Today, tattoos are becoming more and more of the norm. When you walk on the street, you can always see people with different patterns.However, the controversy about tattoos has never stopped. One of the mainstream oppositions is:"That's the thorn in the skin! It's very embarrassing to wait until you are old."The following 9 tattooers, They come from different industries, different ages,But they have been asked the same question countless times:"Look at the pattern on your body, will you regret it now? when you are old, will you regret it?"Here are their responses and stories：
Hannah, 44, entrepreneur, mother of 4 children.
‘I didn’t have my first tattoo until I was 28-ish, I had the urge to get one and so chose a very small design, it went from there! The small design became several.
‘I have a mood disorder that seems to compel me to go and “get inked”.
I chose some writing along the side of my arm which was annoyingly bodged by the tattooist, this has led to more work being done and now covers the bottom half of my arm.
‘All my tattoos are relevant to parts of my life and are important to me. I think the only time I worry about them are when I see clients, people’s assumptions can be awful.
‘Once they get to know me though they start to ask questions and are interested, I then feel comfortable about having them on display.
My answer to people telling me “you’ll regret them when you’re older” is – I am older and the majority I have had done were recently! I am proud of the history that my tattoos represent and it’s great that they are becoming more popular as art other than traditional football hooligan club emblem!’
Amy, 23, volunteer for an animal rehabilitation centre‘I have 15, including my throat and my back. Some of them I had, immediately after I was just like ‘Oh crap, what have I done’, but after a couple of days I couldn’t imagine having my body any other way.
‘It makes me feel more comfortable in my own skin, and it’s hard to regret something that gives you that.
‘I understand when people tell me I’d regret them, because maybe they would, I mean that’s why they don’t have any. But as everyone knows, we all have different interests, likes, things we hate. Most people tell heavily tattooed people that they’ll never be able to find a job, this is again something I’ve never had a problem doing.
‘Most people do too much of what’s expected and not enough of what they want.’
James, 26, store manager‘I’ve always had my tattoos because I’ve wanted them, I like that they have significance to life, they recognise my fight with my chronic illness and my journey ahead.‘I have two tattoos one on the inside of my right arm and the other on the inside of my left arm. I personally don’t get offended when people say I’ll regret them – I might do who knows but for now I am very happy with them and it’s art, our bodies are unique so why shouldn’t we celebrate this by making them even more unique?’
Kyle, 26, Team Leader at a care home‘I have 8 tattoos of which I don’t think I’d ever regret having because they have meaning in one way or another to myself. When people ask or tell me if I’m going to regret them in one way it kind of shows they care, even if they aren’t meaning to.‘Of course everyone has their own opinions of tattoos but at the end of the day it’s my body. If I want to have tattoos, I will have tattoos.‘No one I’ve spoken to who has asked me if I’d regret it has never given me a reason as to why I should regret it, other than “It’ll look horrible when you’re old”, as if that hasn’t been taken into consideration. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.‘I’ve never really cared too much when people have queried my tattoos. They don’t have to like them, they don’t have to understand the meaning behind them. They are mine and they represent different parts of me.’
Stephie, 30, blogger and mum-of-two‘[I have] 48 tattoos.. so far. The majority of them I had wanted for awhile before getting them done. Some of them have quite a lot of meaning too for instance my husband’s handwriting, my children’s heartbeat trace.
‘I feel sorry for people that tell me I will regret them. Not everyone gets things done on a whim (yes I have those but still love them).
‘People often say your body is your temple and when have you seen a church or a temple plain and boring? Not often you adorn the walls with beautiful and meaningful things. That’s what I have done and will continue to do with my skin.’
Simon, 30, waiter and bar-tender‘I have full sleeves on both arms, ribs on one side, all across the top of my back and I have a couple of swallows on my chest that are terrible but I’m getting a full chest piece to cover those.
‘I don’t feel that I’ll ever regret any of my tattoos as I’ve always made sure that they mean something to me. My left arm is a sleeve dedicated to music, and my right is inspired by my IBD (ulcerative colitis).‘To the people that judge me for my tattoos: This infuriates me. If I cover up, and you had no idea that I was tattooed when you met me, you’d treat me like a completely different person.‘I’m judged in my job, because it’s not ‘professional’ to have tattoos. It scrambles my brain trying to figure out how some ink under my skin prevents me from doing my job as well as a non-tattooed person.‘I’ve never judged anyone for not having tattoos, in my life… So why is it okay for them to do it to us?’
Chloe, 21, mental health support worker
‘I have five tattoos. Each and everyone of my tattoos represents a time and place in my life and they show how I have changed and grown. Its almost like scrap-booking I guess
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‘I tend to laugh it off when people tell me I will regret my tattoos but it is infuriating. It’s nobody else’s business but mine if I want a tattoo, people should just be quiet if they haven’t anything nice to say.’
Adam, 32, works in education‘My tattoos tell my story. Some people wear their heart on their sleeve, I wear my passions on my skin. When I was eighteen, I got a small, black, tribal sun tattooed on my upper arm and after ten years, I did regret it in a way. But I didn’t regret being tattooed, as such. I regretted making snap decisions about what I was having, where it was going and who was going to put it on my skin.
‘As I’ve grown older (and nominally wiser), it has become more important to me to see having tattoos as collecting pieces of art that make me (and sometimes other people) smile. To some, my tattoos could be seen as trivial or silly but each of them means something very important to me.
‘My tattoos are intrinsically linked to who I am as an individual, and I could never regret them. I spend a minimum of a year thinking about what I’m having done, who will do it and where it will go on my body, before I commit to having it done. If you do that, the chances of you regretting what you get are significantly reduced because you’ve taken it seriously from the outset.
‘In the past, I worried a lot more about what people thought of me but now, who has time for that?! As a younger person, I was more conscious of gaining the approval of those around me but these days, people can accept me or carry on walking. It’s their loss if they choose not to embrace who I am just because I have some tattoos!
‘It’s a stigma thing though; in years gone by tattoos were considered as just for sailors and criminals but now, tattooing is just another form of art. Contemporary tattoo artists have such wonderful tools and techniques at their disposal and the work they are able to create is absolutely staggering. I am proud to wear some truly inspiring (to me, at least!) tattoo art on my body.’
Hattie Gladwell, reporter"My legs, arms, and back and abdomen have tattoos."“This usually means that once I expose them, I have to endure all sorts of different expressions.”
“But what makes me unbearable is not people's eyes, but the phrase ‘you will regret it when you are old. ”"The reason why these people say this, there is no specific argument, just because they don't like tattoos.""But I think they should learn to respect. They should understand that everyone has different tastes and different wishes for their bodies."
“I have a lot of tattoos, mostly because I like their designs, some because they give me more confidence, and a pair is more special, I use them to cover the scars on my body.”
“Every pattern is carefully selected, so I won’t regret it even if I am old.”“My body is full of masterpieces by different international artists. They are different in style and unique.”"They make me different and make me stand out."
"When you look at yourself in the mirror, you are satisfied and happy, this is the most important thing."
Maybe,
Whether you regret it or not, the focus is not on the tattoo itself.
Rather, this thing is really what you want to do, and it’s really satisfying...
If so, then there is no need to regret it~
