They both are/were pretty heavily tatted up. I personally don't care for tattoos and don't have any, so this news affects me only in the sense that it could harm people I care about. I certainly won't mention this to her, but I hope she at least sees it.

I don't know what the regulations are for tattoo ink but it's always seemed strange to me to want to inject your skin with high amounts of a permanent foreign substance.

In college, I had a professor
who wrote a book on the psychology of why
people get tattoos.

I read it and it was very interesting, but I
don't remember it at all.

I never even had a remote interest in getting
tattooed.

But my niece got tattooed, and they are works
of art and really enhance her beauty. However,
I've never been happy with it because I've always
had a distrust about putting ink in my body.

This kind of verifies my distrust.

I'd love to read that book.

His name is Walter O'Connell.

But I can't find the book on tattoos anywhere.

I do remember it was interesting, but I read
it a way long time ago, in college.

by a Mitch O'Connell.

I cannot find any book out there just about tattoos, darn.

He was my psychology professor junior year
in college (I needed an easy elective).

The book was in the school library so I
checked it out and read it.

That's all I remember.

But you might be able to find it through ILL
somewhere.

But too many of what I see now are trashtoos. They look like the tattooist just did random doodles on a person's arms. Just ugly.

He can be the canary in the coal mine for my grandkids.

I know I don't...

The lab rat?

I have autoimmune stuff and got my first tattoo 2022... Loved it so much i got 2 more.. my ankle, mid calf, and top near my knee...
And I was so excited when my psoriasis went into remission and I could finally get a tattoo!

Now I don't feel good 😬

Does the immune fallout affect the brain? The liver has to deal with all that and everything's connected to the intake-throughput system, vagus nerve to the skull.

And certain colour's under older formulations. That cuts down on US use since a lot of ink is from Europe.

I think it is a stupid idea but not my call.

when I see a pretty gal all inked up, tramp stamped or with her current bf name on their neck, I only imagine the retirement home full of saggy ink. I never comment out loud.

I will never understand it and don't care to.

You do you, but don't expect a truthful reaction from me.

Like graffiti, tat art is lost on me.

and just about everybody I work with has tattoos. Not just one or two that are discreet, but many of the women have tattoos all over their arms and their legs. It always reminds me of Groucho Marx singing, "Lydia the Tattooed Lady."

They are disgusting.

with a lot of large tats.

The nudist resort was one way to see who has ink.
Unfortunately they closed.

When we grew up it was sailors and bikers.
Times change.

“You used to have to slip a guy a quarter to get into a tent at a Carny to see tattoos.”

I lived through individual acts of stupidity so I won't judge either. Not calling anyone stupid.

That naked lady tattoo. Guess I shoulda listened!!!

I already dislike tattoos, this just reinforces why they are dumb, IMO.

my granddaughter, me...I just got my most recent tattoo in 2025. I have 5 in total.

this is slightly worrisome but I love my tattoos.

my last one is a sunrise inspired by my Sep2025 trip to Hawaii and under it the words
Love
Justice
Equality
Freedom

The rest memorialize all of the most loved people in my life, in other words, my 4 children and my 3 grandchildren.

except the 1st one, which I waited until I was 34 years old because when I first wanted a tattoo at the age of 17 I feared I would regret it down the line.

My son is very heavily tattooed and his ex wife is as well.

so far so healthy. it's a done thing so we'll just have to see if it causes trouble going forward but there's no going back and I personally do not have a regret.

Whether it be fat shaming, fashion criticisms or now tattooes, they come out in droves. I suspect they are all gorgeous specimens with designer wardrobes, but that's just a guess 🙄

Elective skin damage be like that.

It just makes sense… the inks have heavy metals and terrible stuff. I hope they die out like cigarettes have

I have always regarded them as hideous. The claim they may not be all that healthy doesn't surprise me.

I have a large (2" x 3&quot skin graft on my forearm - from removal of a cancerous tumor. Most people I know with similar scars hide them. I don't. But I am considering getting a tattoo of a sunflower, using the graft as the center of the sunflower

Don't wear anything you wouldn't proudly display over your fireplace.

"If that guy's got one, they can't be cool anymore."

Dropping like bugs after a good spray ???

I have several, somewhat discreetly located (depending on dress or whether I turn an arm this way or that. They were acquired over the course of nearly 30 years. Most commemorate things that aren't here any more. All are personal to me and ways of carrying things with me.

Nearly all give me great joy to look at. One, one of my first, didn't come out the way I hoped. As I said to an artist recently (who's also an ER nurse, btw), it doesn't actively bother me, however. I've had it so long, it's just another part of me. I'd consider a coverup on it if I could figure out what I want. It's not a burning need.

Tattoos are not everyone's cup of tea and that's fine. There are plenty of things that aren't mine. I just try very hard not to express my personal distaste in public and unkindly. Someone wrote upthread about things you'd hang over a mantle, which is kind of like things you'd say directly to someone, especially a stranger's face.

That said, this essay and reader comments may be illuminating. Recently from the Oldster Substack. Sari Bottom writes (and hopefully I did this right):

And some of the tats are rather interesting. Even the one a young friend has all over his bald head. They see them as art and self-expression. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder", after all.

I will say, though, that I am glad somebody is studying the inks, though. I have wondered about them for a very long time, given my weird sensitivities.

My dad owned a cigarette vending company. I never smoked even though most of my family and friends did. When folks ask me why I never started the habit I tell them that even though there were no serious warnings about the danger of smoking it was just common sense to me that you don't inhale smoke. I have said the same thing about tattoos for the last 30 years. There might not be any serious warnings out there about tattoos but common sense tells me that shooting ink from who knows where into your skin might not be good for you.

It’s a comforting reminder and I have no desire to get any more. This does make me wonder though about the impact on heavy vs. minimal tattooing.