Talk me into/out of getting a tattoo.

In My Humble Opinion
21

Hmm… a tatoo post! Now mind you, HillbillyQueen, following is only mho, but here goes:

I had considered a tatoo a few times over the years, but admittedly am quite squeamish about needles and have a very low pain threshold, so that’s probably what made the decision for me. However… I recently caught a Jerry Springer show where an older woman (she was over 60, imo) bared herself in nearly full body tatoo. My jaw dropped, OMG did it look -awful-!! I won’t even go into how folks (contestants? :)) on JS seem to have to get nearly naked (they almost always do!), but when this woman took off her top, her chest and both arms were highly tatooed. And it looked -terrible-!! (at least she had a bra and panties on… couldn’t see the “full” effect of the tatoos… ;))

I would say, though, that I know some folks who have tatts and there are some that look very nice (a friend at work has an intrictate woven flowers “bracelet” around one wrist). If you do decide to get one, I’d suggest keeping it smallish and in an unobtrusive (one not exposed to the public often :)) location. Oh yeah, the lady who has the “bracelet” tatt explained that it can be painful to get a tatt on a bone. LOL Guess it’s the thought of pain that really keeps me from serious consideration of tatoo.

JMHO and good luck with your decision, HQ. :slight_smile:

tarragon

22

Thanks everybody for your responses. I think I’m going to wait about getting one. :slight_smile:

23

That full-blown rose on your breast turns into a withered weed! :stuck_out_tongue:

That’s why tattoos on the breast, belly and other places prone to gravity are, IMO, best avoided. My tattoo is on my cheekbone; no matter what happens to my lower face, bones don’t sag. The worst that may happen is some light wrinkling, and neither side of my family are prone to much wrinkling. Provided you keep getting a bit of exercise, legs, arms and backs should be fine.

As for the faded, indistinct tattoos many older men have–the majority of those were gotten by servicemen during the wars. Aftercare was minimal then and the guy would usually be exposing his tattoo immediately to sunlight, which will prompt fading and blurring. Also, inks are better now.

24

Decide on a design beforehand. If you’re really pressed to think of something, go into parlors and ask to look at their book of pictures. See what appeals to you. Then make a copy of the design and keep it somewhere you’re gonna see it every day. Your fridge or something. If you’re not sick of looking at it every day for 6 months, go for it. Deciding where to put it on your body is equally important. You can put a dot with a perm marker where you think you’d like it, and see if that annoys you after a while.

It’s funny, I went swimming at this river the other day. It’s the type of place that only young people, who are into jumping off cliffs, go to. And because everyone was in bathing suits, I was able to observe that at least one third of the people there, mostly the men, had tats. I love mine, and am definately thinking about getting another one. However, I think I’ll wait for my dad to get used to the idea of my tongue ring before I spring another body mod on him.

25

I was going to link to an article I have on the higher rate of Hepatitia C among persons with tattoos, but decided to get the straight dope from the CDC They don’t support the theory, other than the potential for risk.

This is not a blanket approval of tattooing by the CDC, but it sure falls short of a warning of proven risk.

Tris

“Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” ~ Will Rogers ~

26

I want to get a giant tattoo of Groucho Marx across my entire ass, and about once or twice a day he would even have a cigar.

27

I have a question for tarragon918:

You said,

Uh…would this woman have honestly looked good if she had bared herself in this manner, and didn’t have any tattoos?

Whether you are in favor of tats or not, and even if you recognize that they are permanent, and nobody looks the same at 60 as they do at 25, and you acknowledge that a torso tattoo will quite possibly sag, it may not make much difference. People past a certain age are much less vain about their bodies than younger people are.

28

H Q

Thanks for not getting a tattoo… at least for now…

I try real hard to stay out of everybody’s business, but since you asked… and I have such strong feelings about this… and you were so unsure…all I can say is… I do know that somehow, someday, IF you get one… You will regret it…

“Please dont”…

Those are the the strongest words to come up with for a stranger, someone I dont know… and will never meet, but it’s the best I can do…

29

Sure, get a tattoo - a temporary, henna tattoo. Practise on yourself and you’ll get good at it, and you can change it every three weeks.

Getting a cool henna tatto is like getting a cool new piece of clothing. Getting a permanent tattoo is like having a piece of clothing surgically fastened to your body.

30

Considering what you wrote in the OP, I will have to agree that you have made the right decision, for now, to not get one. If you are in doubt, at all, don’t do it. About all I can say, and I’m sure that almost any other tattooed person can attest to, is, when the time is right, you’ll know it.

As for the design, of my four tattoos, my anklet is definitely my favorite. It started out, 11 years ago, as just a simple heart on the inside of my left ankle, and in December of '99 it finally turned into what I had envisioned for a couple of years prior, an anklet made out of my kids names. There’s the heart, then some whirly-gig thingies(not sure how to describe them), then my daughter’s name across the front, another whirly-gig, another heart, whirly-gig, my son’s name across the back, whirly-gig, then the first heart mentioned. It’s the only one of my tattoos that my ex-husband liked, although it’s definitely the most visible. There’s only one problem with it, and that is the fact that I now have three kids. I’ve done quite a bit of thinking, as far as what I am going to do to add my baby’s name, and the concensus seems almost unanamous, and that is to have his first and middle name(he goes by his middle name) tattooed down my foot, attached to the anklet, and then have a kind of “toe ring” thing attached to the end of that. I am 98% sure that that is exactly what I am going to do, but the time just isn’t right, yet, so I’m holding off.

There’s something that a lady in a tattoo shop(older, weathered, biker looking lady), 14 years ago, said, when I was getting my first tattoo that has stuck with me, ever since. She said, “Never get a man’s name tattooed on you. If you’re going to get a tattoo with a name, use your kids’ names, they’ll always be your kids”. She was there getting her 5th child’s name tattooed on her back.

~V

31

[Sue’s standard disclaimer]

If you do decide to do it at some point, be awfully sure of where you want it.

I have an anklet that I’m having removed (5 laser treatments and counting) because it’s just not practical or ideal to wear tights or pants to every business event I attend with my husband. He works in a conservative field and it’s just embarrassing.

That said, I love the one that I have on my lower back. I thought about getting something with my daughter’s name back there but my husband pointed out that Kiddo may not like having her name tattooed on my ass. I got a fleur-de-lis.

[/ssd]

32

I always found tattoos on women very distracting. (actually, don’t much care for them on men, either.) Especially at the pool - shining bodies in the sun, sexy swimwear and then there’s this THING sticking out like a blobby sore. It just somehow ruins the symmetry. But, that’s just my opinion. I’d vote no.

That being said, I really like the idea of a temporary tatoo for a bit of funky, non-permanent fun.

Good luck,
-pinky

33

I’ve always found tattoos on women very distracting. (actually, don’t much care for them on men, either.) Especially at the pool - shining bodies in the sun, sexy swimwear and then there’s this THING sticking out like a blobby sore. It just somehow ruins the symmetry. But, that’s just my opinion. I’d vote no.

That being said, I really like the idea of a temporary tatoo for a bit of funky, non-permanent fun.

Good luck,
-pinky

34

Funny coincidence, Dave and I got tattoos the same weekend. I’d been thinking about it for years and planning the design for weeks beforehand. What made me decide to do it was an inspiration on where it should go: my calf, since that’s an area not prone to sagging.

Pain? Yes. Regret? No. Impulse? Not on your life.

One interesting point: at least here in New York, it seems most tattoo artists are indeed artists, with considerable drawing and design talent. It’s become a desirable “day job” for a lot of artists: more relevant than waiting tables or word processing and more money than working in a gallery.

I got my tattoo with a friend; unlike me, she had only a concept in mind rather than a specific design. In about an hour, the artist rendered a gorgeous drawing that is now on the back of my friend’s left shoulder.

36

Sorry, but this is not true. If you think it is, please show a source.

37

i think they are tacky, and don’t like em, but i wouldn’t kick ya out of bed if you had one! :smiley:

Aw, who cares what I think, anyway?

38

Source.

To be fair, most sources say that there is no prohibition at all for Reform Jews. You would probably have a hard time finding an Orthodox rabbi to do the funeral though.

Haj

39

What, you mean, a skin cancer? :stuck_out_tongue:

40

Someone told me that once you get a tattoo, you can never give blood ever again, because your blood becomes unusable. So like if your son is dying, and needs your blood and no one else has the same blood, then he’s SOL because it can’t be used. Is that true? I dont know if I believe it.

41

What I would suggest is getting a henna one first. They look pretty real and wear off in about 2 weeks. That way, you can decide if you like it or not. If you do, then you can get a permanent one. If not, then after the few weeks, its gone forever. (Note: For those of you who dont know, henna is kinds like ink- it involves no needles, and no puncturing of the skin)