There have been quite a few newspaper articles recently that have raised the question 'Should face tattoos be banned for under 21's?'. At present, in the UK anybody can get a tattoo if they're over the age of 18, but with the rise of celebrity tattoos and the presence of tattoos across social media, there's definitely been a spike in the number of people wanting face tattoos. But with face tattoos come consequences, especially for those who are young and may not have an established or long term career that allows for such body modifications in the workplace, so artists are raising the question of whether it's moral, and if there should be more regulations in place for such things.

Thanks to celebrities like Post Malone, Kehlani, and Justin Bieber, to name a few, face tattoos are becoming 'the norm' across platforms like Instagram, but these celebrities needn't worry about the consequences of face tattoos, however those wanting to follow in their footsteps should think twice before permanently tattooing their face with something that is completely visible, and difficult to cover on a long term basis. 

Kehlani, sporting a paper plane face tattoo. 

Some tattoo artists have called for the age limit for face tattoos to be raised to age 21.  Visible tattoos can certainly affect people's job prospects, and the British Tattoo Artist Federation (BTAF) refer to face tattoos as 'job stoppers', stating that they can really put off potential employers. Lee Clements of the BTAF stated that there had been a ‘huge increase’ in the numbers of people with face tattoos, but people don't necessarily think about what may happen when they try and apply for a job.  Although tattoos are becoming a lot more accepted in society, there's still a huge stigma around face tattoos, and some artists want aren't comfortable with tattooing such young adults on their face, especially when they have very little or no other tattoos. .

Tattoo artists then have the worry that if they turn someone away for a tattoo, then the person will only go and try somewhere else. The next artist they consult may not be as professional, or may even be a 'scratcher', so there's always the internal debate of, 'someone else is only going to do it anyway', which leaves the artist with what they may see as a moral dilemma when it comes to face tattoos. 

At least increasing the age for face tattoos to 21 gives those who are even younger more time to deliberate about whether a face tattoo is a good idea, and it may prevent some regrettable decisions.  At Magnum Tattoo Supplies where we stock high quality tattoo supplies, we'd love to know your thoughts on this matter, so if you'd like to have your say about it then why not leave us a comment in the box below? 

Love Toni

Blog & image credits:

https://metro.co.uk/2019/11/19/face-tattoos-banned-people-21-11183776/?ito=cbshare

https://www.popsugar.co.uk/gdpr-consent?destination=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.popsugar.co.uk%2Fbeauty%2Fphoto-gallery%2F44998108%2Fembed%2F44998102%2FKehlani

← Previous Post Next Post →