Age to reach before getting a tattoo?

[thisiscourtney]

For years now I've been thinking about which tattoos I want to get. My sister is covered (got her first when she was 16, she's now 29) and I think it looks beautiful. She likes most of them, but those she got early on aren't so awesome to her anymore. She, my mom, and my other sister say I should go for what I want, but my sister's boyfriend (who is also covered) says he waited until he was 20 to get his first and he doesn't regret getting anything. He thinks you should wait until 20, all the women say whenever, and my dad says never.

I want to hear what you guys think (not about me getting one, because I've decided to wait). What age do you think you should reach before you get a tattoo, or do you think it just depends on the person?

[Pelios]

My friend go a tattoo of his girlfriend when he turned 17 and less than 6 months later he regreted it and still does. I don't think I can ever get a tattoo because I know it will regret it, but maybe its a good idea to get one after high school when you are alittle more mature and thinking straight.

[Stardaze]

Depending on the person, at least wait until your eighteen.
I used to want one, now that I'm eighteen I kinda changed my mind.
It just doesn't appeal to me, and it's not always going to look like it did when you first get it. I just think its stupid. :\

[Briana]

I got my first tattoo like a month after turning 18. I have no regrets but I do think it depends on the person. I would say wait to other people. But I knew way before I was 18, what I wanted to get done. People just need to think it through what they want before getting it.

[Gidig]

I'd probably wait until I was 18, depending on the person. You seem mature for thinking about what you want a tattoo to mean and so forth. Just make sure it really has meaning for you, and think of the practical things such as hiding it when needed, future jobs, etc.

[her_beautiful_mistake]

Never personally. At 18 you aren't an adult really so I would still say that's too soon. I can't see myself not regretting any tattoo I got.

[topov]

I was 18 when I first got a tattoo... but had chosen the design years earlier (I started learning to tattoo at 16.)

It depends on the person (in the uk you have to 18 legally) but its worth remembering your style will change as you get older... I regret none of mine, but I never chose anything that suits my style, just things I find beautiful

[sw33t&sourcandii]

i think it really depends on what you're getting.. not just the idea of getting it.. you have to really debate whether or not that tattoo is going to mean something to you 20 years down the line. i got my first tat last year for my 17th birthday && i still love it, because it means alot to me.. and the way i look at the tattoo and what it means wont change much years later....

[losing touch.]

wait at least til you're 18.. but personally i'd never get a tattoo.

[Yen]

Got my first when I turned 19 and don't regret it. It means everything to me. Seriously. It's a point of pride and sums 21 years up in a single, and in my opinion, beautiful symbol covering my right bicep .

[xxxAJxxx]

i would say 16.

[jellyfish]

Originally Posted by topov

I was 18 when I first got a tattoo... but had chosen the design years earlier (I started learning to tattoo at 16.)

It depends on the person (in the uk you have to 18 legally) but its worth remembering your style will change as you get older... I regret none of mine, but I never chose anything that suits my style, just things I find beautiful

Apparently you can be any age now to get a tattoo... I dont know if thats right though. The place I go to said you have to be 16 to get one on your own, any earlier they would want parental consent.

Anyway, I think it depends on the person. It took me about a year and a half to finally decide how I wanted mine designed.

[losing touch.]

i'm pretty sure in the UK you have to be 18.. because my friend tried to get a tattoo and the only place that would tattoo her was some dodgy place because everywhere else said she needed to be 18.

[Arcenciel]

The guy who is going to do mine says I have to wait until I'm 18. It's a health issue.

[jellyfish]

It depends on the tattooist I suppose, I was talking to mine the other day and he said there was some kind of new 'law' about the age thing. I dunno anyway.

I got pierced at 15 and had to have parental consent for that

[Allons-y!]

I think 20 is a good call. If it's important to you now, it'll wait. At 18, you are technically an adult...but until you've spent some time in the "real" world and met more people, seen more things...It seems to me like any sooner would be just a reflection of a very small worldview.

[Xujhan]

I had mine done the night I turned 20, and I don't regret it yet. I can't really imagine regretting it either; any more than I could an eye or a hand. It's just part of me now.

Personally, I think that holding off doing something you really want to do because you might regret it in the future and for no other reason is a little silly. We do only live once, after all, and I think you should go for what makes you happy.

That said, I also think that the more permanent decision, the more you should consider it before hand. If you want to cut your hair on a whim, go ahead! It grows back, after all. But a tattoo is hard and painful to ever get rid of, so it's important to be sure of it first. If you've weighed the pros and cons, and you're as sure as you can be that it is something you want and that you'll continue to want it in the future, then go ahead!

So, I'd say the earliest age you should get a tattoo is whatever age you're mature enough to think rationally about things like that, and make such decisions responsibly. For most people, I think that age will be somewhere between 16 and 20; but everyone is different. For some it might be earlier, for others it might be never.

[Toast]

It's really more about maturity than numerical age. I had a teacher in grade 8 who had some tattoos and she said it's good to wait until you're about age 30. I sort of want to get one but I'm going to wait until I'm at least 25 because I'm pretty sure that's the age when your mind is supposedly fully mature(Besides, if I still want to get the same design then then I'll know it's right for me ). I also need to know what I want to do because having a big visible tattoo will make it harder to get a job.

[MermaidMassacre]

It depends on the person and the tattoo.
If you have this tattoo idea you are set on, it has meaning, and you have wanted it for a long time. Then go for it whenever you are ready.
If there is a design you just like and are unsure of. Don't do it. Wait a while.
So it's not so much the age. It's more when you are ready to get a certain tattoo and a time when you know its what you really want.

[Ranbaz]

I would say 16, with parental consent like it is and once you turn 18 you can get it by yourself. Personally I want one but my mom won't fall in.

[a_girlsdreams]

I think people should get tattoos when they are ready and 100 percent sure of what they want. I dont think its an age thing. Here its 18, and thats when I got my first tattoo.
Its been about 6 months and I still loveee it to death. And I know I will always loveee it.