In college, my roommate Rick used to win bar bets by walking up to strangers at the bar and saying, “Hey, I bet you fifty bucks that I have your name tattooed on my (backside).” The strangers would almost always take the bet, part because it seemed like an easy bet from a drunk and part because they were a bit tipsy themselves. But every taker would always lose after Rick would pull down to expose his left cheek and the words ‘your name’ burned into his skin.
We paid for plenty of bar tabs thanks to his tattoo, but as he got older, ‘your name’ warped into a jumbled mess of indecipherable letters; even after years of enjoying his mark, Rick joined so many others in regretting his tattoo.
Tattoos are a powerful form of self expression and one of a young adult’s ultimate feats in rebellion. Many people seek out tattoos because they want to feel unique, or wish to revolt from paternal objections, or maybe they want to document an important life experience on their skin. Either way, tattoos are a bold statement on your body that, while maybe a significant symbol for yourself at the time, more often than not, can come back to haunt you.
By now, we are all well acquainted with 18-year old Kimberley Vlaeminck of Belgium and her 56-piece facial art display. Lying to the news and her family just to dodge the anger of a disapproving father is definitely not something she planned on having to do when she walked into that tattoo parlor to get what she told the media was “only three stars”. (http://itn.co.uk/8080a47397dab3b36c56ed5dec817f4e.html)
Even though Kimberley secretly liked her face art, many people who get such extravagant works done on their bodies live to regret it. Even celebrities have laments thanks to tattoos.
Heroes star, Hayden Panettiere has the words “Vivere senza rimipianti” down the left side of her body, which is supposed to mean “to live without regrets” in Italian. Ironically, the word “rimipianti” is meant to be spelled “rimpianti” without the extra “i.” This is just another good argument for people to not get foreign words imprinted on their bodies without fully knowing what they are putting on there in the first place.
A study done through Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in 2006 showed that while about twenty percent of people who get tattoos are unhappy with their body art, only six percent ever seek to get them removed. (http://tinyurl.com/6zf6wt)
Several reasons for their tattoo removals ranged from new jobs that conflicted with their appearances, social embarrassment, or lowered body image.
However on the other side, laser tattoo removals can be very costly, which is part why most people do not have it done. Laser tattoo removal treatments usually range from two hundred to nine hundred dollars per visit and it generally takes several visits to a specialist before the ink really begins to fade away.
Even after the tattoo is gone, some people still retain remnants of the shape of the tattoo in a scar.
So before you decide to ink your skin, plan out what you want seared onto your body. Is it something really meaningful? Is it something you won’t mind seeing for years to come? And will it help you win bar bets? If you can at least answer the last one with a yes, then maybe it might be worth 56 stars after all…
Author’s Note: This article also published here.
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Cesar Jantz is a freelance writer, who frequently enjoys a good hearty laugh. But getting a tattoo removed is no laughing matter. When it comes to removing tattoos, most people think about laser tattoo removal treatments, but the Nuviderm Home Tattoo Removal System has been medically tested and proven to fade and/or remove tattoos. Nuviderm is a clear liquid, not a cream, and contains no Hydroquinone, a skin bleaching chemical found in most Tattoo Removal Cream products. Learn more at: http://nuviderm.com/
Read more articles written by Cesar Jantz
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