Self Tattooing

One of the most interesting discoveries of our research was a tattoo that a girl had actually etched into her own skin. With India ink and a sewing needle (ouch!). This tattoo is not regretted and was done out of an urge to "see if I could give myself a tattoo..."

Tattoo Addiction

Although some of our participants didn't find tattooing addictive (for example S.A.E) many of them did. D.S.M, A.T.P., S., T.T., A.B., and A.O. all find tattooing addictive. Among the people who find tattooing addictive many of them such as A.B. - who has "at least three other tattoos that [she] wants to get in mind" - already have plans for future tattoos.

Bad Decisions

A common trend among tattoos that are regretted is impulsive and "bad" decision making.

D.S.M: I just wanted a tattoo. I was young and immature and didn't think it through.



S (when asked what she thinks her tattoo says about her): that I made a bad decision when I was young.

Representation

Many of the participants in our research cited the meaning or symbolism of their tattoos as reasons for liking their tattoos. Interestingly none of the participants discussed meaning or symbolism as a reason for regretting tattoos.

A.O.: I thought it was a really beautiful quote and I like the many interpretations it can have.


T.T.: I like this tattoo because it is both meaningful and aesthetically pleasing.




S.A.E: I like what it represents, it's a symbol of protection.

Artwork

Many of the interviewees in our research that regretted tattoos regretted them because of the quality of the artwork. Here are just a few examples of what we discovered in our interviews:

C.L.M: I do regret this tattoo because of the poor quality artwork and bad location


S: [I regret this tattoo because of] bad artwork

Conversely, when people had tattoos they liked they often cited good artwork as one of the reasons that they liked their tattoos:

T: [I like this tattoo because of] really good artwork