Facial Tattoos

[Tim Goodrich]

One of the most regularly requested tattoos I have been noticing are facial tattoos. I keep getting requests by guys and girls/ Guys wanting small designs across the eyebrow...words, or something small where a tear drop would go......city initials, spiders etc....gangster shit......girls wanting the stars etc........

For some reason, I get this feeling that I am doing something taboo..........like when that little voice is telling me not too and I get that feeling in my gut.

Anybody else experience this?

Any of you get regular requests for this shit?

[Shmitty]

I won't tattoo faces of anyone who is not either a tattooer/piercer, or a collector that is already pretty well covered. So no to answer your question, I don't get any bad gut feelings. I do get asked for it about once a month though.

[LeoKraft]

I mean I've done two one on a guy and one on a girl. They were both beauty marks otherwise I wouldn't do em. It's alarming the volume of young kids getting facial tattoos. It's my opinion that you don't look hard when all you have tattoo wise is a few knick knacks on your face. You just look like a dumb asshole.

[hawk]

Beauty marks are a different story, cosmetic tattooing that nobody could tell for certain was tattooed.

Don't know exactly where the thread will lead but the "taboo" of face and hands comes out of the era when "it had become taboo", evolution curves the way and want. For instance, the old wall chart that some here can remember or may still have dictated in color code what pricing variations of the area's to be tattooed, i.g. the hands, neck ect. and where we did not tattoo, so evolution takes place and when at one time we "generally" denied a foot tattoo, it became a "fad" so after the passage of time among the uninitiated to get their very first on the foot and they were done by us all due to the acceptability, demand and profit. This being said, when Dale Kellitt called from New Orleans after Lil' Wayne became successful telling me of the large amount of people from Waynes area of the Big Easy wanting designs on their eyelids, symbols that could get you into trouble in some areas, all kinds of stuff that the uninitiated wanted for their very first tattoo on the face was overwhelmingly in demand and became somewhat a everyday semantic argument of "what I do with my body" versus takin their money and shuttin up was a weird balancing act, it seemed everybody wanted to start "representing" their area whether they were gangsta's or not.

It may be "fad" to get the face tattoo and it may also be in the "new tribalism" area of some locations of the planet as, we know how well a Moko Face would go over at the farm supply store in Billings Montana versus South Central, the former would be met with "hard luck" where the later would be "accepted".

I honestly feel that most people can be discouraged with a "Yu don't want to do that hon" and can accept such advice but when someone wants anything within the shop standards of design understanding, such as not givin somebody at symbol that the operator knows they aren't qualified for or some racial standard violation of shop policy, then by all means have them fill out whatever and put that ice cream cone with sprinkles on their cheek and accept the money knowing ya did the best job ya could after a fair discussion about the repercussions.

It's really in the same family of "mah girlfriends name" for the most part, we have all ran the rundown to the client about that kind of tattoo and there was never a soul who wanted one who wasn't convinced that "No, this gal is forever" but the reality is that we can choose to say that they will regret it and take the money or ask them to come back in 12 years and if they are still together we will do it for free, it's when the job turns into arriving at the studio every day to talk people out of getting the product you offer is when it gets as defeating as being forced to watch a whole season of 16 and pregnant.

We can't cure stupid but we can profit from it, we can also choose to refuse stupidity from a shops moral standard which can be referred to a sign on the wall that reads "We have the right to refuse service to anyone", the operators choice.

We all have stories of the people we turned down and the ones accepted, I walked into my shop years ago to find Celtic Ruins being drawn across a guys forehead, I asked "what the hell are you doing?" the question directed at my artist, I was met with "It's "I am the Lords (Isaiah)" in Celtic" by the artist. Long story short, I ran into the guy 2 years ago after he had worn it for 13 years and it was GONE. the client asked me if I noticed and I replied I had, then I ran down to him the entire situation from start to finish with "I remember walking in and asking what the hell you were doing and I knew you figured whatever the f&%k I want to cause it's my body" he replied with your absolutely right. I said "I figured you got tired of people asking if it was Satanic because the average person don't know the diff between Celtic and anything else and it was counter productive of what your intentions of showing the world how you felt or where you stood with Jesus" and he agreed with that also and then told me how he had it lasered off. All full circle a learning experience for artist who did his best to see his work removed and the Christian that figured out the hard way that he never had to place it across his forehead and could have ran the bumper sticker instead. Just watch, tomorrow somebody will walk in wanting "Wicken" across their forehead, it's their business but I will try my best to talk them out of it and when all else fails I know I would refuse, it's just the way I feel and if they can find somebody to fulfill their dreams I hope they can find a doctor who can be handy with the laser.

Just my two cents, if the client can't pull it off like Mike Tyson and don't have much for any other tattoo I feel I myself would have to refuse the service.

[Ursula]

Face tattoos can be the worst or the best thing ever.

Just don't be the guy doing the type of shit in the first photo!

[Tim Goodrich]

The polynesian/Hawaiian style, I have no reservations, that's part of the culture over here, accepted by all. Half of my head is tattooed and I keep it shaved......pretty evil black and grey, I call it the hair club for Tim.....lol. I was going up for a trial a few years ago, morning of my jury selection, my lawyer stressed out about my head, then the prospective jurors kinda gathered around me like I was a rock star (Hawaiians are so cool when it comes to tattoos) all very curious, until the bailiff freaked out and yelled at all of us. We were not stressed about the tattoos after that...........

The kind of facial tattoos I am referring to in this thread are exactly what Hawk is mentioning about Lil Wayne.......The gangsta tattoos on the face........kids coming in and "Set Trippin" on their cheeks and eyebrow lines..........Now it's spreading to the "afro saxons" and even skaters. Jay Adams is running around the north shore with LA on his face.......

Those are the ones I get a pit in my stomach about........"Is this one gonna come back later crying to me about some "hard luck" they are experiencing? I like to work and make money, am I violating some ethical code?

[Deb Yarian]

i guess things are different here in Alaska and that we are sooo out of the loop, but i"ve been here since 2000 and since that time i've only had 2 or 3 requests to do a design on a throat-- and only one face-- lettering on the jaw line. And that's that! We are way behind the times.

[slayer9019]

I feel that face tattoos are the last "forbidden" area. I know personally it would be the very very very last place I would put a tattoo. While I cannot comment on whether to deny or accept the requests, I do have to say they are a pretty crazy request in my opinion.

[aleksksks]

can someone show good examples of face tattoos?

we've all seen plenty of bad ones but I'm curious what people would consider a good facial tattoo.

[slayer9019]

I like freddy's

[aleksksks]

yeah, I like how it doesn't close in his face so to say.

same goes for neck tattoos, I hate it when they look like the person is wearing a permanent turtleneck.

[robz]

I think this is a particularly excellent example of a facial tattoo:

But seriously.....what was he thinking?

[Patriot Ink Tattoo]

I won't tattoo faces of anyone who is not either a tattooer/piercer, or a collector that is already pretty well covered. So no to answer your question, I don't get any bad gut feelings. I do get asked for it about once a month though.

I couldn't agree more.

[abees]

can someone show good examples of face tattoos?

we've all seen plenty of bad ones but I'm curious what people would consider a good facial tattoo.

here's a couple by Curly.

[aleksksks]

Curly is pretty awesome, as well as both those guys in the pics.

[irezumi]

i dont do them because i just dont want to be that close to anyone's face, much less have to see every pore because i'm spending every moment looking right at them.

for that reason, and because face tattoos look stupid.

[slayer9019]

I think this is a particularly excellent example of a facial tattoo:

But seriously.....what was he thinking?

Ice cream is delicious

[exume]

GUCCI!

[aleksksks]

this is pretty badass

[aleksksks]

as is this

[irezumi]

i stand behind my previous statement.

[robz]

There seems to be quite a correlation between face tattoos and big stretched earlobes.

[Patriot Ink Tattoo]

I am not into facial tattoos on my self, but I think there is a fine line of what looks good as a facial tattoo and what doesn't. For sure no tribal on the face unless it is your heritage.

[chuck chapin]

There was a guy that came in a couple days ago wanting some face tattoos, he already had a mustache and a little goatee tattooed on his face. His skin was pretty dark, so it wasn't super obvious... I passed on adding to his collection, but later that day I regretted it. He was an older guy, obviously sober, and he already went there, so why not? Should of done it.

[kollin]

There seems to be quite a correlation between face tattoos and big stretched earlobes.

that's because most people that get mocco are very into tribal things like stretching suspension and shit that you earn. Now it's a moprim thing that kat von std started with t.v. I don't do faces. It's too personal. most of the kids that want their faces done are wanting that approval stamp but don't understand life changes at 25 and mistakes are well known on the personal level. Especially when they want a career one day. Markus Kuhn has some sick face tattoos though. It feels right lol.