Newbie with extreme tattoo regret

[Zenae]

Hello! 🤩

 

So excited to have joined this site full of amazing tattoos.

 

So I’m fairly new to tattoos. I’ve always been interested in body modifications and have been getting body piercings since 14. I wanted to really wait until I had the right tattoo ideas. I got my first tattoo at 20 and I’m now 26 with 5 tattoos, or 7 if you count the tattoos under the coverups.

 

Unfortunately I’m joining this site with an extreme case of tattoo regret for the pieces on my arm. The three were done separately to “fix” or take attention away from the last. Now the whole thing feels like a cluttered mess and I’ve been really sick about it for the last 3 months. I’m looking for advice on what to do next. 

 

im considering these options:

 

-cover up. Is this possible given the darkness and awkward placement? 

 

-fade with laser removal, then cover up. Still , what would I get that would look good in that spot? 

 

-get more tattoos on the same arm that are disconnected from the current tattoos 

 

-leave it all alone and give up on having more tattoos that I like on that arm

 

I’m very happy with my other three tattoos.

 

Thanks for reading. Looking forward to any all advice  ☺️☺️

 

Edited September 24, 2018 by Zenae
Uploaded wrong file and added more context

[Zenae]

Mandala on my back was a cover up of a terrible infinity design that I got after passing calculus (not knowing how cliche the tattoo would be)

[el twe]

Which tattoos do you not like?  The roses/mandala/triangle?  I think they look nice, and appear to be well done.

[Zenae]

Thank you very much. Yes, the roses/triangle and connected mandala. It appears to be too much, cluttered. I wish they were separate pieces if anything 

[SStu]

13 hours ago, Zenae said:

Thank you very much. Yes, the roses/triangle and connected mandala. It appears to be too much, cluttered. I wish they were separate pieces if anything 

I disagree. 

They all look good from here. 

[Zenae]

Well thank you. I'm glad that it doesn't appear as a big mistake to others. If I continue to hate them, do you think a cover up is possible?

[el twe]

1 hour ago, Zenae said:

Well thank you. I'm glad that it doesn't appear as a big mistake to others. If I continue to hate them, do you think a cover up is possible?

That's a question for a competent artist to answer.  I imagine it would be a difficult cover-up, given the size and placement.  If it were me, I'd just start thinking about other tattoos to go around them.  Were these done by the same artist?  If you like that style, they could probably build a really cool cohesive sleeve from what you already have.  Or just collect different tattoos around it - I honestly think they either way would look just fine.

[oboogie]

Just add art around them. It's a really nice grouping.

[Carmelita]

Hi there. Maybe you saw my post as well which was in spring this year. I had some serious regret and it totally messed with my mind. All I can say is: give it time, like everyone else here suggested. I got some honest opinions which at first didn't want to accept, because my mind wasn't ready.

In my eyes it's a nice tattoo. Give it some time! I know it's easier sad than done but I really came to love mine and I do wear it proudly now and I'm sure you will too!
 

[Zenae]

Thank you. I think what’s bothering me is that they are three tattoos connecting and it turned into this giant tattoo with no meaning. I certainly hope I can come out of this, even if it comes to the point where I can think straight but still hate the tattoos. This kind of regret doesn’t feel healthy 

[Gingerninja]

You are right, its NOT healthy. Don't hate me for saying this but why does it have to have some deep meaning? From what I see, it looks cool. I would invite you to consider exploring other areas of your world that may not be aligned...is this misdirected frustration at someone/something else? I would offer that a bunch of us have tattoos that break "rules". But hey, if you don't like it, you don't like it. It's not a bad tattoo though!

[Zenae]

Do you mind me asking, how long did it take you to get past the serious regret phase? @Carmelita

[Dan]

36 minutes ago, Zenae said:

Do you mind me asking, how long did it take you to get past the serious regret phase? @Carmelita

I just wanna say this,I have many many tattoos and many years of getting tattooed and by many artists,I started when I was about 25 and I am 59 now,

I am still getting tattoos,

and ,well,I still get tattoo remorse,regret,etc,etc,what ever the F*** you want to call it,to this day !  

it goes away,maybe takes a month,maybe takes a week,once the pain of the $600 or $1500 I just spent goes away,I am thinking of my next tattoo,

and all is good in my world again.

[Hogrider]

On September 24, 2018 at 5:53 PM, Zenae said:

 

Thanks for reading. Looking forward to any all advice  ☺️☺️

 

Don't do anything. Of your original 5 tattoos, you've had two covered up and now you are looking to do even more coverups. This is just a recipe for disaster. Your skin isn't a piece of paper, you can't just keep erasing and starting over. Every time you tattoo, laser or cover up, you are traumatizing your skin and creating more scar tissue.

I have two sleeves, back, chest panel and a piece that goes up my right leg to connect with my back/chest. Not a single tattoo has any meaning other than I like the imagery. Just my opinion, but a lot of that 'meaning' nonsense comes from watching too much LA ink and these other tattoo shows where people claim this big long sob story about why they are getting the tattoo. 

Take some time, a lot of time, before you do anything; otherwise you're just going to make it worse.

Edited September 26, 2018 by Hogrider

[SStu]

Tattoos certainly don't have to have deep meaning. 

If the curious ask you what they mean just tell them "It means I like tattoos". 

[Carmelita]

14 hours ago, Zenae said:

Do you mind me asking, how long did it take you to get past the serious regret phase? @Carmelita

I had mine done in March. I think it took my about 4 months at least to let it settle. It was a bit weird at first to show it off in summer time when I went swimming. I always tried to hide it before but it would have been unfair to my kids to lock them in on the hot summer days and not go swimming.
After all,  I got some really nice compliments and it made me feel confident.
It was a very emotional journey but those feelings that take over will pass. It really seems it's a very common feeling and other people reached out to me telling me about the same experience. 
I think it's just the mind that needs to adapt to the visible (but very nice) change on your body. 

[oboogie]

17 hours ago, Gingerninja said:

You are right, its NOT healthy. Don't hate me for saying this but why does it have to have some deep meaning? From what I see, it looks cool. I would invite you to consider exploring other areas of your world that may not be aligned...is this misdirected frustration at someone/something else? I would offer that a bunch of us have tattoos that break "rules". But hey, if you don't like it, you don't like it. It's not a bad tattoo though!

This. My tattoos are just nice. I like tattoos, so I get them. They don't have to mean a damn thing.

As @Hogrider said, you are not a good candidate for tattoos if you are obsessing, thinking, doing over, worrying, and creating drama over your tattoos. I get a tattoo, then I look forward to getting the next one. That's it. It's not world-changing. They are tattoos, they are optional, and I really think you should steer clear. It shouldn't be this hard. Honestly. The angst is unnecessary.

[Zenae]

I completely agree. I've only felt this strong reaction since the latest addition of the tattoos on my arm (the partial mandala). For the other tattoos, I've gotten them and felt excited for about a week and then pretty much forgot about them until they happened to show and seeing them made me happy.