25 Responses to “Bad Tattoos – Tattoo Mistakes”

1. Richard Neva on February 14th, 2009 8:42 am

   Tattoos age faster than the tattooed. They were gauche when i was growing up and they look like hell today on anybody. Been in prison lately? Who knows what they all mean? I could care less, they look like shit, they discolor over time and even the wearer does not remember what it is supposed to be. My advice, don’t get one unless you are planning on staying young forever. Old people with tattoos look demented.

2. Anonymous on August 3rd, 2009 6:39 am

   firstly black and white tattoo’s dont discolour, they fade. who the F*ck is Richard Neva tp say dont get a tattoo, if you want one then get one, it will stay with you forever, it can be something of a memory from a better time, the name of a loved one a memory you want to keep with you forever, tottoo’s are art and as such a part of human culture, keep the spirit alive and fuck off Richard

3. precious palm on September 28th, 2009 6:43 pm

   that is the supidiest tatoo i have ever seen

4. precious palm on September 28th, 2009 6:43 pm

   u suck

5. 2tzuNaRU on October 13th, 2009 4:43 am

   this dude had to be wickedly drunk when he got this tat, and the artist must have been smoking crack.

6. Holly Rose on November 3rd, 2009 2:42 pm

   I hate people who say don’t get tattoos. The sheer ignorance of that single statement speaks volumes. We have our first baby due next May, and we will both be getting a tattoo of our baby’s name, date of birth and weight. Things like that are special occasions, and should be commemorated. Idiots like Richard are narrow-minded bigots without social lives. Welcome to the 21st century dude.

7. nomatter on December 18th, 2009 3:25 pm

   After reading this I once again realized that ignorance is still ramped among us.
   The Tattoo above is stupid in my opinion, but if we were all the same, we’d all be driving Volkswagons. The statement of this “Richard” character is even worse than the tattoo.

   I am an apprentice tattoo artist who is a former professional business owner and a college graduate who majored in anthropology. I also happen to be a fine artist.

   Tattoos have been a right of passage, tribal identification, family tradition, and ritualistic symbolism for more years that our society could fathom. They have been a part of our ancestor’s culture and our own since recorded history and before. This art form in some cultures defines who the person wearing it is among the living world and the spiritual world.

   Who are we to judge those who are tattood? Do you (Richard) think that Newton,Edison, or Ted and Theodore Roosevelt were idiots? They were tattood. As well as many of our most influential world leaders and figures.

   Our society which has no real culture has demonized tattoos, ironically we have no rights of passage or nothing significant to offer in their place.

8. OhsayOne on January 2nd, 2010 9:59 pm

   My tatoo reads “You Are Soul”

9. Carly on February 9th, 2010 8:54 pm

   People always say not to get a tattoo because you’ll have it forever and it will look ugly when it gets old.

   When I get married, I will have him forever, and he will look ugly when he gets old, and it won’t matter. Those of us who get tattoos not purely for aesthetic reasons but because of memories, our convictions, our loves, our hopes, and deeper reasons than just ‘tribal armbands look cool’, the thought of growing old with a tattoo is less scary than it is exciting.

10. Joe on March 26th, 2010 7:57 pm

    First, I would like to say I really don’t give a damn what you people put on your bodies or don’t put on them. Everything “Richard” wrote is pretty much true. If you don’t think so your dumb. To call someone ignorant for expressing their opinion on a subject after they present actual facts on why they have distaste for them is dumb. Most of said “art”, looks like shit. But whoever wrote about putting their babies names on their body, that is the most redneck scumbag thing I have ever read. Tat it up or not, it’s your skin and your body.

11. tom on April 10th, 2010 3:34 pm

    first of all, joe, you ignorant asshole…alot of people get their kids names tattooed on them or even their picture or first foot or hand print. what do you have to say about military tattoos, joe or richard. is getting a fallen comrades name tattooed on your body horrible as well? it’s called freedom of expression. get your heads out of your asses and appreciate the little things instead of bitching all the time. granted some tattoos are out there but that is the wearer’s choice or burden to wear them, who are you to judge?

12. Josh on April 24th, 2010 8:01 am

    I’d love a tattoo, unfortunatly breaking into the acting industry and as such getting one is a big taboo when your starting out. Regeardless, opinions are opinions and people either side will say the other is ignorant, such is the way of the world. Otherwise as, said earlier, it would be a bloody boring place to e in

    And, I don’t care what anyone says, that is a fuck-awful tattoo!

13. JJW on May 14th, 2010 6:10 pm

    Okay, here’s my tattoo rant;

    I do believe people should have the freedom to do what they please with their body. Personally, tattoos aren’t for me but I don’t have anything against people who have them and I wouldn’t call them stupid for it.

    I’m sorry but I do see a lot of hypocrisy in the pro-tattoo argument. Tattoos are a brand or label that stays on your body forever. To me, that would be like deciding on a shirt or pair of pants that I had to wear everyday for the rest of my life. I like expressing myself & my individuality. Over time I have reinvented myself, my style and my likes & dislikes 100 times over. I don’t wear the same clothes & same hairstyle I wore back in the 80’s and I’d feel silly if I did. However, if I got a tattoo back in the 80’s, I’d still be stuck with it today. I like to think I constantly evolve and improve myself in a process that will continue until I die. I think of tattoos as holding me back from that because they are permanent. The things I’m into today won’t be the things I’m into 10 years from now. Why would I want to mark them on my body permanently?

    The people who are into tattoos talk a lot about art, freedom of expression, displaying their individuality, etc. But, in reality they are limiting themselves in all of those aspects because their tattoo keeps them permanently stuck in the timeframe and mindset they were in the day they got it. When I think back to the things I was into as a teenager and compare them to who I am today, they are miles apart and I’m glad of that. I’ve grown, progressed and moved on which I think are good things. I can’t imagine my likes, dislikes, tastes and outlook on things being stagnant and unchanged in all that time. I am 100% certain that any tattoo I would have gotten back then would be something I wouldn’t want anywhere on my body today. As an 18 year old, I might have gotten a Coors Lite Silver Bullet tattooed on my arm but today I’d consider amputating that arm if it was still there. I guess I’d be afraid any tattoo (no matter how cool I thought it was at the time) would end up being like a mullet hair cut I could never get rid of. Everything eventually goes out of style, even tattoos.

    There is a certain negative social stigma associated with tattoos which, let’s face it, will never go away. To me there are some slightly primitive and fascist aspects to tattoos. Primitive natives used to worship bundles of sticks and rocks because they didn’t know better. They did things like cut their lips open and inserted giant plates that made their mouth look like a duck’s bill, or stretch-out their ear lobes until they hung down to their shoulders. In Burma they put brass rings around your girl’s necks to stretch the neck longer. In Japan they used to bind girl’s feet to make the feet very small. They did dumb things like that because they didn’t know better. I see tattoos as kind of a mild form of self mutilation like that. Something like a caveman dragging a woman by the hair to his cave, type of behavior. Also, during the holocaust the Nazis tattooed identification numbers inside the forearms of the concentration camp victims. They also labeled them by making them wear the Star of David on their clothes. That stuff is very un-cool. Tattoos are a form of labeling people whether they do it willingly or are forced to do it against their will. I just don’t think permanently marked skin labels of any kind are a good thing, simply because they can so easily be used against the people who have them. I wouldn’t like being marked or easily identified & singled out like that.

    Yes, tattoos have been around for thousands of years and they will always be around. However, their current popularity is nothing but a fad. When I was a kid, the only people who had tattoos were motorcycle gangs and ex-military. Today there are people getting tattoos who would never have even considered getting one 10 years ago. They are the ones who are doing it just because it is suddenly fashionable. Since when is it cool to jump on a bandwagon just because everyone else is doing it? How is it expressing your uniqueness and individuality when you’re just doing something because everyone else is doing it? It seems to me the cool, rebellious, unique and individual thing to do is to NOT do what everyone else is doing. Also, most tattoos I’ve seen mean nothing. They are just a design the person liked. I’ve asked a lot of people about their tattoos and 99% of them say the same thing “I just liked it”. In other words, they wanted a tattoo, any tattoo, just to say they had one. It didn’t matter what it was, any cool little picture of anything would do. Really? Is that a good reason to put a mark on your body for life? Also, the bandwagon is already coming to a halt. So many people have tattoos now and there are so many more bad ones compared to good and so many un-cool, geeky people getting them they are already falling out of vogue. Again, I think in the future tattoos will be laughed at and mocked like a person with a mullet hair cut is today. I’m sure the tattooed people will have to hear things like, “OMG, I can’t believe you fell for that whole tattoo craze back then.” That would suck.

    I also don’t get the whole tattoo pride thing. If a person has a tattoo that is so deeply meaningful and personal, why do so many of them pull their pants down or take their shirt off to show to everyone all the time? I’m sorry, but any drunk person with $100 in their pocket can get a tattoo. It’s not really anything to be proud of. There is also the unbalanced coolness factor; no matter how cool you think your tattoo is, no one (and I mean no one) thinks it is as cool and you think it is. The only exception is if you are a super celebrity with thousands or millions of adoring fans. For the rest of us, only you think your tattoo is the coolest thing ever. Everyone else either doesn’t care or thinks it’s lame.

    I can only speak for myself but I like me and I like my body the way it is. I have to think people who get tattoos don’t like their body and want to change it in some way to make themselves feel better about themselves or like themselves more. Maybe they get them because they think other people will like them more. Either way I think maybe they need a little more self esteem and confidence in themselves, not a tattoo. Isn’t that why some people who are desperately unhappy cut themselves? Doesn’t the pain and marks on their body help them forget the pain they feel inside? Are tattoos a variation of the same thing? I dunno.

    Okay, so some people get tattoos to commemorate a special person, place or event. Aren’t scrap books and photo albums for that? Photos in an album won’t fade, stretch and turn into a green blob in the future like a tattoo will. I have a lot of special people and memories in my life. I have keepsakes, souvenirs and photos that have enormous sentimental value to me. Somehow, a tattoo on my back, chest or arm couldn’t come close to replacing those things.

    When people say, “don’t get a tattoo”, I don’t think that’s just a blind narrow-minded or bigoted opinion. I see it as the same as “don’t do drugs” or “don’t start smoking cigarettes”. It’s not like saying “don’t buy a red car” which is purely a matter of taste. I think people advise against tattoos because of all the reasons stated above. They are permanent and there is a high likelihood you will end up regretting it someday. Also, a lot of tattoos are just plain tacky or tasteless. Does it look good when a 300 pound man wears a speedo or a thong at the beach? No, it really doesn’t look good, that’s not just a matter of opinion either. A lot of tattoos are like that, the visual equivalent a 300 pound man in a speedo and no one likes to see that.

14. Kerri Anderson on May 17th, 2010 1:14 pm

    Speaking purely from a medical and psychological standpoint, there are only 2 reasons people get tattoos. 1.) Peer pressure and 2.) Self esteem issues. Unfortunately, these are human behavior facts which aren’t disputed in the medical field. Interestingly, the reasons people get tattoos are the same reasons people get elective plastic surgery.

    Peer pressure is the most uncommon reason people get tattoos. This happens when someone feels they need to get tattooed because everyone in their core group is getting one. This is particularly common in street gangs and the military. Tattoos are commonly part of an initiation or acceptance phase. The fear is they will not belong or will be rejected by the other people in their core group if they do not get a tattoo.

    Low self esteem and lack of self confidence are common issues with millions of people today. These feelings have nothing whatsoever to do with race, intelligence, education or financial status. Many people from all backgrounds feel they don’t measure up or they are inadequate in some way either physically or socially. They often feel as if they aren’t pretty or handsome enough or they have nothing interesting to say in a conversation. They see tattoos as a solution to their problems. A tattoo will make up for their perceived plain looks or it will suddenly make them more interesting to others. This is also true even if the tattoo is unseen or hidden. Like breast implants, the tattoo wearer is mentally boosted with elevated self confidence because they know it is there. It makes them feel better about themselves regardless if anyone sees it or not. The problem is, tattoos are not a cure or solution for self esteem or low confidence issues. These people need to address their problems directly, not cover them up with tattoos.

    The number or extent of tattoos is in proportion to the degree of the person’s depressed self esteem issues. In other words, a person with one small hidden tattoo is not usually suffering from a deeply depressed sense of self esteem. However, those who have large areas of their body covered with tattoos have very low self esteem and often have histories of abuse, drug use, lack of self respect, depression and very low confidence. Tattoos are a manifestation of these people’s efforts to erase these unpleasant feelings within themselves. In effect, they are so unhappy and dissatisfied with themselves they try to give themselves an entirely new body. People who suffer from Bulimia see themselves as grossly overweight, no matter how thin they render themselves. People who have extensive elective plastic surgery see themselves as ugly no matter how much surgery they have. Likewise, people with extensive tattoos suffer from the same disorders. They use tattoos to radically change, camouflage or hide their body which in turn makes them feel better (they believe) and elevates their confidence.

    Whether it is conscious or subconscious, the motivation for tattoos (other than peer pressure) stems from a lack of self esteem and/or dissatisfaction with one’s appearance. A person who is generally happy, well adjusted and satisfied with their looks and appearance who also possesses a healthy sense of self confidence would not get a tattoo. Similarly, the same person would not have elective plastic surgery either. They do not suffer from low self esteem issues, therefore they have no reason or motivation to change themselves. Because of this, people who are tattooed have permanently advertised their innermost personality issues and disorders which may prove unfortunate or embarrassing for them in the future.

    Dr. K.S. Anderson

15. Whocares on May 20th, 2010 1:18 pm

    1. Some people have way to much time on their hands
    2. None of you are right
    3. Everyones speaking in generalisations and stereotypes
    4. If you can cover it up, work and live a happy life, what does it matter?
    5. You should all be wasting your time and and energy talking about something important
    6. @JJW – No-ones unique there’s no point trying
    7. The End

16. Johnny McNugget on May 26th, 2010 8:15 am

    Hey JJW, Japan didn’t bind woman’s feet, that was China…. Got it? Now lets do this!

17. Kerri Anderson on May 26th, 2010 10:16 am

    The binding of women’s feet was practiced by both the Chinese and Japanese. The Japanese outlawed it in 1915. Here’s the link;

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_binding

18. tia. on May 28th, 2010 12:53 am

    “Everyone else either doesn’t care or thinks it’s lame.”

    That is not true at all, some people have really beautiful tattoos which many people admire.

19. Mel on May 31st, 2010 3:55 pm

    Some people like tattoos and some don’t. And I don’t see anything wrong with that. Why can’t we leave the argument there?

    JJW, to you people who get tattoos aren’t really expressing individuality, they’re limiting themselves, right? Then I agree, you shouldn’t get a tattoo. But not everyone sees tattoos that way. I think tattoos are more evidently permanent because they’re out there on our skin, but really they’re no different than any other choice we’ll make during our lives–we can’t take any of them back and they’ll shape who we are . I don’t think tattoos limit our individuality unless we let them. They’re just a different choice.

    And Kerri, I don’t know if you’re right about tattoos being a sign of insecurity, but I don’t really care. When I look at a person with a tattoo, I don’t assume they’re struggling with self-esteem issues any more than anyone else. We’re only human, and if that doesn’t manifest itself in a tattoo, it will in some other way.

    If you put a lot of thought into a tattoo and decide you really want it, I don’t think you’re making a wise decision or a stupid decision. These things aren’t life-ending.

20. Nisha on June 24th, 2010 2:16 am

    Haha, Kerri, did you actually read the Wikipedia article? Probably not. It said Japan outlawed foot binding in TAIWAN. It says nothing about foot binding being practiced in Japan.

21. Mike on June 25th, 2010 9:28 pm

    Know why I got a tattoo? Because I wanted one. I’m not insecure, nor was I a victim of peer pressure. I love and appreciate what my tattoo represents, and no matter my age, I’ll always be able to look back and reflect. I wholeheartedly agree with expressing yourself through whatever means you see fit. And if that means having a word or a picture inked onto your skin, then so be it.

    And besides, at the rate we’re going, we’ll be able to re-grow missing limbs with stem cells in 20 years, I’m fairly confident that future science will be able to figure out how to take some ink out of skin. Shit, maybe I’ll just hack my arm off and have them fix me a new one. Would that be alright with you guys? Or am I going to have to listen to you shoot off reasons as to why it’s medically and psychologically wrong?

    Live and let live.

22. Hannah on June 28th, 2010 7:07 pm

    @Kerri Anderson,

    I’m a psychology student, and can’t help but disagree with some of your arguments. There may be some truth to the low self-esteem theory for certain individuals but I would argue against relying too strongly on stereotypes such as this.

    The main flaw that I see in your argument is that a desire to improve your self-concept or esteem does not necessarily imply that your self-esteem was “low” to begin with. Secondly, why is a desire to improve your self-esteem a bad thing? I would be interested to know what research you have drawn on here. Is it personal experience? Are you a medical doctor? I wonder if the people that you meet with tattoos are a particular subgroup of people with tattoos? (e.g. people that want them removed?)

    I also wonder if you are confusing bulimia with anorexia or body dysmorphic disorder? Many individuals with bulimia do not lose weight, see e.g. http://www.b-eat.co.uk/YoungPeople/WhatisanEatingDisorder/TypesofEatingDisorders/BulimiaNervosa

    PS I am not a disinterested observer – I consider myself to be relatively happy and well-adjusted but I have been interested in tattoos for a long time, and plan to get my first soon. I suspect the reasons that people get tattoos are complex and individual, and any links between tattoos and mental wellbeing are likely to be mediated by a number of other factors.

23. jwlliams on June 30th, 2010 10:47 am

    Well, let’s admit it, obviously from this website we can see that all tattoos are not the best idea. That would be one probable cause as to why my own mother doesn’t want me to get one at all. However, I personally know several of my own family members who have BEAUTIFUL tattoos, but still wish to have them removed. Therefore, even having the option of removing a tattoo through less then painful means (with pain, I’m talking about a rubber band being slapped against the skin) is a miracle. Fortunately in this day and age, science and technology has come far enough to provide an easy and practical solution, rather than just completely burning off the patch of skin where the tattoo resides. As I have learned from reading news articles and watching television specials, the laser technology used in laser tattoo removal uses various wavelengths to penetrate and break apart the ink pigments embedded in the skin. Now of course, such a procedure may leave a scar, but many produce minimal to no scaring at all. Laser tattoo removal can be quite expensive and does require time and patience; however it is well worth it in the end.

24. Jaelyn on July 21st, 2010 4:59 pm

    umm I hope there is a good explanation for this… like being incredibly intoxicated. This is horrible!
    http://showusyourskin.com

25. Anonymous on July 28th, 2010 5:31 am

    In my “town” some people jsut getting t tattoes cause its an easy way to fight their self-hating on their bodies, cause its the easiest way to get a better look.(which isnt really an improvement of the look). Due to me some of them should try sports or do other stuff to become comfotably with their bodies and not branding theirselves as being stupid for the rest of their lives

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