TEEN DIY
Tattoos on the Rise By Lori Berezin
At-home tattoos are a growing teen trend. In case
system. Armed with only a few supplies easily found or
you’re wondering how they get their hands on the
purchased on the web, such as a bottle of India ink,
tattoo guns, needles, and ink to do the job, look no
sewing needle, and rubbing alcohol, they can create
further than one of the world’s largest online stores.
tattoos that will impress friends and freak out their folks. Many young celebrities helped popularize tattoos. In-
Baby boomers fought for peace and love and grew
stagram displays countless photos of hand-poke de-
their hair long. Millennials like to Snapchat and docu-
signs. Let’s face it, tattoos have gone mainstream and
ment nearly every thought and emotion. Those born
these kids want to join in. The biggest drawbacks to
after 1995 are considered Gen Z, and they’ve never
DIY home tattoos are risks of blood-borne disease and
lived without the Internet. It follows that they would
infections.
use the web to purchase home tattoo kits. While these kids, some as young as 10, are still growing up, stick-
Whether these tattoos are an act of artistic expres-
and-poke tattoos are permanent. The tattoo guns are
sion or teenage rebellion has yet to be determined.
completely legal and not age restricted. The designs
They’re probably a little of both. However, kids need to
can be small or hidden on a foot or wrist, under the
realize that even if their friend is a great tattoo artist, a
arm, or behind the neck so parents won’t notice them
stick-and-poke tattoo will always look less profession-
for months.
al than one done by an expert. Both, however, are meant to exist forever. And how many long-term de-
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Kids are basically looking to express themselves artis-
cisions should a 15-year-old make? They’re remova-
tically. Younger teens, forbidden from utilizing tattoo
ble but not without a lot of pain. Perhaps, they should
parlors, realized home tattoos were a way around the
think before they ink. n
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