Many people with tattoos know the joy you get when you book a tattoo appointment, get that fresh, new ink and look in the mirror feeling like the coolest person on Earth. Unfortunately, this feeling does not last long for some. Tattoo regret is a very real experience for some people. Tattoo artists may not regret the tattoos they do, but they could have feelings of unease after a tattoo. At times, they may feel that they could do a better tattoo, but some of their clients’ choices, like size and placement, may interfere. While tattooing has been around for about 5,200 years, in recent decades, tattooing has become more popular–as has tattoo regret. In an attempt to explore different reasons for tattoo regret, I realized that the tattoo industry has been drastically changing with social media, laser tattoo removal (due to regret), Amazon tattoo kits and AI. I initially wanted to discover which of these four negatively impacts the tattoo industry the most; hence, I turned to the talented Michelle Nguyen, who gave me my first tattoo. Yet while interviewing her, Michelle opened my eyes to the fact that businesses will always change, and tattoo artists are growing with the industry. As a result, these “challenges” to tattooing are not necessarily all negative; they also highlight the adaptability of tattoo artists and clients.
Image Source: Shaiel Reyes
Social media is one major change to the tattoo industry, as it has become a large source of business exposure for artists. Lauren Petrie, a YouTube-famous tattoo enthusiast who has been getting tattoos for 17 years, explains that the process of getting a tattoo has transformed with social media. She used to go to her local studio and book an appointment or walk in, but with social media, people can find any artist and book with them. Tattoo conventions used to be the only way people could meet international artists, but now social media allows people to have favourite global artists.
While social media allows more people to access an artist’s portfolio, Sean Cox, a tattoo artist from British Columbia with 19 years of experience, considers Instagram “the boss” of the tattoo industry. He writes that he spends more time creating content than working on his actual art and drawing.
I asked Michelle about social media’s impact on tattoo artists. She said, “If you really want to be active and use your social media as promotion, […] it really is almost a full-time job on its own.” Michelle admitted that she has not “posted very much at all in the last year. Maybe 6 times in the last year” because there are “so many tattoos to post all the time, it becomes like a chore.” In this way, Michelle echoes Cox’s statement: social media takes a lot of time away from tattoo artists and becomes another responsibility.
However, I remembered that when I discovered Michelle’s Instagram profile, I did not find her through social media; I found her through her studio, Chronic Ink. Chronic Ink is a chain of tattoo and piercing studios. They have studios around the GTA, Vancouver, Las Vegas, Taiwan and New York. I reached out to Chronic Ink to book an appointment for a personalized tattoo. They recommended and shared Michelle’s Instagram profile with me, and I liked her work. In my interview with Michelle, I asked, “Do you think Chronic Ink plays a really big role [in getting clients]?” To which she heavily nodded and said, “A lot of the time, Chronic will show people my stuff, and they’ll say, ‘oh yes, this person can handle what I am envisioning,’ so that’s how they’ll choose me to do their tattoo.” Even though social media is a lot of work for tattoo artists, the shop that an artist works for seems to heavily influence their ability to gain clients. This is somewhat akin to what Petrie described happened in the past: people will look for tattoo studios first, and then the artists at those studios. Personally, I found all of the artists who have tattooed me through their studios.
The development of social media in tattooing has some benefits for both artists and clients. Michelle mentioned that social media can be a good learning tool. She said, “It’s great to show what can be done in tattooing, whether it’s like an artist [specializing] in [a specific style or subject matter] or sharing information between tattoo artists. I’ve learned quite a few things through social media. […] As an artist, you have to keep learning every day.” Learning about tattoos through social media can also help new tattoo clients. She said social media “sets up information for tattoo newbies to know what to expect, what to ask for, know what to look out for. I think in the past, when these teens were getting tattooed, they didn’t know what they should ask for or look out for, so they were getting these big, chunky tattoos because you just didn’t know. And so those are getting covered up now or getting laser removed.” Here, Michelle implied that a lack of knowledge about tattoos and the tattoo industry is leading to tattoo regret, thus stressing the importance of researching tattoos and designs before getting them.
In fact, many factors can influence tattoo regret. A 2016 American study revealed that 23% of participants regretted being tattooed. A 2018 article from the well-known Inked Magazine writes that the most regretted tattoos, in order from most to least, are: someone’s name, an Asian character, a tribal pattern and stars/constellations. This survey also shows that 53% of people regret their tattoo(s) because they got bored with them, 24% said the colour faded, and 20% said the line work was poor, which speaks to Michelle’s point that clients did not know what they could ask for. I asked Michelle why people may regret tattoos, and her answer aligns with this data. She said, “Things we thought we would like forever at 16, we may not still want permanently etched when we’re 36. Our bodies grow and change, just as our tastes and preferences change.” Another article from Advanced Dermatology shows data from 2023 that agrees with these statistics and Michelle: the main reason for regret is disliking how the tattoo looks, followed by disliking the tattoo itself. However, while Inked Magazine and Michelle do not indicate that these tattoos were spontaneous, Advanced Dermatology’s article shows that 48% of these participants spontaneously got these tattoos. Nonetheless, spontaneous or not, this data highlights the prominence of tattoo regret.
When someone regrets their tattoo(s), there are two methods they can explore to try removing them: laser tattoo removal or a cover-up (tattooing another tattoo over the original). With the rise of social media, laser tattoo removal seems quite accessible. Actually, the 2023 survey from Advanced Dermatology shows that 68% of participants believe more people are getting tattoos because they are easier to remove now. I thought this statistic was quite high and put a lot of faith into the laser removal industry. I asked Michelle about her thoughts on this statistic: “Perhaps. I think that is definitely a consideration. […] But now, I think people are a little bit more relaxed about [tattoos], especially if they’re getting small tattoos […] because it would potentially be easier to hide or remove.” This statistic shocked Michelle as well, but she eloquently points out that tattoos in general feel easier to hide, suggesting that laser tattoo removal may make people feel like they can correct any future regrets they might have. In this way, people may perceive laser tattoo removal and the ability to get small tattoos as a gateway for trying tattoos.
This client is having a session of laser tattoo removal. (Image Source: Meiji Tattoo, abc.net.au)
Since laser tattoo removal directly removes the work of tattoo artists, I wondered if it poses any threat to tattoo artists or the industry. Upon speaking further with Michelle, she said that she has actually tried laser tattoo removal. Moreover, she described the relationship between tattoo artists and laser removal technicians as “symbiotic”. She said, “I recommend my cover-up clients to [my laser technician], and she recommends me for some of her clients to cover up the laser tattoo. […] I think we definitely go hand-in-hand.” In this way, laser tattoo removal seems to help grow the tattoo industry. Tattoo artists also help grow the laser removal industry, as Michelle confirmed she sometimes recommends her clients get a few sessions of laser removal before covering up a tattoo. This would, thus, help tattoo artists create a better cover-up. Both businesses have the same goal: making clients happy with their skin. Since they offer different services with the same goal in mind, they help each other and help more clients overall.
People get tattoos covered up for many reasons, but if the quality is poor, this may suggest the tattoo was not done by a professional. One of the biggest changes in the tattoo industry is the easy access to tattoo equipment for the general public. People can purchase tattoo kits on Amazon for as low as about $50 CAD. These kits are incredibly damaging to those getting tattooed by them, tattoo artists and the tattoo industry as a whole. Firstly, they allow scratchers–people who tattoo outside of a licensed studio, usually at home and without completing a tattoo apprenticeship–to grow their business and take clients away from properly trained artists. Scratchers charge lower rates because they do not pay studio fees and, as Michelle outlines, they “want to draw in unsuspecting clients who don’t know any better, and undervalue the hard work that it takes to do tattoos safely and professionally.” They may not ensure proper sanitation standards; therefore, helping more people become scratchers could increase the amount of tattoo infections. This is not to say that getting tattooed by an at-home artist is necessarily harmful–if they have a license, they may just prefer to work independently from a studio–but scratchers are dangerous.
This is a screenshot from Amazon.ca of one of the many tattoo kits they sell. This machine has a 4.4 star rating from over 4,500 reviews. (Image Source: Amazon.ca)
Trained tattoo artists and laser technicians understand the more technical dangers of cheap tattoo kits. Famous Australian tattoo artist Chris Rand and an Australian laser tattoo removal technician, Phil Pagdin, explain that Amazon usually does not write the ingredients in the tattoo ink. As a result, the quality of the ink cannot be ensured. Further, the proper sterilization of these kits when they are packaged and when people use them cannot be guaranteed. Pagdin discusses that in order for laser removal to work, the laser must be attracted to the ink, and he has seen faulty results from these kits, mostly due to inexperienced artists scarring skin or pushing needles too deep. Sean Cox also points out that these kits are damaging to tattoo supply businesses, as these suppliers require proof that an artist has been properly trained with an apprenticeship before selling their products. Easy access to tattoo ink and machines would seriously impact these businesses if trained tattoo artists were to purchase them. These kits, thus, make business much more challenging for any person involved in the tattoo industry.
Generally, Amazon tattoo kits are not highly regarded in the tattoo industry. Michelle discusses how this directly impacts the ethics of tattooing: “When people are buying these kits off of the internet, what that usually means is that these people are not looking into […] the more correct way of [becoming a tattoo artist]. Learning your health and safety, learning how to create a good tattoo design, learning how to tattoo skin safely. […] So, an apprenticeship is extremely important because it’s not something you can learn from a YouTube video or a two-week course. […] I think there’s just also, like, I wouldn’t even call it […] a lack of respect, but it’s a lack of understanding of what it really takes to become a good artist, a good tattoo artist. Because people think that anyone can just pick up a tattoo machine. […] It’s not like picking up a paintbrush. […] The other part of becoming a good [tattoo] artist is respecting your client, and that’s a lot of trust and permanency that they’re putting into your hands.” Michelle outlines that tattooing is a very serious profession. Thus, learning how to tattoo should be taken seriously, and people should learn to respect their clients’ bodies. Cheap tattoo kits cannot teach people how to respect the permanency of tattooing, but learning for a year or more with an apprenticeship can.
While there are many dangers associated with using Amazon tattoo machines, I asked Michelle if she could think of any benefits. She mentioned, “Let’s say you are a baby apprentice or a baby tattoo artist and you don’t even know if you like tattooing yet. If you’re doing this safely, and that means not tattooing on humans, and you’re just tattooing on like fruit and fake skin or whatever, it could give you […] a feeling of what it actually feels like to tattoo.” Even though Michelle could find a positive element to this, she stresses the importance of proper training and being careful with cheap tattoo machines and ink.
In addition to easy access to tattoo machines, AI has increased access to design ideas for both tattoo clients and artists. Different artists have different opinions on using AI; some use AI within their designs, others do not use AI at all, and some clients use AI to show their ideas to their artists. Cox believes that AI eliminates the need for drawing. Drawing includes looking at the proper anatomy of what is being drawn and fitting different design ideas into one image that will soon be tattooed. Michelle explained her thoughts on AI use with a story about her client: “He used AI to come up with this tattoo concept […] I could tell pretty quickly that it was AI, but it was also a design that didn’t necessarily need changing because it was clear, it was concise, but there were a few things wrong with it. Like, […] the hands were completely wrong. […] So, no, AI does not eliminate the need to know how to draw because, even if you use AI, there’s always going to be something weird about it, and you should know how to either correct it or make it better.” She mentioned that AI could help with figuring out poses or lighting, but reiterates the importance of “intention”, “thought” and “effort” when drawing as a tattoo artist.
Drawing is an important aspect of tattooing. Tattoo artists will sketch a drawing and show it to their client before making the stencil they will tattoo over. Here, the artist uses a tablet, but drawing can also be done on paper. Drawing is important to ensure that anatomy is correct and the client’s ideas are conveyed. (Image Source: Cottonbro Studio)
Whether a tattoo artist uses AI or not, AI is not going away, and it is impressive to see tattoo artists adapt to such a big change in the art industry. Michelle does not use AI herself, as she said, “I’m too lazy to use AI. I would rather just do it the way that I know how to do, which is research and referencing other artists to create drawings.” However, she recognized some benefits to AI: “Clients have used AI to come up with an idea that they do not know how to communicate, so that’s been extremely helpful.” She noted it is important to be careful because AI can also make some tattoos look possible even when they are not. Having said that, Michelle believes AI could be used, “as a tool for yourself that’s going to help you along as opposed to doing the work for you.” While AI has changed the way tattoo artists can draw or communicate with clients, Michelle’s adaptability is very commendable. Though she does not use AI, she does not judge clients who feel AI can help them express their ideas. She embodies the idea that tattooing is about art and making another person happier with their skin.
In a world where art is constantly changing, and people are asking AI to be “creative” instead of humans, seeing how tattoo artists grow with these changes speaks to the importance of openness and adaptability in the art and tattoo industries. Tattoos may be permanent, but how artists create tattoos will always change. The art of tattooing can continue to blossom with artists like Michelle, who are knowledgeable about their craft and open to change. As she stated, “People will always want tattoos. I think that is one thing I can safely say. People will always want tattoos despite life circumstances, world circumstances. Getting them is a different story perhaps, but I think tattooing is pretty safe.” Speaking with Michelle highlights that tattoo artists still remain positive amidst these changes. Perhaps the positivity that Michelle and tattoo enthusiasts exhibit keeps the industry afloat. Hence, I do not consider any of these changes “threats” to the industry, but more so an exploration of why tattoo artists are so knowledgeable and respectable.
