Do You Regret Any of Your Tattoos?

I used to want one and now I am SO glad I didn't do it. I think tattoos are silly and pointless and usually lead to more tattoos just because people crave the attention they get. If there is something I like, such as cupcakes, rather than have something permanent I opt for another form of expression such as a cupcake charm on my necklace. That way I have no regrets and if I don't like the way it looks or am tired of if I can just remove whatever it is. I've seen many times where women are all glammed up in a formal dress only to have it overshadowed by a shoulder tattoo of Tweety Bird smoking a blunt or some such nonsense. Lol.

Nope. I have 6 tattoos and do not regret any of them.
I have had most for over 10 years, a couple for 15 years.
I have several more planned.
My most recent is my daughters name, 6 years ago.
I love all of them and they all have significant, personal meaning.

I also have 7 piercings, used to have 22 of them.

You should not get tattooed so that other people can like or decipher what they are/mean. Tattoos should be personal.

I have a couple tattoos, and still totally love them- my first one is a symbol of me, the other is a memorial to my son who was still born- then added to that when my husband died and yet again when my father passed. they are tasteful- and quite frankly- very well done. I got my first one in 1993 and love it to this day!

Not me (I just have one around my ankle) but a co-worker's daughter once got a tattoo of a kitten on her stomach, between her waist and belly button. It looked fine until she became pregnant, and the thing got all stretched out to hell, and then it just looked really sad once she had the baby. According to my co-worker, it's never looked the same since - now it just looks like some weird deformed thing, like the kitten got run over by a car. Always consider location and what might happen over your lifetime!

Wow, so many Judgey McJudgersons-ok, you don't like tattoos, fine, we get it. Doesn't make anyone silly, stupid, immature or senseless if the do like them.

I have 7 and love every single one of them.

#1 is a Mariners star from a compass with a wave around it on my lower back. I was 17, had just moved out of my Mothers house, was living in Florida, 3,000 miles away from home and on the verge of starting colllege while working full time. I got it to remind me to never lose my way.

#2 Was a treble clef with two quarter notes on my left wrist. I was a recording arts major in college and music is in my soul. It keeps me grounded.

#3 Was a fairy with a magic wand on my right wrist. Makes me remember wishes are magical and hopefully all of my dreams come true.

#4 Was of the nickname given to me by my bestfriend. She is like a sister to me and she got her nickname that I gave her at the same time. Family bonds.

#5 Was a Gaelic cross with a Cladagh heart on my back between my shoulders in memory of my Papa when he passed away.

#6 Was a hubiscus flower on my right hip in front after graduated college and left Florida. I was so sad and overwhelmed by the change that I needed somethign bright and tropical to remind me of that happy place. It makes me feel warm when I see it.

#7 is only 3 weeks old and is on the underside of my left bicep. It is a pink Breast Cancer ribbon that swirls into a heart. I got it on my left side because my Mother battled breast cancer twice on her left breast and lost her battle two years ago.

My body is my temple and I am decorating it. I would only regret them if I didn't take the time to pick a design that was artistic, creative, well designed and meaningful. Anyone getting a tattoo should research their artist and make sure that their work is inline with the style you are looking for and make sure they are up to date with the current health codes.

My first tattoo. I was silly and have my best friend's name initials up the side of my stomach in butterfly outlines, goes from my hip to my rib cage by my armpit (sort of an angle). They ripped me off so I never finished it (*sigh*). She is still my best friend but got my initials covered when we got in a yr long fight so I'm not gonna be the only idiot with initials lol. I'm never putting names on me again. My friend is a killer tattoo artist and is drawing me up a tattoo that I want (I suck at drawing) to cover it in September so I can still go swimming over the summer.
All my other tats are nicely done. But even my first is nice, it's just not finished. I've seen some that look like the tattoo artist was drunk or some sh*t lol.

DVMMOM, oh that made me laugh, poor run over kitten tattoo.

Like the other moms, I love my tats. I have one on each wrist. People who don't like tattoos like my wrist tattoos (can't see the others). All my tats are well done and I made damn sure the artist did what I wanted lol. I did get one in the middle of my shoulder blades fixed cuz the idiot tat artist pressed too hard and it scarred up (you can feel the lines) so my tattoo artist friend fixed it so you don't notice it (the line was thin and thick depending on where you looked) *sigh* but that was a friend's fiance that I didn't look at his portfolio first.

I have 6 and plan on getting more. I want a sleeve honestly. As you can tell, I love tattoos :)

UPDATE
@DVMMOM and Amanda H:

Is it just where the tattoo was on the stomach? I have mine on my stomach side up to my ribs and it stretched with my stomach but went back down. I didn't know they could be deformed from pregnancy.

My very first tattoo is this small stupid tribal design, BUT, I would never cover it up... it's my reminder to myself that I was young and dumb and now that I'm older, I need to really think before acting or speaking (instead of picking something generic off the wall!)

Other than that, no regrets, and that's saying something coming from someone who's more or less completely covered in ink.!! Have an appointment tmrw to work on the other sleeve :)

Nope! Luv all of mine, wish I had more. I think they are a beautiful exspression and I love them on just about anyone. My fav one is my butterfly on my foot. With a pedicure and a lovely strappy sandal, its gorgeous!

I won't get one because everything in life soon becomes DATED. LOL-
Brittney spears gangsta hats' dated...you know what i mean :-)
I appreciate the art work, however..I just get bored so easily, I am sure I would
be bored in a month. Change my hair color, shoes, house...
I would do better with the rub on type ;-)

DVMMOM I am laughing so hard,, Im crying,,lol I could barely read your comment to my husband. Hes laughing too. Thanks, (o:

I have ALOT of tattoos.

When I had my first, I thought he would be it. Little did I know at the time baby two and three would be along shortly after the first.

I had my oldest name started on my forearm. I was going to have a sleeve done with his name being the center piece.

Then I found myself knocked up again. So, no finishing it anytime soon and shoot I will have an uneven center piece with more then one name.

Long story short I ended up with three kiddos. So I had the name on my forearm covered up with a piece of Jack Skeleton from The Nightmare Before Christmas. I love him. I am so happy I wsa able to find something suiting to cover up my kiddos name.

I am now getting Lock Shock and Barrel done as a symbol for my kids.

I would never think to COVER up a tattoo because I didnt like it anymore. Each piece is symbolic of a time in my life. And I will have many more to add on to my canvas as I get older.

I know they are not all going to look pretty when I am old. But it is what lays underneath what I have on my body that counts. Not how my wrinklie skin looks with ink that has bled and no longer looks like what it once did....I will also have many extra HOLES when I die...From having my face look like a pin pillow...and my ears gauged.

No regrets here..and this is coming from a mama who started out with really CUTE cherries on her hip bones..That have since grown into Apples from three babies:)

One of my favorite websites is Ugliest Tattoos (http://ugliesttattoos.failblog.org/) It can make a person feel better about questionable choices they may have made in their life :-) Be warned, some of the tattoos are quite risque...

Nope. Got mine when I was 19. It's a beautiful fairy right on my pelvic bone. No one can see it except for my husband! Love it!

I have 4 and don't regret a single one. Most people don't even know I have them, so for me, it's clearly not about attention.

Nope don't regret a single one of mine. I have been getting tattooed since I was 19 and I turn 38 this year. Some have meaning and some just because it is something that I enjoyed seeing and some were just spurn of the moment fun(like my Friday the 13th tattoos). I have 17 tattoos to date.
No I don't get them for attention either. Far from it actually because until about 2 years ago I got most mine in places that were easily covered. I did that out of respect for my grandfather who hated them. I wasn't going to not getting something I enjoyed because he didn't like them. So I got them in places that were easily hidden.
I even have the so called dreaded arm band tribal but I don't see it as dreaded cause I got it the week before I got married. It has meaning to me.
Anyway I don't foresee ever regretting mine.

I had my back piece done when I was 17. It was an apprentice's sixth tattoo. I was not old enough to get a tattoo legally (and by a professional) so I made the foolish and impatient decision to be someone's practice. Ah, life lessons.

I don't want it removed, but when I have the money, I WILL have it touched up/redone by a friend of a friend who has tremendous skill.

I don't want it removed, I do want it redone.

I have three and want another one. Or three. I have a rose on the back of my neck, a monkey on my chest, above one of my boobs, and the tramp stamp butterfly with lines coming out on either side. I got my first tattoo on a whim, sober, and spent 5 minutes picking out a design. I still love it! I got all of them where I can hide them with clothes if needed and in places where the sagging shouldn't be too bad until I get older. At least I hope it won't! The monkey one has meaning, but the other two are just pretty.

I want to get another one with the outline of India and my son's name and birthdate in it. He is half Indian, so it has meaning. I also want either a wrist band or ankle band. Haven't quite made up my mind on that one. Now that I have a kid, I have a hard time justifying the expense of getting another one. All of my other ones I got in college when I didn't have many expenses.

Just like DVMMOM, I've got a hospital story too. We had one lady come in that was pregnant and had the biggest Tweety Bird tattoo on her stomach. She was ready to deliver, so her stomach was huge and that tattoo was so stretched out. It looked horrible! A couple of days after delivering, you could already tell there was no saving it. She got pregnant a couple of years after that and the tattoo was unrecognizable at that point. Just a big yellow blob.

I regret it's not bigger.

It's gorgeous, but in retrospect, I'd get it at about twice the size it is.

I have 3, and I hate all of them.

One on my left low back, an anchor, is the one I mind the least. One, because I can't see it, and two, because it does have some meaning. But I'd still prefer it wasn't there.

I despise the one on my ankle. That was just so stupid. I hate that you can see it when I have on a dress or shorts. It is a butterfly, with a swirl that goes around my ankle, that ends up with little starbursts at the end. No meaning whatsoever. I hate it.

And the stupidest one of all, is the zodiac symbol - Aries - on my left big toe. I'm not into astrology or anything, but my cousin/best friend got one on vacation, and then a group of female cousins decided to all get them, like a (stupid) kinship thing. In general, I don't mind that one so much since it's relatively small, and on my toe, but since they CHANGED THE FRIGGIN' ZODIAC, I now have the WRONG SIGN on my toe. I'm now Pisces. Blast.

I've thought about getting the tattoos on my ankle and toe modified to be something more meaningful, but the time/money/effort to do that has prevented it thus far.

Wish I'd had better sense than to get any of them.

ADDED: The DUMBEST TATTOO EVER AWARD, though, goes to my cousin. The same one who started the toe zodiac thing... a little background... she has severely uneven boobs. Severely, like at least a full C to a teenie, tiny almost A. So she decides to get a sunburst around one of her nipples. Yep. And it's on her big boob! So it really looks ridiculous! It's ugly, obnoxious, and just so, so stupid! She hates it!

ADDED AGAIN - Robyn, REALLY? What's this Eastern/Western stuff? I hadn't heard anything about that... I might have to google this... lol

Not a fan of tattoos, but I do love one that a client of mine has. He took his 2 older kids (age 12 and 14) six year old signatures and had them put on his chest near his heart. He now has a one yr old and will add his signature when he is 6 and can write his own name. My now 27 yr old son had a "doobie" put on his back when he was 18, regretted is down the road, and had the artist turn it into a bow and arrow dealio a few years ago. He also took my grandson's handprints and had them put on his chest with her birth stats, etc... He laid around here crying all day because that one hurt so much. I said, "Go home to your wife and child, silly boy" but he wanted to stay by Mama :)

I learned the hard way to research your tattoo artist almost like you would your doctor. That's forever! My first tattoo was done and the artist pushed too hard and so you can literally feel the tattoo. It should feel like your skin. It was also poorly done. I later paid a big chunk of change to have a qualified artist cover it up. I've wanted another one, but SO nervous that I will regret it. The tattoo is a rose, which makes no sense b/c I don't care about roses that much. I got it when I was 18 and knew everything about life!! haha!

I don't have any tattoos but that reminds me of a tattoo I saw on this guy I dated. It was over his heart and it was the name of a girl underneath what I thought was an orange slice. Turns out his cousin that he was close to died and that was her name and it was supposed to be under a sunset but it looked like an orange slice!

Even though it was his cousin (and his family confirmed it) What girl wants to "get busy" with a guy who has another girl's name tattooed on his chest? Needless to say our relationship didn't last ;)

I got my first when I was 28 which I regreted because the guy did a really bad job plus it was crooked and not centers. When I had a cover up it was on my birthday 4 years ago which looks really good, people comment on it all the time but a lot bigger than I wanted and can't really read the names. I want to get another one on my shoulder blade.. But next time I will research the artists for sure..

I HATE my tattoo. I REGRET my tattoo. It's not what it is, it's actually quite pretty. It's WHY I got it. I got it when my husband and I were fighting (to a point that I moved out and I was thinking divorce). I had always wanted one, but didn't know what I wanted. In what I thought was my new found freedom (and to Spite my husband), I got one. Hubby and I are happily back together, and now have 2 gorgeous boys..... and a tattoo. I'm getting it removed. It pains me all the time that I have this negative reminder of the roughest part of my life.

Uh Yeah... I have an elmo covering his p****** p**** on my shoulder. I'm embarrassed to admit it. Kids seem to love it and parents even point it out to thier kids. I forget i have it till someone says. I'd never go as far as to have it removed though.

I regret my daughters tattoos! I don't have any. I just don't like the way tattoos look and my biggest fear is that they'll wake up one day and hate them.

I don't regret any of my tattoos. I think long and hard of what I want before I get them. I have kind of made a rule for myself too. Once I have figured out what I want, I wait 6 months without changing my mind or thinking, maybe I should do this/that instead before I actually have it put on my body.

Nope. I really thought about my tattoos long and hard before I got them. I love them just like I did when I got them. I hope I feel the same way when I am 90.

M

Not at all, I have a few and have thought about getting another one ( the yellow cancer ribbon wrapped around my ring finger) to show my support of my husband's brave ongoing fight to beat his cancer. Some tattoos I have seen I think are way too large and may have meaning now, but that is up to the individual. I have small ones in comparison and still get looks and honestly eventhough I was 25 and married, living in my own house my mother still tried to ground me when I showed her my first one!

I have a very beautiful heart on my ankle with my hubby's name, I don't regret the tatt, but I wish it were somewhere easier to cover up.

Oh - and Lee - the Zodiac wasn't changed for Westerners - you are still your old sign. It's the EASTERN Zodiac that changed.

Like someone else mentioned, I sometimes regret not getting one. It's too late in life now...my husband would NEVER go for it, and I have no idea what I would even do anymore. I went to get a tattoo several times in my early twenties, wussed out, and bought shoes instead. Yup, I still have some really expensive shoes. :) Too bad they don't fit anymore...argh...your feet really do grow when you have babies!!! Just enough to make my "tattoo shoes" not fit. :( However, I am SOOOOOO glad I didn't get THOSE tattoos, because looking back...yup, I'd regret those particular ones now.

nope, love them all (4) working on another in fact.
Polar Bear on my tush - for a best friend in HS who was killed in a fire, yest it all has a reason.
I have the initials "ER" with a halo above my heart for a daughter that I miscarried at 19 who would have been named Elizabeth Rose
A rose with music notes like a banner running thru the stem in the small of my back, Ironically my best friend has a simmilar rose with her name where my music is
A purple tribal type sillouette of a dragon flying up to represent a special time/friendships in my life ... I did a lot of growing up during and right after that time it is symbolic of that.

I have 5 and i have no regrets! They are a part of me and I will still love them when Im 87!

I got mine when I was 20, on a whim, as a birthday gift to myself - a friend and I went (her birthday was a couple of days before). We had no idea what exactly we wanted, though. That's the advice I always give anyone who is considering it. Anyway, we spent hours in there looking at designs and such and I had it narrowed down to two different ones, and ultimately ended up wishing I had gotten the other one. I like it, but mostly because it represents a time in my life that is significant to me, and it's in a place where you don't see it unless I want you to see it.

I did have my kids' babysitter (a wonderful artist) draw the kids' birth flowers for me so I can get that done, but just haven't decided where to put it. I've also considered getting my astrological sign done as well.

I only have one.
I thought about it long and hard and worried mightily that I would regret it...
But I don't. :)

I have three and 2 more lined up. They all mean something to me and the last 2 are awesome, the first is nice, but my new artist is much better. I do not regret them.

My first one, but that was because I had a bad artist. Luckily it was tiny and I got it covered up with one that I really love. I have two paw prints on my hip that I know is a fashion thing for most people and will be looked upon as "lame" later. However, for me they represent my two dogs, which is why I got them so it will never be out of style for me. :)

I LOVE MINE...i GOT THE INFAMOUS TRAMP STAMP WHEN I WAS 16 BUT IT STILL IS PRETTY AND SOMEWHAT CLASSY...THEN I GOT MY ZODIAC SIGN ON MY PELVIC BONE ON THE HIP KINDA WHEN I WAS 17 AND I GOT MY DAUGHTERS NAME ON MY BACK WHEN I WAS 20 ....I LOVE THEM ALL.BUT AT TH SAME TIME I THINK IM DONE.

I've always flip flopped between wanting one and not wanting one, I don't have any now.

I can just never decide on a design or where I would want it put. If I ever did get one it would find a good artist and make sure the design was for my reasons.

I don't regret mine at all. I might get it updated some day, as it is 25 years old and somewhat faded.

I'm starting to feel like it's more unusual for people of my generation not to have tattoos.

I have no tattoos. Not because I didn't want one when I was in my 20s. But because I'm terrified with needles.

I sometimes would apply some really cool temporary tattoos. Most people couldn't tell the difference--really! And I could change it up for whatever event I wanted to show it off at.

I have a friend who sells tattoo-removal laser machines to dermatologists. Smart move. He's the only one I know who's actually making some money in this economy! Apparently, there is brisk business in tattoo-removal after the tattoo "boom" of the 1990s.

I know that most people justify their tattoos with a meaning important to them. That's cool. But because I'm a needle-phobe I sought other ways to meaningfully commemorate a person or event. For example, when each of my kids were born or when my grandparents died, I planted a tree. I would take care to choose the species that most resembled the person. Much cheaper. I don't have to wear it on my body, and it lets the memory truly live on.

Yep - I have one tattoo that I got when I was 21 and on spring break (sober, not drunk, made a conscious decision to get it done). Fortunately I got it done in a place where it is only seen if I choose to show it to someone. Now, as a 37 year old I wish I could get it removed but have a hard time justifying the frivolous expense.

I have absolutely nothing against tattoos, just don't want them on me.

Dear C.-

Funny...I sometimes regret NOT getting a tat!

My ex is retired military...and for a while...while separated...I wanted a tat SO bad...because I knew HE would hate it!

I went looking, and found some very 'tasteful' ones...but where I would put them...were regions HE would never see again...so seemed pointless...

But still...I think of a tat from time to time

**I also considered having my engagement ring reset for a belly piercing...THEN I saw the SIZE of the piercing!!! YITE!!**

So...no tats...no piercings...(other than ears)...

But...there IS this place called 'naked tattoo'....

Hmmmm......lol
Michele/cat

There is one I might change slightly, but I have been thinking of doing it for years so clearly it is not a major concern or I would have done it by now. I have no regrets over any of my body modifications.

Ha! I love my tattoo. Its a red heart, outlined in black, the size of my thumb nail on my left breast...basically above my heart! I got it when I was 25. The tattoo artist laughed at me when I told her what I wanted. She was all, well, I have to charge the minimum (at the time it was $25) and it took her about 5 minutes to do! My cousin has several. One being a dolphin that curves one way around her nipple and a flower that curves the other way. She showed me the dolphin without telling me what it was and I was all "why would you get a shark tattoo"??? She was NOT happy! But it didn't look like a dolphin! I debate about getting more but I would really want to make sure it was exactly what I wanted and the artist was exceptionally talented!

So glad I waited til I was 30. Had i had it done at 18. even 20, who know what it would have been, GnR loggo, Eddie from Iron MAIDEN. lol

Updated

So glad I waited til I was 30. Had i had it done at 18. even 20, who know what it would have been, GnR loggo, Eddie from Iron MAIDEN. lol

Updated

So glad I waited til I was 30. Had i had it done at 18. even 20, who know what it would have been, GnR loggo, Eddie from Iron MAIDEN. lol

Updated

So glad I waited til I was 30. Had i had it done at 18. even 20, who know what it would have been, GnR loggo, Eddie from Iron MAIDEN. lol

Updated

So glad I waited til I was 30. Had i had it done at 18. even 20, who know what it would have been, GnR loggo, Eddie from Iron MAIDEN. lol

Updated

So glad I waited til I was 30. Had i had it done at 18. even 20, who know what it would have been, GnR loggo, Eddie from Iron MAIDEN. lol

Updated

So glad I waited til I was 30. Had i had it done at 18. even 20, who know what it would have been, GnR loggo, Eddie from Iron MAIDEN. lol

Updated

So glad I waited til I was 30. Had i had it done at 18. even 20, who know what it would have been, GnR loggo, Eddie from Iron MAIDEN. lol