Face tattoos: a trend that is here to stay?

NEW YORK — Face tattoos, once limited to only a very small group of people, have gained new popularity thanks to today’s rappers — but some artists are reluctant to make such a permanent change to a client’s appearance.

In New York’s East Village, some of the would-be customers entering tattoo parlors are still teenagers — some of them have never even had any body art, but nevertheless want to indelibly inscribe something on their face.

“Of late, it has become a very big trend because of what they see on TV,” said Armando Guevara, a receptionist at Andromeda Studio 33, which also does piercings.

What young people are seeing on television are people like Grammynominated rapper Post Malone, the current poster boy of so-called mumble rap, also called SoundCloud rap or emo rap.

And when the Mondial du Tatouage, the World Tattoo Expo, opened in Paris on Friday, the trend was certainly on full display.

Shaggy Johnsen, a 22-year-old from New York who had Bugs Bunny inked on his temple, admits he was influenced by his favorite rappers.

“It’s all about how you promote yourself — how you bring yourself out.”

Guevara is not against face tattoos — he has several of them, including a huge one inspired by pre-Columbian art that covers about a quarter of his face.

But he advised clients to be extra cautious before taking the leap.

“If you’re going to do something on your face that is permanent, think about it. Try it out,” said Guevara.

Many younger customers do not realize the implications of what they are asking for, according to Guevara.

“They don’t really know that it’s a lifetime thing, that it will deeply impact their life. We turn them away,” he said, explaining that minors are not welcomed at Andromeda.

“You’re going to have a lot of people that are going to discriminate against you, a lot of places that won’t give you housing, that won’t give you employment,” Guevara said, adding he had been the victim of discrimination over his body art.