Over a third of the population has at least one tattoo. In decades past, it was unusual to see someone with permanent tattoos. Now it is much more acceptable to celebrate individuality which is why more people have tattoos than ever before. With the popularity of tattoos being on the rise, you may be thinking of getting one yourself.

Tattoos are a great form of art and self-expression, however, they are also a lifelong commitment that could have negative effects on your social status or even your health if you are not careful. Before you decide to get tattoos, you should weigh the pros and cons for yourself.

This article will explain to you the pros and cons of getting tattoos so you can feel confident and comfortable with your choice. You will know more about the benefits and disadvantages of getting tattoos so you can ensure the decision that is best for your individual lifestyle. Read on to learn more about the average pros and cons that come with getting a tattoo.

Pros and Cons of Getting Body Tattoos

While some people have a tattoo as a form of self-expression, others may get tattoos as a rebellion or a way to cultivate more confidence. Tattoos are a great way to remember or admire a person by choosing a creative symbol that relates to an individual’s interests or identity.

In addition to getting creative, self expression tattoos to remember someone, people like showing appreciation for designs and patterns in their natural art form. A tattoo can show a person’s appreciation for the arts because the person who wears the tattoo acts as a walking canvas for the artist. At the very least tattoos are a great conversation starter! (but always approach with respect. Tattoos are not necessarily an invitation to social interaction)

While there are many reasons people get tattoos, there are also many factors you will want to be cautious of before making your appointment. The most obvious reason why people refrain from getting tattoos is the permanency of the art form. The artwork stays on a person throughout their lifetime and can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars to remove.

Are There Any Benefits of Tattoos?

Many people are unaware of the benefits that come with getting a tattoo. Tattoos are more than just artistic body art patterns; their influence on the person who is wearing the design goes beyond just being skin deep.

Not only does getting a tattoo often lead to an increase in confidence, but the procedure can lead to potential physical health benefits. Take a closer look at how the benefits of getting a tattoo or tattoos relate to the well being of the person’s body and mind.

A Tattoo Can Help Improve Your Immune System

Repetitively exposing your skin to the foreign substance in the tattoo ink causes your immune system to work harder, making it stronger in the long run.

When you put something into your body that is not naturally produced inside of you, your immune system kicks in to fight it off.
The immune system’s primary job is to protect your body from substances that are unfamiliar to the body’s internal composition.
Therefore, if you repetitively expose yourself to tattoo ink, your immune system tries to fight it off by attempting to push the ink out of your skin.

The process of your body trying to naturally remove the ink from your skin is the reason why many people experience rashes, swelling, or irritation after their procedure. If you have multiple tattoos and are continuously exposing your body to things that your internal systems are unfamiliar with, this will result in an improvement of the immune system because it has to work harder.

Think about your muscular system. The more you work out your muscles, the stronger they become. This same principle applies to your immune system- the harder you make it work, the stronger it will be.

But take care and respect your skin type. Some people have very sensitive skin and could have adverse reactions. Consult your doctor if you have concerns!

Your Body Will Produce More White Blood Cells

In addition to your immune system becoming stronger, your body will need to produce more white blood cells to try and push out the tattoo ink during the healing process.

Your immune system interprets your new tattoo as a scar or large wound. In order to try and heal the wound, your body produces white blood cells to attempt to push the ink out of the holes and seal the wound.

White blood cells are known for fighting off infections and diseases, as well as repairing skin damage. The procedure of getting a tattoo increases your production of white blood cells since they are trying to repair the damage, which further benefits and strengthens your immune system.

Getting a Tattoo Can Help Improve Your Mental Health

In previous decades, people who had tattoos may have been stereotyped as having mental health problems. Since you are damaging the skin through a painful procedure, some people interpret tattoos as a form of self-harm. However, as tattooing has become normalized, the majority of people today view the procedure as an act of self-care or creative expression.

There is very limited valid research to prove that there is a correlation between having mental health problems and having tattoos. In fact, some research argues the opposite. Tattoos may benefit a person’s mental health. Here is how a tattoo can make you feel better about your life.

Tattoos Can Make You More Confident

Most people feel a sense of pride when they get new tattoos, especially if the piece symbolizes something that is meaningful to them. Tattoos can help people feel more confident, as they are often used to adjust and cope with negative feelings of self-image. Some examples of this would be:

Tattoos covering stretch marks
Tattoos can enhance the shape of muscle tone
Designs that cover or beautify the scars of a C-section
Beautiful art to go around or over Mastectomy scars
Cover scars of unwanted memories

Every individual is unique, and tattoos are a visual way to display our individual interests and show our personalities off to the world.

Making a Commitment Can Improve Self-Esteem

People generally feel better when they commit to something. Long-term investments give a person something to be proud of, which can act in correlation with the confidence-boosting effects of having a tattoo.

The long-term commitment requires a self-care process to heal and maintain the design. By giving someone something to take care of that they are proud of, a person may experience further improvements in their self-image and self-esteem.

Getting Tattooed Can Reduce Stress Levels

Cortisol is the chemical in your brain primarily responsible for stress. When you get a tattoo, your cortisol levels significantly decrease. While the procedure is a painful process, it has also been described as a sense of relief.

When you get a tattoo, the tattoo machine is hitting pressure points.
The puncturing of the pressure points leads to increased blood flow, which may explain why some people feel relaxed during or after the tattooing procedure.
The built-up stiffness of the tattooed area is being released, which causes the muscle to relax after the procedure.

Some people claim that they feel the same sense of release when they get a tattoo as they do after a rigorous workout.

Getting tattoos can also feel like being part of the tattoo community and humans always get a boost from feelings of being a apart of a like-minded group!

Tattoos Can Help Raise Mental Health Awareness

New ink can be a great way to showcase an object or an idea people feel passionate about. If mental health is something someone has struggled with, they may be interested in skin art to advocate for mental health awareness.

An example of an advocacy tattoo is the semicolon project. The semicolon project is a project that consists of a group of people with a semicolon tattooed somewhere on their body. The semicolon is most commonly tattooed on the person’s wrist, neck, ear, or chest to symbolize a vein associated with life.

The semicolon tattoo seeks to raise suicide awareness for those who have suffered from mental illnesses such as anxiety or depressive disorders. Just like a semicolon is a writer’s way of telling the reader the sentence will continue, the semicolon tattoo is a sign that the person wearing it has chosen to continue their life.

Just as an aside: Some people really find the sound of a tattoo machine relaxing!

What Are the Disadvantages Tattoos?

While getting a tattoo has considerable benefits, such as improving your immune system and supporting your mental health, your outlook on life, etc., there are some disadvantages to consider when you are thinking about getting a tattoo. Although the perception of tattoos has drastically changed over the last 50 years, there is still a negative stigma associated with people who choose to get a tattoo.

There are some cons to think about before you make your decision.

Tattoos Can Impact Your Job Hire-ability

While this is not as much of an issue as it was in decades past, some industries in the corporate world still consider visible tattoos to be unprofessional. Not everyone can start their career path in their dream field right away, so some have to take job opportunities in environments that might be less open-minded about tattoos.

Employers May Hesitate to Hire People with Tattoos

Even though you try not to let other people’s opinions influence our decisions, the workforce and professional interactions in life are the reason society keeps going. Someone may be reluctant to employ people who have visible tattoos, especially if the artwork is controversial in nature. If you decide to get a tattoo, try to choose a design that is uncontroversial, especially if it is in a visible place like your arms or lower legs.

Many employers will immeditely dismiss the idea of hiring people with:

Face tattoos
Tattoos on the hands
tattoos on the neck

While the workforce has become more accepting of tattoos in the previous few decades, you are still taking a risk of an employer denying you a job because of a subconscious bias, even though there are nondiscriminatory laws in place to protect you. Employers can refrain from hiring you because of personal biases they are not even aware that they have.

The Job Market Is Already Competitive Enough

If you are interviewing for any type of job, it is best practice to cover tattoos on visible parts of your body. You want to be recognized for your professional skills and achievements rather than being rejected for a position you are well qualified for simply because an employer has a personal bias or the company holds traditional professional standards at its core values.

You can hide tattoos in the following ways:

Makeup
Jewelry
Clothing with more coverage

Do your best to eliminate obstacles to your employment before your interview so you can have the best chance of securing your position.

Some Jobs Will Not Allow Tattoos At All

Companies or businesses that place a high value on professionality such as government jobs, fine dining, the hotel industry, law firms, or medical facilities may not allow you to show your tattoo at work.

In addition to the employer seeing the tattoo during your interview and it impacting their decision to hire you, your supervisor may have a fear of your tattoo distracting or offending a customer. By simply covering your tattoo in the workplace, you avoid a lot of unnecessary problems. I wrote a full article about tattoos and the job market that you can read about by clicking here

Getting a Tattoo Can Negatively Impact Your Body

While tattoos can improve your immune system and support mental health, there are some important health concerns to consider before making the decision to get a tattoo.

This goes hand in hand with choosing the correct artist and tattoo studio. Remember that fresh tattoos are open wounds. They should only be performed in the most sterile environments with clean tools and talented, safe artists.

Some Tattoo Ink Contains Cancer-Causing Chemicals

Tattoo pigment contains carcinogens. An Australian study in 2016 found that over half of the ink cartridges their lab examined were mislabeled or had an inaccurate content description of the ingredients in the product.

In the study, many of the tattoo inks had extremely harmful carcinogens in high amounts, including:

Copper
Mercury

These chemicals have been linked to cancer, and while there is no absolute evidence that tattoos cause cancer, you are still taking a risk by introducing a foreign and unnatural material into yourself.

Remember, your skin is your biggest organ. It absorbs everything you put on it into the bloodstream which eventually gets processed throughout your entire body. If you allow carcinogens and harmful chemicals into your blood, you are increasing your chance of experiencing abnormal cell growth, which could potentially lead to cancer.

Be sure to consult with a professional tattoo artist to ask what kind of ink they use. Also consult your doctor if you have serious concerns.

Tattoos Can Be Harmful to Your Liver

Your liver is primarily responsible for eliminating toxins from your body. Your body may perceive anything that does not naturally occur in your organs as a toxin. When you get tattoos, the ink goes underneath the first few layers of your dermis and trace amounts may emit itself into your bloodstream. This will bring it into contact with your liver.

The immune system kicks in and tries to heal the wound while the flesh absorbs the ink being released into your bloodstream.
The toxins from the ink then travel throughout your body and eventually make their way to the liver.
The liver breaks down the toxic chemicals let into your body from the pigment and eliminates the poison.

However, repetitively exposing this organ to chemicals can cause it to work less efficiently.

This is also the reason you cannot give blood for at least three months after getting a tattoo. Toxins may be fresh in your bloodstream. The ink has a negative impact on your liver because it causes it to work harder. In the long term, the toxic chemicals from the ink may contribute to the liver working less effectively.

Other Health Risks to consider:

Allergic reactions
Skin Infection
Blood borne diseases

Tattoos Are a Lifelong Commitment

Another thing to consider is that the removal procedure can be dangerous and cause you to have permanent scars.

Most people have seen someone with a poorly done cover-up tattoo. Cover-up tattoo designs are difficult to pull off because the artist has to either morph the initial drawing into something else or remove the part of the flesh that contained the ink completely.

From showcasing a beloved art piece to the world to discoloration and change of heart, you need to be fully aware of what you are getting into. Before you invest your money and commit a part of your body to being covered by a tattoo, do your research and read further for the top things to consider before your appointment.

Conclusion

The pros and cons of getting a tattoo are for you to consider, in conjunction with the factors that are most important to your life. For example, if you are a person who puts a high value on art and creative expression, getting tattoos as a form of self expression is certainly the right decision for you. However, if you are a professional looking to climb the corporate ladder, tattoos may not be the best choice for you.

In addition to the employment and health factors or judgemental people that are influencing your decision, you also need to remind yourself that tattoos are a long-term commitment. Remember, artwork you choose will stay with you for your lifetime. Tattoos are a beautiful way to express yourself in your life, but they are not risk-free. Consider the pros and cons so you can make the decision that is best for you.