I felt the needle inject black ink into the skin on my back and a familiar thought drifted into my mind – this is permanent. This wasn’t the first time I had decided to scar my skin of my own free will.

This black sun was my second tattoo.  Since I was 15, I knew I wanted this tattoo, mainly because it is the logo of my favourite band, Godsmack, but also because I like it. Seven years later, I’m in a tattoo shop having the design engraved onto my body.

I had planned my tattoo for years and a chose to wait as long as I did because I wanted to make absolutely sure that this was what I wanted. I know so many people who hastily got tattooed and have since regretted it. Should a tattoo be a lasting testament to something special, or simply a teenager’s way of rebelling or following a trend, with permanent consequences?

Tattoos have boomed in popularity over the past few years.  “I’d say the number of people getting tattoos have gone up in the past 8 years because it’s more commonly acceptable, especially in the workplace,” said Simone Edwards, a tattooist for Gypsy Nirvana Tattoo Studio in Kingston. The glittering world of celebrities probably had something to do with it. Tattoos are not longer reserved for mafia bosses and rum-filled sailors.  

Celebrities seem more than happy to display their ink nowadays; just look at Angelina Jolie and Rihanna. “This misconception of tattoos only being for rough people has gone out the window, thanks to celebrities,” said Simone Edwards. We all know how much celebrities influence us, especially young people, so it isn’t surprising that we have followed suit in getting more tattoos.
           

As I tried to think about anything but the burning pain on my back, I wondered if my generation took tattoos too lightly, not fully understanding that it would be a permanent feature on our bodies. Kingston graduates Natalie Zyntek and Laura Peters were housemates of mine while we completed our third year at Kingston University and for them, although their tattoos are loved, they do harbour some regrets,  “I don’t regret getting any of them done, but I wish I spent more time picking out designs,” said Laura, who has four tattoos. Her latest addition is a huge red fairy down her back inked by Old London Road Tattoos in Kingston The purple flame design on her hip is faded and discoloured, the result of a poor tattoo artist being let loose on her skin. “They did such a really bad job; I wish I had gone somewhere else.”

Natalie was seventeen when she got her tattoo, below the legal age of eighteen. “They got shut down because of it,” she said.  “I get tattoos to commemorate the end of something.  The one I’ve got, I was going to university and it was the end of an era.” For her, tattoos represent something and are not just a random picture with no meaning. But how young is too young? “I think maybe even under 21 because people change their minds a lot about what they like and what they’re into. It depends on the individual,” said Laura. 

Natalie may have been underage, but that was nothing compared to my old school friend Jessica Bright, who got tattooed at the tender age of fifteen. That was back in the day when the law allowed people that young to be tattooed, provided they had parental consent. “It was close to my 16th birthday, my mum signed the consent form, she was pretty happy to,” Jessica recalls. Unlike me as the only living member of my family to be tattooed, Jessica grew up surrounded by tattoos and was always fascinated. “My whole family have tattoos and I always grew up liking them and wanting them,” she said.

There was a more unsettling side to Jessica’s sun design, which a little bit like mine, but is far more intricate, on her back – she got it to prove her mother wrong. “I got one to spite my mother because she told me I wouldn’t go through with it because of the pain.” There is no doubt that Jessica loves her tattoo and doesn’t regret it but some would say she fits into the category of young people who go through body modification to rebel and aggravate their parents. Like everyone who gets tattooed, Jessica wants more, “I would love loads more but I would only really get them on my back because when I get old I won’t want to see them.” Maybe the idea of being a little old lady plastered in tattoos in visible places plays on Jessica’s mind.

Tattoo artists must register with the council before they can practise. There were two tattooists registered in Kingston in 2001. Now there are six. Laura offers advice to the would be tattooed: “Always wait 6 months after you’ve found a design so you know you like it and research where you want to get it done and don’t always go for the cheapest.” Kingston student Jason Cranfield, who recently got a tattoo said: “Think it through; make sure it is what you want, it’s where you want it and it’s a big as you want.”

You are always going to get the people who get tattoos for the wrong reasons, but that is not something that can be policed. It is impossible to sit every person who wants a tattoo and see if they have good reasons. You can’t police freedom of expression.  We all know that tattoos last forever and no matter how young you are, that is always in the back of your mind as you pick your tattoo. “It’s going to be there for life so you’re a bit of an idiot if you jump into it without thinking,” said Jessica.

Looking at the bottom of my back and seeing the beautiful work engraved on there, there is no way that I will ever regret having it done. And even if I did, it is a bit late now. So for any young person considering a tattoo, please keep something in mind – hair dye grows out, dress sense changes, but a tattoo is forever.