Why in the world would you let an amateur give you a home tattoo?

Rider?!? How can you ask that??? I don't have enough money for a real tattoo and I'm still not old enough to get a tattoo legally...I'm only 14...BUT...I think I'm a very mature 8th grader. I believe that a tattoo is my doorway into ultimate "coolness"...seriously. My mom and dad won't let me get a tattoo but I'll show them! I'm going to take the sneaky approach and go to a guy that said he can do it for $20! Watch out cool crowd! There's prob no danger in it right? I'm 14 - I know about life....I've been here for 14 years.

*It seems that this is actually the thought pattern that many underage people have re: tattoos which is quite frightening.

In reality though....I do think that alot of people that get amateur tattoos if they are under age are doing so simply so that they can get a tattoo, because it's "cool". It scares me that scratchers are not punished more than they are and that it happens as often as it does. They are young and immature and don't realize the danger that they are putting themselves in by doing something like this and do not see the similarities between getting a tattoo and any other medically invasive procedures.

People - pls do not go to a scratcher...

Thinking about this I had something of an epiphany, triggered & related to what others have posted.

When I was doing grad work and TA'ing for some upper division comp sci classes, I had a student come up to me fairly early in the quarter and ask be blatantly what minimum she needed to do to pass the class. I'd seen her work before and this was definitely a plea to find the bare minimum to get by on. She also had zero talent - no "geek" hat for her - and was getting into the computer field purely for money. This was pre-bust & the mid 90s, where salaries for nearly anyone with a pulse were broken into "lots", "way lots" and "I can't count that high". I suspect if she could have gotten a mail-order degree, she (& several others) would have.

Some (not all) of the questions I've seen - where does it hurt least, how small can a tattoo be, how little can I pay - sound just like this ex-student of mine. We pretty much know that a lot of these folks are purely doing it to be "cool", but the level of how little people want to invest - financially, physically, whatever - is stunningly low. I suspect these people would be happiest with a small, free, crappy tattoo that just appeared one night, something they can pull out to impress their equally clueless un-tattooed friends. Even to the point of being in a real shop is too much; it's a reminder of the shallowness of their interest.

Okay, long-winded & circumlocutory, and really not that much of a breakthrough, but the link wasn't as clear to me previously.

Addendum (as if I didn't talk enough): there are probably good home tattooers out there, law of averages being what it is. Those aren't the people I - or Rider & the others, I believe - are discussing. I suspect those few good are *drastically* outnumbered by the bad, and that those with good intentions going to home artists are themselves also outnumbered by the wannabe's.

There is a reason why there is a law and you can't get one legally until you're 18. It's to protect you. You can use a eyeliner type of pencil and create a temporary one. Or temporary tattoos. I know you think that right now at 15 that you won't regret getting it. But a lot of your views will change from 15 to 18. I know when I was 15 I wore black nail polish everywhere just to piss my mom off and because I've always looked like a goody goody and I was just tired of it. And I thought that getting engaged before you were out of highschool was stupid and getting married young was just as dumb. I'm almost 19. I prefer a french manicure (I get more respect if I look clean) and I'm got engaged Feb. of my senior year. And I'll be married right after turning 20. You might not think you'll change now but you will.... Trust me. You change as you mature and grow up and although you might still want that tattoo you might not want that same design you might want something more classy. Good Luck.

Because they were very young when they did it, or they have no money, or they "trust" their buddy that thinks he is good to give him a tattoo. If you look at some of the older tattoo artist a lot of there work is not all that good. Tattooing has came a long way. Look at the flash, the old stuff looks like a little kid drew it, the knew stuff is great. My fiance started tattooing himself when he was 15, yes stupid, he will admit that too, and they obviously do not look very good. He has now owned several shops and is a very good artist. Unfortunately he usually has to explain why the work on him looks like crap. Because it is from 16 years ago and that's how he started.

You will never get that answer..People who let scratchers tattoo them don't know any better..and they are not willing to pay for a quality tattoo..I have also seen ALLOT of scratchers that work in shops as well..It like shopping at target or the dollar store..They hear cheap tattoo and think they are getting a deal..not thinking about all the diseases and cross contamination issues..Anyone that tries to argue with you needs to go to one APT course and sit through that horrible video..Not to mention tattoo ethics..If these people where truly wanting to be tattoo artist they would strive to be the best..and working out of your kitchen is not that..I would say 99% of the people that scratch at home is because they suck and cant get a job in a real shop!!..I could go on for days about this subject It truly disturbs me..Everyone one on here already thinks i a ***** so i will stop now..please and thank you for letting me vent!!!!

Oh yeah if you call it a "GUN" then I call your bluff you are a scratcher..it is a MACHINE!!

I would never do that. A friend locally let someone do her tattoo at her house, and her 7 year old son found her dead several days later because the whole tattoo had gotten infected to the point that it killed her. I couldn't believe it. She was only 27.

Now that kid has to go through life without his mother all because she wanted to save money on a tattoo. Very sad.

They probably just don't want to spend the money to get a prof. tattoo.

Or maybe there was some false advertising and the art ended up being worse than expected.

Maybe they decided to let one of their friends "practice" on them and they didn't think about the fact that a tattoo is permanent?

I don't know either,most amateur inkers use a homemade gun with a needle that most likely doesn't get replaced with a sterile one. I have 15 as of right now and I love every one of them .If they get homemade ones because of cost they might look into making pals with a real tattoo artist, I got mine for nearly nothing at all. Half of them we did because we were bored so It pays to know your artist.

You know what you want to hear:

1.) they are stupid.

2.) they don't care

3.) they are low class trash

4.) Not all people are as bright as you and I

5.) all of the above and more...

Why do people allow some fat chick in a trailer with a 2" ash on her cig cut thier hair?

I agree the dental work by a buddy takes the cake....or is a close tie to tats...

I dunno man..I am just glad you and me and MOST of us out here have more sense than that.

I would be most afraid of STD's and Hep!

Plus, I like it when someone looks at my tats and goes "wow!! who did that!!, the detail!!"

instead of:

"i was in C block...you?"

LOL

well i completely see what you mean dude... and yes i got i homemade tattoo and my hubby did it for me... the only thing i got is a tiny cross on my hip and it looks really good... yeah a homemade that looks good... but instead of him doing the detail around it im going to go to his friend that DOES have a tattoo license and a shop... the reason upon this is i dont want the detail work to look bad... but like i said the cross is great but we both agreed that we dont wanna mess it up and that is why im going to a artist to do the rest... but i must confess this wasnt his first time doing homemade he has done both tat's and piercings

and i reason i had him do it is because it would be sentimental to me to have him do my first tat for me... and we used clean needles, proper care (he bought tattoo goo for me) and yes we have the money to go get it pro.