Young tattoo fans warned face ink can stain their future
Tattooists say teenagers are copying celebrities as demand for ‘life-changing’ inkings grows
TATTOOISTS have called for the age limit for facial inkings to be raised from 18 to 21 as social media fuels a rise in “extreme” tattoos.
Increasing numbers of young people are requesting permanent illustrations on their faces, necks or hands, according to members of the British Tattoo Artists Federation (BTAF).
The trend has become popular in recent years with celebrities such as US pop star Justin Bieber, Jesy Nelson, the Little Mix singer, Marco Pierre White junior, son of the television chef, and Jeremy Meeks, a former US gang member who launched a successful modelling career while serving a 27-month jail sentence after his arrest mug shot went viral on Facebook.
Permanent facial illustrations are known as “jobstoppers” within the industry, as they are known for preventing people from securing employment.
“I can’t go a week without a young person coming into our studio asking for a tattoo on their face, neck or hands. There has been a huge increase in the trend”, said Lee Clements, of the BTAF.
“I think it could carry weight to higher the age people can get facial tattoos,” he added.
“It is concerning for us as professionals, because in the future it is going to affect [clients’] job prospects. But for them, it’s all about the tattoo being visible when they take the perfect Instagram photo.”
Individuals must be at least 18 years old to get a tattoo in the UK. But Mr Clements said he has had children as young as 14 come into his studio after getting a tattoo on their face or hands in “unprofessional, unclean” studios known as “scratchers”.
“Anyone can open up a tattoo studio,” he said. “One of the problems is that younger people go to scratchers because they are far less likely to turn them away when they ask for an extremely visible tattoo on their face, neck or hands. Whereas we just would not agree to do it.”
Mr Clements, 42, who runs a studio in Barry, South Wales, is currently working with the Welsh government to introduce stricter rules about who can practise as a tattoo artist, as there are currently no legal requirements.
The most popular face tattoos among young people are musical lyrics above the eyebrow or a small shape on their cheeks, according to Nadine Anderson, who got her first facial tattoo last year.
Ms Anderson, 23, who has more than 100,000 followers on Instagram, said the trend is fuelled by celebrities “normalising” the permanent feature.
“There’s definitely more people willing to do it now,” she said. “There’s still very much a social taboo as it comes with being the ‘undesirable’ person in society, but a lot more people are still willing to do it despite this. It’s because celebrities and social media influencers are normalising it.”
Ms Anderson said many young people are too quick to jump into getting a face tattoo and do not think about the implications.
“It is taken for granted how much it can ruin your life,” she said. “Too many people do not think about their future.”
‘It is taken for granted how much it can ruin your life. Too many people do not think about their future’