026598/2 "2026-01-12T16:59:48Z")
No interest whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-people-with-tattoos-would-you-have-any-interest-in-having-your-tattooed-skin-preserved-displayed/1026598/3 "2026-01-12T19:28:36Z")
Not in the least. I have one tattoo and it has a lot of personal significance. That significance will die with me. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-people-with-tattoos-would-you-have-any-interest-in-having-your-tattooed-skin-preserved-displayed/1026598/4 "2026-01-12T19:33:46Z")
Ugh. I have a tattoo on each upper arm. And they are personal, and usually hidden by short sleeve shirts anyway. They aren’t special enough to be preserved and I doubt anyone would care. Absolutely zero interest or need to preserve them. They’re tattoos, not some priceless work of art. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-people-with-tattoos-would-you-have-any-interest-in-having-your-tattooed-skin-preserved-displayed/1026598/5 "2026-01-12T19:38:00Z")
Photo or painting-Yes. Skin preservation and display-absolutely not. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-people-with-tattoos-would-you-have-any-interest-in-having-your-tattooed-skin-preserved-displayed/1026598/6 "2026-01-12T20:31:10Z")
Just make sure it doesn’t get, ahem, preserved before you’re quite ready for that. > **[Skin (short story)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_(short_story))** > > "Skin" is a macabre short story written by Roald Dahl. It was first published in the 17 May 1952 issue of The New Yorker, and was later featured in the collections Someone Like You, published in 1953, and Skin and Other Stories, published in 2000. It was adapted for television as part of Anglia Television's Tales of the Unexpected, and broadcast on 8 March 1980. > A destitute old man named Drioli walks through the streets of Paris. When he passes by an art gallery and sees a painting by Chaïm So... ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-people-with-tattoos-would-you-have-any-interest-in-having-your-tattooed-skin-preserved-displayed/1026598/7 "2026-01-12T20:47:16Z")
If your answer is “yes”, I have good news for you: you can! > **[Save Your Ink Forever](https://www.savemyink.tattoo/)** > > ​​​​Welcome  to Save My Ink Forever where we have developed a unique proprietary  process for PRESERVING TATTOOS.  Our mission is to help carry on a loved  one's story.  At Save My Ink Forever we create more than just a... ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-people-with-tattoos-would-you-have-any-interest-in-having-your-tattooed-skin-preserved-displayed/1026598/8 "2026-01-12T23:33:54Z")
I don’t give a rat’s about whatever anybody chooses to do with my cadaver or any part thereof once I die, as long as it’s environmentally sustainable and not done with intent to offend anyone. I will not take any measures to have my tattoo documented or otherwise preserved, but if anybody wants it when I’m done with it they can have it. ---
**Author:** ![Meatwater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meatwater/32/20074_2.png) [@Meatwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatwater)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-people-with-tattoos-would-you-have-any-interest-in-having-your-tattooed-skin-preserved-displayed/1026598/9 "2026-01-13T00:04:09Z")
Personally my tattoos aren’t that interesting so not really. This guy preserved Yakuza tattoos. Even helped people finically to finish their full body tattoos as long as they donated it to his museum. > **[The Bodysuit Collector: Doctor Fukushi Masaichi And The Art Of Preserving...](https://yamatomagazine.home.blog/2020/09/14/the-bodysuit-collector-doctor-fukushi-masaichi/)** > > Tattoos have different meanings across different cultures, running the gamut from sacred art to the mark of criminals. In Japan, tattoos are part of a wider subculture called irezumi, a style of ic… ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-people-with-tattoos-would-you-have-any-interest-in-having-your-tattooed-skin-preserved-displayed/1026598/10 "2026-01-13T13:18:02Z")
One of mine was originally artwork by my son so it’s already on paper. I don’t see why anyone would want a skin version of it. The other is a mix of elementsamd the tattoo artist gave me his digital sketch and I had it printed out on a small canvas for my mother, since she loved it. Also can’t imagine anyone wanting the skin version. Though I’m also if the opinion that I’m indifferent to whatever happens to this body once I die. I won’t be using it. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-people-with-tattoos-would-you-have-any-interest-in-having-your-tattooed-skin-preserved-displayed/1026598/11 "2026-01-13T19:50:39Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > but if anybody wants it when I’m done with it they can have it. My angle is a little different. I expressly do not want anyone to have it even if they want it badly. Personally, it’s a little on the macabre side of things. But that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-people-with-tattoos-would-you-have-any-interest-in-having-your-tattooed-skin-preserved-displayed/1026598/12 "2026-01-14T22:52:32Z")
I’m taking mine with me, cremated and spread amongst the wildflowers in California. I agree it’s a bit macabre. And at my age, things are getting a bit wrinkly too. But I will share them with you: > **[tat1 hosted at ImgBB](https://ibb.co/FLQLN9DB)** > > Image tat1 hosted on ImgBB > **[tat2 hosted at ImgBB](https://ibb.co/rKhQ0LRV)** > > Image tat2 hosted on ImgBB > **[tat3 hosted at ImgBB](https://ibb.co/zVRfhXLm)** > > Image tat3 hosted on ImgBB ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2026, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-people-with-tattoos-would-you-have-any-interest-in-having-your-tattooed-skin-preserved-displayed/1026598/13 "2026-01-15T11:47:52Z")
I have two, both on my forearms (left & right). They are quite personal to me, but I doubt have much value to anyone else. I am an organ donor, though, so maybe someone is going to wake up out of their coma with a big surprise in their skin graft… ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2026, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-people-with-tattoos-would-you-have-any-interest-in-having-your-tattooed-skin-preserved-displayed/1026598/14 "2026-01-15T14:49:45Z")
We joked about keeping the pelt of a favorite cat after she died, but when she actually died, we buried her, pelt and all.