Tattoos are common enough that most people are able to look past the old, disproved cliche of “What will it look like when you are old?” However, not all tattoos are created equal, and a few “lucky” people have adorned themselves with pieces that are questionable at best and a warning to others at worst.
Netizens “inkshame” the worst tattoo designs out there, as both a warning and a monument to “the customer is always right.” So get comfortable as you scroll through and be sure to thank your lucky stars you didn’t get one of these tattoos. Upvote your favorites and comment your thoughts below.
#1 It’s Supposed To Be A Cat Nose
Image credits: anon
#2 Literally What Is This
Image credits: Brook Kidd
#3 Local Nc Artist
Image credits: Moriah Breeden
While it’s not as common as our parents (or grandparents) would have led us to believe, tattoo regret is still an issue. One survey found that, among 600 respondents, about 75% thought they should not have gotten at least one of their tattoos. As one can imagine, these days people will get multiple, so the issue is more around a specific piece, not the idea of tattoos in general.
If you put yourself in these people’s shoes, it’s easy to see how this could have happened. Take yourself back to a younger age and think about something you were obsessed with. If you felt a momentary pang of cringe, now imagine getting that thing, a band, film, quote, or something else, etched on your skin.
#4 The Skull
Image credits: Morgan Levoškin
#5 Someone I Knew Got A Tattoo On Vacation… Is It Completely Hopeless?
Image credits: anon
#6 Yikes
Image credits: anon
Not liking the content is just one of the reasons why people reported tattoo regret, the other obvious one is, like many of the images here, that the piece was just terribly done. Very often, things look better in our head or on paper and just do not translate to skin at all. However, the ultimate regret is to get the name of a person who you no longer associate with.
#7 I Have No Words
Image credits: Ally Platt
#8 The Longer You Look The Worse It Gets
Image credits: anon
#9 Friend Posted They Got A New Neck Tattoo And The Artist Did A Fantastic Job
Image credits: anon
However, it is important to differentiate between a person getting one tattoo just to try it and a true enthusiast. Statistics show that the more tattoos a person has, the less likely they are to regret them. Of course, this could be a sort of sunk cost fallacy, but after a few tattoos one can imagine that the recipient is better at picking art they like and finding an artist that works well for them.
#10 On My Instagram Feed… Someone In The Comments Asked What It Was Supposed To Be & The Owner Said It’s Gonna Be A Semi Colon, She’s Just Waiting For It To Heal First
Image credits: Kaylee Smith
#11 It’s The Constant Bragging About Getting Free Tattoos And Then They All Look Like This
Image credits: anon
#12 Loyaty
Image credits: anon
Still, even less desirable tattoos have a “shelf-life” of about two years, when the majority of tattoo regret cases kick in. In particularly sad cases, the person starts to regret it the next day, generally due to the piece being poorly done (and one can look no further than this article for evidence) or because they got it while intoxicated, never a good time to make long-term decisions.
#13 Someone Posted This In A Apa Pool Group. Just Awful
Image credits: anon
#14 Found On Tiktok
Image credits: Brianna Lynn Mosley
#15 Nice Watch Bro
Image credits: Alexandra McKay
This is why most specialists recommend sitting down and thinking about what you actually want. That isn’t the only step, it’s also pretty important to find an artist that can do it and understands your vision. As so often in life, paying a premium and taking time to plan tends to pay off, particularly if needles, ink, and skin are involved.
#16 I Did It Guys… I Finally Found One In The Wild
Image credits: Lara Cottrell
#17 Mercedes Benz Logo Anyone?
Image credits: anon
#18 The Client Paid Extra For Name And Shading, Apparently
Image credits: Lauryn Woodcock-Jones
On the technical side, tattoos don’t all heal identically, certain parts of the body are more receptive and everyone’s skin is different. If this all sounds like a recipe for disaster, don’t fret, most people do not end up hating their tattoo’s if they take all the necessary steps to prepare and maintain it afterward. Issues only arise when the recipient decides to rush, not do their research, or cheaps out on a skilled artist.
#19 Just… Why?
Image credits: anon
#20 So I Am An Emt And I Was Looking Up Ambulance Inspired Ink.. I Came Across This Gem
Image credits: Merri Kali Whitman
#21 Dude Said He Was Fine With A “Free Tattoo”
Image credits: Jay Wassner
If you are dealing with tattoo regret, it’s really not the end of the world. The feelings of regret may fade as you get used to it. Tattoo removal is another option if you don’t want to keep it, while these days many artists are pretty skilled at “drawing over” an existing tattoo to make something new and, presumably, better.
#22 “Award Winning Been Tattooing For Over 15 Years”
Image credits: Grace Sutton
#23 Ooof Local Shop
Image credits: anon
#24 The Hands
Image credits: anon
#25 Super Bad
Image credits: Emmanuelle Le Normand
#26 Sorry But What The F Is This?? The Placement???
Image credits: Loranda Tutt
#27 Local Shop Post
Image credits: anon
#28
Image credits: Zella Nyx
#29 I Finally Have Something To Post! So Much Going On. One Of My Matches On A Dating App
Image credits: Hayley Livingston
#30 Big Yikes. Found On Tik Tok
Image credits: David Jimenez
#31 This Guy Is From My Hometown. I Don’t Even Understand What This Is Supposed To Be About
Image credits: anon
#32 A Friend On My Timeline From A Local Shop
Image credits: anon
#33 I Don’t…. I Can’t Understand It. The Longer You Get… The Worse It Is
Image credits: anon
#34 I Know Theres Definitely Worse Ones But… I Dont Like It
Image credits: anon
#35 Found This In A Thread Of Winnie The Pooh Tattoos
Image credits: anon
#36 My Friend Is Showing Off His New Tatt. He Is Super Proud Of It. I Wonder If I Should Tell Him
Image credits: Lara Lara
#37 Bro Actually Does Great Work… But What Happened Here
Image credits: anon
#38 Spotted Out In The Wild In Bali
Image credits: Chantal Francis
#39
Image credits: Cat Starr
#40 A Friend Of Mines Tattoo? We Tried Talking Her Out Of Getting It ? She Wanted It So Bad She Couldn’t Wait
Image credits: Chloe Angelos
#41 I Just Can’t…
Image credits: anon
#42 The Fact That Someone Tattooed This, Took A Picture, And Uploaded It ? Not The Worst I’ve Seen But It Definitely Isn’t The Best. Especially The Nails ?
Image credits: Melissa Palmier
#43 On My Timeline… What Do We Think?
Image credits: anon
#44 Saw This In An Acotar Group… Love The Idea, But Why’s It So Hard To Read?!
Image credits: anon
#45 This Is Atrocious ?? It’s Supposed To Be The Evil Queen From Once Upon A Time ? ?
Image credits: anon
#46 Castiel From Supernatural Lookin Rough Here
Image credits: Jess Knight
#47 Another Tinder Find
Image credits: anon
#48 Someone Commented “The Last Dandelion”
Image credits: Gab Wil
#49 Found In The Wild…
Image credits: Stacy Fleming
#50 The Arms And Hands Though
Image credits: Chrissi Jenkins
#51 This Guy Usually Does Really Good Work. Idk What Happened Here
Image credits: anon
#52
Image credits: Miriam Cla
#53 Lines And Shading Are So Bad
Image credits: anon
#54 Apparently They Are Slugs Not Poop ? My Friend Was Going To Get A Tattoo From Her But Thankfully I Checked The Insta Needless To Say She Dodged A Bullet
Image credits: anon
#55 From An “Artist’s” Page… My Eyes! My Eyes!
Image credits: anon