Tattoos are expensive pieces of permanent art for the body that require a lot of time and resources to be done properly by experienced professionals who have taken extensive training. Therefore, a lot of thought should go into the idea of getting a tattoo since the only way to get rid of them is with very painful laser treatment or to cover them up with yet another tattoo.

Tattoos are not going out of style. As stigma wanes and quality standards improve, tattoos are steadily gaining popularity and social acceptance. Tattoos are also known to be part of various cultures going back over 6,000 years, so it is safe to assume that they will never fully go out of style.

Keep reading for more information regarding tattoos, whether getting one is a good idea or not, and common questions regarding them.

Why Does Everyone Have Tattoos Now?

Tattoos allow for personal creativity and expression and to allow someone to keep something special with them, in a way that will never leave them. Every tattoo has a story behind it, and people who have them can always explain how and why they got it.

As tattoos grow in modern popularity, stigmas about them die, and they become the subject of mainstream pop culture. Some cultures’ traditions involve tattoos as an explanation of a person’s life story. This tradition has spanned over 6,000 years, and is therefore heavily ingrained into society.

There’s nothing wrong with someone having the name of their children tattooed to their arms or the visage of a lost pet, and neither is there an issue with most tattoos people get. 36% of people ages 18-29 , within the United States alone have at least one tattoo. 72% of these tattoos can even be covered in clothing, and therefore doesn’t affect social norms or expectations at all.

Are Tattoos Trashy?

Someone looking to get a tattoo may put their appointment on hold in fear of looking trashy, but are tattoos really trashy?

The opinion that tattoo are trashy is becoming a thing of the past. In fact, 42% of people do not think tattoos affect a person’s appearance at all and that number is growing. 24% of people even find them to make someone more attractive, while only 22% still have a negative opinion of them.

However, as with every style trend out there it is not an absolute. Poor decisions or a poor artist can make for some disturbing ink that is permanently left on someone’s skin, so in some cases, they can look trashy.

Tattoo Trends Over the Years

The earliest recordings of tattoos date back over 6,000 years in history. 70% of people who have tattoos have more than one, with the most common places being on the ankle for women and the upper back shoulder for men.

Here are some tattoo trends over the years:

Tribal Markings
Slavery Markings
Wartime and Military
Gangs and Prison
Naval Souvenirs
Patriotism
Japanese Words and Phrases
Fandom
Memorial Tattoos
Identifying Markings
Suicide and Self-Harm prevention

Tattoos have a long-standing history with each and every one telling a story. Now here are a few modern trends that should be avoided in order to save yourself common regrets.

Tattoo Trends to Avoid

Only approximately 17% of people who have gotten a tattoo regret getting it. That said, the most common trends being regretted are generally for a good reason.

Avoid these trends to save yourself the common regrets:

Names that are not your children
Tribal arm bands
Tattoos on the hands (unless you are already heavily tattooed)
Tattoos on the face (unless you are already heavily tattooed)
Tattoo imagery from indigenous cultures that are not your own. White people getting native American tattoo designs is weird. I wish it would stop.

Now let’s look at a more detailed explanation of some sorts of tattoos that you really shouldn’t get.

What Tattoos Should You (Almost) Never Get?

For the most part, nobody should be telling you what not to get tattooed onto your own body. It’s your body, do what you want with it.

However, there are a few kinds of tattoos that are generally frowned upon more than others, so it would be wise to avoid these particular ones:

Names of lovers
- Unfortunately, it is not guaranteed that a relationship will last, so getting the name of a current significant other is generally not a good idea just in case something happens to fall flat. Now for a deceased loved one, that’s a different story.
Hand tattoos
- Unless you are independently wealthy, are committed to a career that allows hand tattoos or you already have a heavy amount of tattoos, this placement should be avoided. It is one place where social stigma will still create obstacles for you
Tribal arm bands and “tramp stamps”
- You may truly not care about what anyone thinks which is great and then you can do whatever you want. Lower back tattoos have become attached to such a terrible stigma that it can be difficult for anyone but the most self-confident people to wear them comfortably.
- Tribal arm bands have long become cliched joke. Once a tattoo idea become so engrained in stereotype that they get made fun of in beer commercials, its long past its usefulness as personal expression.
Facial Tattoos
- Facial tattoos have a strong risk of going wrong and have a strong tendency to negatively color impressions regardless of what is there. They still have a heavy stigma around them. However, as said before if you truly truly don’t care, or you don’t HAVE to care… go for it.
Offensive slurs, figures, and symbols
- Just avoid anything that would be seen as a hateful thing, such as certain historical political figures that caused genocide, or symbols used in hate crimes. Even if you actually believe those things… you may not ALWAYS believe them and then you are stuck. Do we even need to mention that?

Still interested in tattoos? Here are some reasons for and against them.

Reasons Not to Get a Tattoo…. At All

There will always be reasons not to get a tattoo. In the end, it is up to you and not anyone else.

A few reasons not to get a tattoo:

Some fields of work still have conservative values regarding tattoo stigma
They are permanent and you may not be ready to commit to a lifetime of wearing a tattoo.
Removal is expensive and time consuming
There is a strong risk for them to be regretted later in life
Never get tattooed if you are drunk or otherwise intoxicated. Even if you are stone cold sober, avoid impulse tattoos.

Probably the biggest concern for whether or not to get a tattoo is employability. I wrote an article about tattoos in the work place you can read by clicking here.

Now for some reasons to get a tattoo.

Reasons To Get a Tattoo

People get tattoos for different reasons, all the way from something they just really like, to important memorials, to reminders that they are still alive and valid.

Here are some reasons to get a tattoo:

They tell your life story
They are one of the best ways to express yourself
Memorials for lost loved ones or birthdays of children
They are highly personal
They are something you can always keep with you
Expressing heritage

Remember: Just as you shouldn’t let someone tell you not to get a tattoo, do not let someone force you into getting one if you don’t want to.

Are Tattoos Becoming MORE Popular?

We’ve talked about the current statistics of people with tattoos, but are tattoos becoming more popular?

Tattoos are definitely becoming more popular as the stigma around them dies out. No longer are tattoos meant for just those in the military or for prison markings. Nowadays, they exist primarily to showcase an individual’s style, interests, and stories in a way they can always carry around with them.

Tattoos have also become the subject of multiple reality shows which have ignited the publics interest and made tattoos more mainstream than ever.

Will Tattoos Ever Go Out of Style?

While nobody can accurately predict style trends across future years and generations, it is safe to say that no, tattoos are not going to go out of style any time soon. In fact, the opposite is almost certainly true.

There are over 2,000 tattoo parlors within the US alone, with more opening up frequently. In the future that number may level out and go down but humans have been getting tattooed for thousands of years, so tattoos will always be with us to some degree.

Generally, the number one deciding factor on whether or not someone is going to get a tattoo is more based on the reputation and quality of individual artists and parlors over price. Therefore, the supply and the demand are still there and the only reason it would wane is if the standards of quality go down while the prices go up.

Conclusion

Tattoos are a very personal thing. As beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so too is that of someone’s tattoos. What one person may see as a terrible set of symbols spiraling up someone’s forearm could be memories of loved ones, reminders to make themselves a better person, or a tradition passed through their culture.

The only way that tattoos will lose style and popularity is if they output quality of work and safety dips to subpar standards while the price of obtaining one drastically increases. They are already expensive, but reputations of both the artist and the parlor as a whole are at stake here.

There are so many other parlors potential clients can shop around to find a suitable match within their budgets that nobody can afford to make a mistake. If this were to change for some reason to where the quality of potential jobs goes down while the prices still go up, fewer people will get them as it becomes more and more unfeasible.

Thanks For Reading!

If you ever want to ask questions or discuss anything you read here please feel free to reach out through the contact page or visit my Twitch channel and ask me anything in real-time! I stream Wednesday-Friday 10 am-3 pm PST.

I also co-host a podcast for artists called Art Condition where we discuss the business and mindset for artists. Click here to see past episodes and subscribe on your favorite platform.