People Are Showing Off Their Biggest Tattoo Regrets (And I'm Honestly Impressed)

"I don't even know where to start. I was 18 and stupid. Gosh, how basic."

—bobacautiva

"Picture it: Spring break of my senior year of high school in 2007. My boyfriend and I decided to go visit my brother and sister-in-law, who had been together for over a decade. My sister-in-law goes, 'Let's get matching tattoos!' I agree because, ya know, seems like a safe person to get a matching tattoo with, and I'm a dumb 18-year-old.

"An hour after we get these trendy matching star tattoos, she tells me she hates my brother and has been cheating on him. I've considered getting it changed, but I like that there's a story, for better or worse. Basically, trust no bitch."

—b43541c362

"Wish I hadn't done it, but Harry Potter means a lot to me and my childhood, and the series is bigger than Rowling, so it's...okay."

—brittanyf4934504b7

"And then I covered it up with roses and another crappy '8.' Eventually I'll get it covered, but I mostly forget about it. Tattoos are just a part of my body."

—ali

"I took one for the team. My friend has done tattoos for my whole family and does them well. His shop had an invite-only party for his best clients, so my brother, his wife, and I were invited. A week before the party, his team had given us a flash sheet of tattoos to pick from. The party itself was nice, everyone was sober, and we all knew which tattoos we wanted.

"Well, there were two other artists there besides my friend. I personally asked if my homie would do mine, since I dislike the woman who works for him. My sister-in-law ended up with her instead, and I went to sit with my homie. Then she starts telling my SIL that she won't do the tattoo that SIL had picked because it sucks, and tried pressuring her to get something she didn't want. I ended up trading spots with her, and my SIL got a cute, delicate clover on her collarbone. I got a fucking cabbage-ass flower. The artist was so rude. I'll get it covered, though a part of me thinks it's funny."

—r4732565ca

"From then on, I learned that just because getting something for $50 seems like a good idea, it’s not. I’ll never get another home-job tattoo again."

—Celeste

—amandam4208

"But I still fucking love Drake, so the sentiment stuck."

—Vbunton

"Yeahhh, fast-forward 20 years or so, and the Hatchetman has been covered up. I do my best to forget how I was back then."

—random1564561

"It’s done so badly. The artist was watching The Hills Have Eyes the entire time, so all I heard was screaming while getting it done. Learned my lesson to research my artists and not just go to the first strip mall shop I see. Still love John Lennon and his music, but hate the tattoo!"

—Lily Paul

"Yeah, that's getting covered eventually..."

—hobbitgirl96

"Fuckin' Bieber..."

—s44f065d16

"It’s patchy as fuck. I was supposed to go back to get it fixed, but the pain from the first time was enough. I had actual tears in my eyes getting it done. 😩😂"

—Paul John

"Got it when I was 20...had it covered up now, though, with a flower (and a tiny butterfly next to it in honor of the original). This is the before and after. Covered with a larkspur — my husband's birth flower."

—Kp

"This was on there. Great. Can’t even hide it in the summer."

—kellyb90

"My style changes pretty often, so I wish I could change my tattoo with it!"

—vizslaowner2

"One of my favorite songs is 'Wounded' by Third Eye Blind. It’s about the singer’s friend who was sexually assaulted. As a survivor myself, I wanted to get a marigold, which is a reference from the song.

"This flower is UGLY. I told the artist that I didn’t like the leaves, but she seemed so annoyed and bothered that I just told her they were fine and went through with the tattoo anyway. That was in March. Now I’m already two sessions into the removal process because it just reminds me of a time when I didn’t advocate for myself and what I wanted."

—Samantha

"'There was no telling what people might find out if they felt free to ask whatever questions they wanted to.'"

—ali

"I don’t have one that I regret, but I do regret the way I got it. This was after I got the stick 'n' poke done over by a professional tattoo artist."

—Ashton Stewart

"I live in Hawaii. In 2008, I got a Honu tattoo with the Hawaiian Island chain on my foot at a seedy strip mall tattoo shop. In 2016, I went to the Pacific Art Tattoo Expo and, on a whim, got a cover-up done to turn my Honu into a galaxy."

—erinv4d8090080