A tattoo is a permanent modification to the body done by putting pigment into punctures in the skin. Now wait a second, let me say that again. A tattoo is a PERMANENT modification to the body. Wouldn’t that make you think people would think extra-long and hard before choosing to get one? However, 33 percent of Americans who have a tattoo regret it, and have resorted to tattoo cover ups and laser removal. That is a third of the tattooed population that wishes they would have thought twice before getting their tattoo. And of that 33 percent, 11 percent say they received their tattoos when they were younger than eighteen (the legal age to acquire a tattoo without parental consent). While these numbers may not seem dramatic enough to most people, that is 14.9 million Americans living with regret every day.

According to Pew Research Center, an American think tank organization based in Washington, D.C. that provides information on issues, attitudes and trends shaping the United States and the world, over 45 million Americans alone have one or more tattoos on their bodies. That is about 1 in every 5 Americans. Every year the popularity of tattoos seems to increase as it becomes more and more acceptable in society. Why though? What drives kids in their early teens, to people in their late eighties to want to permanently distort their bodies? Is it sex appeal? Results show in the Harris Poll of 2012 that 39 percent of people believed tattooed people are sexier than others, while 41 percent say they are less attractive, and the other 20 percent don’t have an opinion either way. Could it be the feeling of rebellion? The same Poll states that about a quarter of the same tattooed people claim they feel rebellious with their tattoos.

Dr. Tattoff a dermatologist specializing in the removal of tattoos through laser surgery states that the majority of his clients tend to be young women between the ages of 25-35. To explain this, James Morel, the chief executive of the company says, “Maybe women are getting more tattoos than they used to, or maybe they just have a higher level of tattoo regret than men.” Although there are no hard statistics on tattoo removals, Catherine A. Kniker, a senior vice president for Candela, a laser manufacturer calculated that over 100,000 Americans get laser tattoo removal every year. While this number may not seem like a lot they anticipate the number to increase as the progressiveness of the treatments increase because the word ‘permanent’ may not be so true if the treatments continue to work. They expect more people to go out and get more tattoos. While the procedure seems worthwhile in the long run, people say it’s not an overly pleasant process, nor a cheap one for that matter. The average cost for a tattoo is usually several hundred dollars, while the removal of one can be several thousand, and several painful visits.

On a more inexpensive note, tattoo cover ups are not only cheaper, but by far less painful. Recently a show was added to TLC called, Americas Worst Tattoos the show captures people most regretful moments as they come in with high hopes of getting a tattoo cover up done by artist Megan Massacre who’s notorious for her tattoo cover up skills. In an interview done for TLC, Megan says, "I would say 90 percent of all Americans have awful tattoos," she said, "People get terrible tattoos for a number of reasons. Sometimes people get tattoos when they're drunk, or their tattoo artist is drunk. Tattooing hasn't been around long enough so that people know the difference between a good and a bad tattoo. It's really nice to work on a show where I can explain to the general public, 'Look, this is what makes this tattoo awful.'”
The results from a survey given in an Honors English III class at Woodland Park High School came back with varied opinions, but there was a more common answer for the most part in each question. When the students were asked if they had ever considered getting a tattoo 52 percent answered yes. However when asked, ‘If your parents gave you permission would you go get a tattoo?’ There was a tie between the answers No, Probably, Yes and definitely all of which received 21 percent of the class’s votes. The remaining 16 percent answered with definitely not and maybe. Thankfully, when the class was asked, ‘on a scale of 1-10 (1 being Not Important 10 being Extremely Important) how important do you think it is to carefully think through a tattoo before getting it?’ 79 percent answered with a 10, 15 percent with a 9, and 6 percent with an 8. And finally, when the students were asked if they, or anyone they knew regretted their tattoos, the answer ‘yes’ took the majority vote with a considerable 79 percent. They were asked to elaborate if they answered yes. Most of the responses had to do with getting their tattoos when they were too young. This is a serious issue to me, because I believe that if there was no leeway to getting your tattoo before the age of 18 that the percentage of tattoo removals and tattoo cover-ups would go down considerably.

As of right now you have to be above the age of 18 to get a tattoo without parental consent. However, if you are under the age of 18 and do have parental consent you can still legally get a tattoo. I feel that this should not be the case, because too many parents now days don’t care, and allow their child to get a pointless tattoo that later on can cause regret. I feel that people under the age of 18 tend to be more naïve and careless, and are more likely to make impulsive decisions. It seems unnecessary to me to get a tattoo before the age of 18 at least. What’s the point?

Tattoos have always been something that I have been overly picky with. They scare me to no end considering that key word, ‘permanent’. Nevertheless this obviously doesn’t stop 45 million Americans from going out and getting them every day. And while research shows that 33 percent regret their tattoos, that must mean 67 percent do not. And like people say, “Majority Rules”. My intentions on conducting this research papers was not to try to decrease the amount of people getting tattoos every day, but more to raise awareness to the importance of carefully selecting a tattoo, and making sure it’s something you would like to see every day on your body for the rest of your life. The consequences of not liking your tattoo seem too severe to not just take a few extra days to reconsider your tattoo before getting it.