Okay, so your teenage son decides he is going to remake himself for this coming new school year. Maybe he is changing schools…starting high school… turning 16 soon…or some other event that is monumental in his mind. And he decides that in order to mark this change or commemorate the moment, he’s gonna get a tattoo.
You only know about this because your sister, his aunt, happened to notice a Facebook Status from him stating his plan. Unbeknowst to you, he’s been planning this tattoo for a while. He gets the tattoo, perhaps with a fake I.D. or perhaps he goes (Heaven forbid) to a place that doesn’t require parental consent. He has now joined the other estimated 45 million Americans who have at least one tattoo (The U.S. Food And Drug Administration, April 2006)
Now he has a tattoo of an iron butterfly on the side of his neck. Butterfly– because his current girlfriend’s last name is Monarch and butterflies are her calling card…And iron– because he, in his words, “is a man and regular butterflies are not manly.”
When you happen to see the side of his neck while you are watching TV together, you hit the roof! “You got a tattoo on your neck– in plain sight?” you say.
“What is it, an airplane?” You ask.
“No, Mom. It’s an iron butterfly!”
“What in Heaven’s name is an iron butterfly?” You wonder out loud.
You are relieved that he did not have the girlfriend’s name added to the tattoo. But you tell him that he should have consulted you; that you could have helped find a more reputable tattoo artist; that he will likely regret the butterfly and the fact that it represents his girlfriend. He is angry and annoyed at you, as he knew he would be!
Twenty-four days, 2 hours and 10 minutes later, he and his girlfriend break up. He is heartbroken and sad. It takes him a few days to think about the tattoo. And now, he wants it off. He can’t believe he was so stupid to put a butterfly on his body…in plain sight.
Your son now joins the 17% of tattoo wearers who regret their tattoo decision. If you take a look online, the folks who wish they hadn’t seem to be in greater number than just 17%. Among them are some high profile people—like celebrities Lily Allen — who got a matching “shhh” tattoo with her buddy, Lindsay Lohan, only to find out that Rihanna had the same one. And how about Justin Bieber ? He is supposedly so sensitive about his regretful tattoo, that when a reporter asked him about it, he abruptly ended the interview, stormed away and flipped the reporter the finger on his way out!
Worst yet, how about the Kimberley Vlaminck debacle. According to Ms. Vlaminck, she asked the tattoo artist for three star tattoos on her face. Then she fell asleep in the artist’s chair. When she woke up, she had fifty-six stars, instead. FIFTY-SIX! Reportedly, when she arrived home, her father saw his starry-faced daughter and became irate. They threatened to sue the artist for $17,000., which was the cost of removing the tattoos. However, somewhere along the way, after lots of statements and interviews with the media, Ms. Vlaminck admitted that she did, in fact, want the 56 stars. She said:
I asked for 56 stars and initially adored them. But when my father saw them, he was furious,” Vlaminck told a Dutch TV crew. “So I said I fell asleep and that the tattooist had made a mistake.
Tattoo remose takes many forms. For teens, its less likely to look like the adult version—“I was drunk and my friends talked me into putting a tattoo of a Budweiser bottle on my butt.” But the regret is no less profound. (see other very funny tattoo remorse stories HERE)
Some tattoo patrons might regret a tattoo that causes a reaction or infection. Though reactions to pigments (red is the most common irritant) are rare, infection is a very common risk. The most common being Staphylococcus aureus and hepititus. (see MedicineNet.com for a more thorough discussion of the risks) Most complaints of medical complications come from those who use unlicensed practitioners.So choosing a reputable tattooist, and caring for the new tattoo wound after it is applied are very important!
The vast majority of the remorseful are women in their twenties. And the most common reason for regret is connected to failed romance. Sixteen percent, according to a 2003 Harris Poll, are folks who tattooed someone’s name onto their bodies and lived to regret soon thereafter. Eleven percent just felt it was a stupid idea. There does not appear to be any stats specific to teens. But I think it’s safe to say that if you combine the adolescent propensity for change-of-mind with the permanence of tattoo ink, you get plenty of potential remorse.
The best advice for parents of insistent teens is to encourage them to think about the details of their tattoo carefully—the location and the message. Remind them that the tattoo may negatively impact their chances for jobs and other placements. As most tattoo wearers are aware, the ability to keep their tattoos under wraps allows some discretion and privacy. Seventy-two percent of people with tattoos say their tattoo is not visible to everyone (Pew Research Center, Feb. 2010) Also, you may want to help your teen find a reputable tattooist. You may choose to forbid the tattoo while they are minors. This parental stance just may save them some remorse and you the cost of laser removal.
To Read More: Click Here
Via: chron.com
