More people are getting tattoos removed
gq.com
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The first removal 5 years ago would leave me bleeding and require bandage changes for a week.
The new tattoo removal lasers leave you feeling like a sun burn for two days. No blood, no bandages.
It will become way more common.
Pretty much if you could do the tattoo you can get it removed, first times hurt a bit but I have vague memories that it hurt like hell when I got it done black-out drunk in Aiya Napa, Cyprus as an 18 year old as well.
If you're thinking about removing a tattoo pain should be really low on your list of considerations, I genuinely mean it (both because sessions are short and it doesn't hurt much)
(*statistically a drug addict, criminal or prostitute)
I knew another man of that generation with a number tattooed on his wrist. He never talked about it.
It also helps that my tattoos are wholly original, i.e. not based on some trend, and that I chose the subject matter specifically because I didn’t think it was possible to hate it later on (a dinosaur and a 4d hypercube). Like, am I ever going to hate dinosaurs? I’ve loved them for 40ish years already.
It hurts a ton. It bleeds a lot
It wasn't intolerable pain, but it's not "not that bad" either
Obviously circumstances may change if the tattoo is offensive.
If when I get older and those memories mean less to me, the tattoos will become markers of who I was and what was once important to me. I could see myself getting some of them removed, but I don't think it's likely.
Because of the way my brain is, it's difficult for me to stay attached to the past. Having permanent marks on my body makes the past unforgettable, inescapable. I like to think it's made an improvement on the person I've become, but of course it's impossible to know.
Now lately I feel like the speed on which trends are born and die, the non-stop over sharing, and that constant itch for "what's next" is really pushing us all to become these kind of formless blobs, scared to show any real "edges." For example:
- Cars all kinda look the same now and are mostly some shade of grey. Same deal with phones and pretty much all tech.
- Buying clothes with bland colors with almost no originality with the expectation that it will probably be in the bin the next season.
- The whole clean girl aesthetic on putting in a ton of effort to look like you put in zero effort.
- And don't get me started on how sad beige parenting is not a joke
You only live once, there's no scoreboard at the end. Just do what you want with your life. More often than you'd probably like to admit, nobody really cares that much anyway.
I didn't change later. I had another artist expand the design about ten years ago. And while it had some meaning when I got the first round, I've realized over time that it means a whole lot more to me as I've learned more about myself.
But when someone asks me what it means, I just shrug it off. I'm not sharing that kind of thing with people.
> Do you disagree with that?
100%. It's all about the entire package, of which color is only part. Aesthetics are always subjective, but, for example, the Ioniq I mentioned definitely (subjective :P) looks best in gray.
Not everything needs a deep meaning.
I'm old enough to be a grandpa for many of the people here, I've got a lot of scars, and none of those scars are from going to a scar store, getting out my wallet, and saying, "hey! give me a cool scar, scar artist!".
The scars I have on my body are from moments in my life where everything went wildly fucking wrong. If you want that in your life, something is wrong with you, same as it was for me, and I don't what to tell you other than you don't have to pay money for it. You can get scar tissue for free.
One fellow I was very close with, had served in Vietnam, and had significant pieces of shrapnel/flak embedded in his skull that they couldn't pick out. He sometimes had minor memory lapses and PTSD bad enough to require sleep medication, every night.
Another fellow was doing well and had a construction job still, but noticeable scarring all along his forearms. And he never made a big deal about it or anything, until once we were all gathered for a meal, and our pastor pointed out that this fellow had run back into a burning building to rescue someone and his arms were set on fire from that incident, and he sustained significant damage to them, but in the end it was indeed an act of heroism and unselfish bravery to save another human being.
It was very humbling to be given this new perspective on guys whom I barely knew. There is definitely a story behind every scar on someone's body. Some of those stories may be quite eye-opening!
The Monkey's Paw: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=4S8rtxPmHTA&si=v607QuxDK11...
People are simply less unique nowadays, full stop.
They symbolize a past life to me basically, and that brings meaning and unique introspection to me in a way.
For the vast majority of people who haven’t suffered some kind of brain damage, life is append only and the current state is completely dependent on the history. You have markers of your past good and bad decisions all over you.
Maybe a Sun logo could be an exception, they're not around anymore, so it feels more like nostalgia or grieving instead of "this company owns me". I wasn't around/aware when Sun was, also, so they feel more like a mythical thing from a story to me than an old company.
I've kinda sorta decided on a hex/honeycomb pattern so I can fill each hex with e different thing. That would keep it consistent (can't stand the style of tattoos where they're just slapped haphazardly everywhere) but still variable enough.
Those large gauge ear plugs didn’t age well AT ALL.
Tattooing got immensely popular and a lot of people who shouldn’t not have taken on apprentices took on apprentices. The quality of apprenticeships dropped and artists were getting put on skin way before they were ready. Many artists never learned proper technique or placement.
Styles changed so people were getting their first tattoos in visible places. When he started tattooing, artists wouldn’t do a first tattoo somewhere visible unless the client had a very very good reason. It always took dialogue. Now you can walk into a shop, point to flash and get it out on your neck or hand.
And finally, realism hit tattoos.
So in his opinion. You take a lot of artists who shouldn’t have been putting ink into grapefruits not skin. Put them to them to work on highly visible realistic looking art on people who don’t know enough about tattoo to know whether they’re making a mistake. And you end up with a lot of people staring at visible art that didn’t heal properly, with blown out lines and poor placement.
I didn’t get tattooed until after another good friend had finished his apprenticeship- I’m very glad I waited because I love my art and will slowly keep getting more. But I feel bad for people who fell into that trap of getting an unqualified artist to put bad art on their bodies.
People who got inked in the 90s tattoo boom are now wearing blurry smudges unless they were careful to minimize the fine detail.
Technology improvements leading to better removal quality, reduced removal times, less post-procedure pain, and better word-of-mouth response is a suggestion.
Up until the 2010's the range of Quality(Q)-switched lasers was the main tool available. They produce pulse widths in the nanosecond range and can remove multiple colors. Big improvements over the Argon and CO2 laser systems from pre-80's / 90's with less scarring. However, often still had long, painful recoveries between sessions (depending on the tattoo).
In the 2010's, the various picosecond pulse-width laser systems came out, and they usually require less sessions than the Q-switched procedures people are used to, and the reports tend be of less pain and discomfort after the removal procedure (described like getting a bad sunburn). Probably both have resulted in better word of mouth, and larger numbers recommending getting removal.
Don't confuse a state of affairs where the capitalists are having difficulty replacing us (thus reducing pressure on us) with a general beneficence, their relationship to us is purely transactional and we are disposable. Have solidarity with your class.
I think I'd put "counter culture" rather than lower class.
Now it’s “counter culture” to not have a tattoo. They are so common. They have become a sign of conformity.
38% of women vs 27% of men. The number would be higher for young women.
(Also, my mom and dad both have masters degrees).
Tattoos say different things to different people in different times. Right now tattoos are fine in most white collar settings but this won't always be the case.
Fashion goes in cycles and all that.
I think tattoos are cool because it's art where your body is the canvas. Pure human evolution really. I'll be getting more tattoos soon.
It's definitely doable and could be a boost in confidence for some people, like it was for me.
They're pretty great for vacations and events.
Head tattoos are quite cool too. This Youtuber's (https://www.youtube.com/@Gratitude.Driven) tattoos are pure art for example.
Ok, I do like her head tattoos.
That said, I'm old enough that most of those could be my kids, so I realize I'm an old fart at this point.
I think everyone knew this to be true, but we are polite to people who have tattoos.
On the flip side, there are people who claim 'I don't care what they think'. And this is just an anti-social attitude in disguise of rebellion. It genuinely doesnt matter, people make split second judgements that DO affect you, even if you claim you don't care.
I've been at busy events and decided to talk to a decently dressed person over the person wearing raggy clothing. We notice patterns, often subconsciously.
Just say what you believe instead of trying to launder your opinion as generally accepted truth.
You prefer to be less beautiful and judged negatively on surface level appearances?
Yeah sureeee. I prefer to make less money, have less friends, and have less influence too /s
They don't get approached at a social event, yet they attended to meet people.
They can say as many times "Its a filter", but the filter only hurt them. Not the other way around. Its a 'Grapes are sour anyway" situation.
Less opportunities for you because you are (intentionally) ignorant of human nature.
As mentioned, people make split second judgements. It doesnt matter if you are the top 5 smartest people in the world, people do not have the resources to 'vet' everyone. We look at patterns and realize that people with Face tattoos are less likely to be excellent.
This is textbook idealism. That is the way the world Ought to be. That isnt how the world Is. We are shaped by experiences.
There is something a bit reinforcing on this topic. The people deliberately violating social norms claim they 'don't care'. I imagine the smartest people are aware this stuff does matter, so they don't violate social norms.
The only thing I would possibly tattoo is something about me that will never change, for me that's my religious views. That said, my religion has mixed reviews on if tattoos are even acceptable at all, our body being a temple.
Overall, I still feel tattoos should be relegated to prisons and skid row as I'm old fashioned. I wouldn't recommend or encourage anyone to get one. People are leaning more conservative as a sign of the times. That's the root of the trend against tattoos. Even famous tattoo artists like Kat Von D has wanted to remove hers and felt she was better off blacking them out instead.
The owner has a removal studio not far away.
Then I looked into it, and it seems to be pretty hit or miss. Some people have great outcomes, some people end up with something that looks even worse than what they started with. It can take years for the removal process, and you won't know if you're going to end up with a good or bad result until the end.
That doesn't even touch on the price.
So, for me, I'm just going to cover mine up, and accept that I've only got a few more decades with them anyway.
> Why do the media keep running stories saying suits are back? Because PR firms tell them to. One of the most surprising things I discovered during my brief business career was the existence of the PR industry, lurking like a huge, quiet submarine beneath the news. Of the stories you read in traditional media that aren't about politics, crimes, or disasters, more than half probably come from PR firms.
https://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html (April 02005)
Towards the end he talks about how people trusted blogs and online content more because mainstream media was fake and biased.
The final paragraph:
> PR people fear bloggers for the same reason readers like them. And that means there may be a struggle ahead. As this new kind of writing draws readers away from traditional media, we should be prepared for whatever PR mutates into to compensate. When I think how hard PR firms work to score press hits in the traditional media, I can't imagine they'll work any less hard to feed stories to bloggers, if they can figure out how.
This is where we are now. It's even worse, I guess. Publishing online is essentially free, so they don't really have to try hard. And we are left with the work of separating the wheat out of this tsunami of chaff. The future of the Internet looks bleak TBH.
You just pick something really cool when you're 20, and then you resist turning into a boring person who hates what you used to like when you're 40
It's just having the maturity to realize that you don't have to stop having fun just because you're getting older
It's also important to have the maturity to realize that there is a time and place for embracing your inner child
I have a tattoo of a sword buried in molten rock on my bicep. It was kind of inspired by the bonfire from Dark Souls. I don't tend to go around showing it off at work events or whatever.
I absolutely do not regret it even though it is admittedly kind of a childish tattoo. I think it's cool. I show it off to people that I think will also think it's cool
What I tried to get at, but wasn't clear about, is that tattoos serve a functional purpose (in your case it seems to partly be an identifier).
Then, specifically, tattoos with the function of fashion, is what likely leads to regret by the general laws of fashion. To quote "Project Runaway": "one day you're in, the next day you're out."
edit : I have a few tattoo's my first at 18, my best friend killed himself, so I took his scratch he made on his guitar and make a tattoo. it's not astetic by any means but now I build a collection of memories of the people important to me who are around and meld them all together.
I like this, means the most to me. Can look horrible to others. But tattoos are not all born equal.
Tattoos, a common form of body adornment, have been associated with numerous cutaneous complications. These include not only benign neoplasms and malignant tumors but also lymphoid conditions occurring within the tattoo.
It's a lengthy, expensive, and often painful process. Getting shoddy work covered might be a better deal in some cases.
we saw the same thing over a shorter period with stretched ears - a lot of people did it at the height of its popularity but have since let their piercings close (or resorted to surgery if they were past that point).
tbh, i don't really care if "squares/normies" get tattoos or weird piercings (or get them removed), but i do kinda welcome the return to "otherness" that it used to confer. i like having tattoos and piercings for their own sake. even though 99% of my tattoos are extremely stupid and i wouldn't get them today, i'm happy to keep them as a reminder of where i was in life when i got them.
EDIT: I think I misinterpreted your statement, but I'll leave my response anyway just because. I thought you meant "get" in the sense of understanding them.
I appreciate you saying this offhand for some reason, even though I don't think you were trying to give credit to others.
Naturally, I am both liberal and perhaps libertarian in the sense that I think people have a right to get tattoos and I don't have a problem with people having them.
What has long bugged me though are the numerous people who clearly get body modifications in order to attract validation from others. If one isn't in their unspoken club, they become super defensive and accusatory.
For example, as much as I have no interest in getting tattoos, I will compliment people on their tattoos that I appreciate. When inevitably asked in response why I don't have any tattoos, I tell the other person that I simply have no desire for one. When that answer isn't accepted, I sometimes (mistkenly) admit that I don't like them in general. This triggers a lot of tattoo people, even though my choice of words doesn't actually suggest that I hate all tattoos or their tattoos.
On an even more intense level, it's verboten in my society, as a man, to openly state a preference for women without tattoos. I never bring it up unless prompted, yet I often get so much blowback for this. The word "judgmental" always gets slung my way. It's pretty clear that something else is going on here when people get this defensive over something that is fairly trivial.
As far as the woman thing goes, guys have a tendency to talk about women, and sometimes the topic of tattoo'd women comes up. I've been on this planet for nearly 40 years, so while this isn't really a common conversation, I've encountered it enough times to notice recurring themes.
The more interesting question is how the percentages changed — although that very likely just tells you something about the quality and availability of tattoo removal services.
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i see more aging hipsters than ever with sleeves and they seem to keep adding, so i wonder if this is "genre" specific.
The only people I know who got a sleeve lazered off did it because they wanted to replace it, not because they wanted to be ink free.
Now that's your fashion decision for the rest of your life because you thought this is such a cool look, you'll wear it until you die.
That's tattoos.
If everyone doesn't have the right to due process, no one does.