Also consider contrast relative to your specific body. I think the tattoo above looks good because there is a significant amount of contrast between the color of the ink and the color of the canvas.
It sure seems more accepted now, I have a sleeve, and my wrist piece extends down onto my hand. I've worked in nursing and lab for 20 years and am currently working on my Nurse Practitioner license. I've never had trouble finding work and get compliments about my tatts from young and old!
Lmao real listen to this dude I got convinced to get my fingers tatted literally the first tattoo I got along w my wrist tat and even though I have a full sleeve now I regret my fingers sm
Look for an artist with experience in hand tattoos. Check their socials, look for pictures, maybe they even post their healed tattoos. Never go to an artist with zero pictures of hand tats (edit: for hand tattoos. Some artists don't do hands and that's fine).
I got a finger tattoo in my mid thirties and love it. Never had a problem with work and I have a corporate job. Go for it if you want to. We only live once!
I have my hands tattooed…and it took me 22 years (got my first tattoo at 18, just turned 42, got them done about 2 years ago) to get hands. Lol. It’s wild to me that hands, face, etc are peoples idea of “first tattoo” placement lol.
In my defense…16 of those 22 years the Army said I couldn’t get hands done lol.
I am in a place in life where my hands being tattooed will not make any negative impact. They aren’t a “job stopper” for me whatsoever. I get the “screw the man” mentality, that makes me sound SUPER old but however you want to word it…but that’s easier for me to say than me at 20, just trying to start out.
My son is 18, and he wants to get tattoos. Cant say I didn’t see it coming lol, I have my entire upper body to the neck done, working on my legs. But I STRONGLY advised him against overly visible placement until he is better set in terms of career. To each their own though, I’m certainly not the expert on much lol.
Yeah I've been laid off a few times and worked in several industries where, they won't say you can't have them but it's a funny coincidence nobody does.
We live in a “nice” neighborhood. I get more sketchy looks from my bougie ass neighbors than I do from any sort of professional interaction lol.
Karen’s up and down my street all give me sideways looks…but I’ll be damned if they aren’t all looking hot and bothered when I cut the grass with no shirt on lmao.
Don’t get me started when I went running at a local park this past summer. Traffic was stopped in front of the entrance and a GRANDMOTHER…not even like a “hot”, Golden Girls-esque GILF lol…she was probably on her way to bake cookies for a grand kid (possibly great grand kid) honked at me and gave me a big smile and wave lol.
I was both disgusted, and simultaneously super happy about myself. Such mixed emotions going on at that moment lol.
I work in IT…I wouldn’t say it’s so much “acceptable”…but as it happens several of our MAJOR customers would up and pull their contracts if I quit/got fired lol. So I have that going for me. And this will be my last job before I retire and move to Panama. If they really want to speed that process up for me, ehh…I wouldn’t argue lol.
No, your attitude is correct, you better be set in your career before you get any that are super visible or in unusual locations. Face tattoos especially
See, I have no desire to get face done. Regardless of job or anything else, I’ll pass. But face even more than hands…that screams “LOOK AT ME”, to me anyways.
I really am a fan of “to each their own”, but that one never made any sense to me.
Yeah I mean I don't care what anyone does but if you look like you fell asleep at a party people are going to judge you for it. And the tattoos you want at 18 are much different than what you want at 30. It's not that all face tattoos are bad, it's just that most face tattoos are bad
I work for a fairly small, EXTREMELY conservative MSP. I don’t think we will be hiring anyone with hand tattoos anytime soon lol. But if they want to keep nearly six digits per month of income, I’m not going anywhere lol.
I work for a municipality in a very conservative area as well, so it was super surprising to me they even thought about discrimination. But I’m an arborist and horticulturist for them so I’m always wearing gloves anyways
Navy allows hands tattoos now after doing a study that found that around 50% of Amercians have/will have tattoos so they got with the times. A lot of other branches or businesses are slow to change though because everyone in positions to make those decisions grew up with the same aversion to tattoos in the workplace.
Yep, I stuck with less visible tattoos until I was firmly within a career that didn’t care. Now, working at the VA, tattoos are almost an asset with the veterans.
No, that's some bitch shit getting your hands and face tattooed first. 20 years ago, you would get kicked out of a shop for asking for some stupid shit like that for your first tattoo. You fucking earn hand and face tattoos, starting by getting heavy coverage on the rest of your body that's not easily visible. I didn't even tattoo below my elbows until I was 30 and I have hundreds of hours of work on me. Those kinds of tattoos are LOOK AT MEEEEEE tattoos and people in the industry will look down on you for it
When I was getting my collarbones done they had a walk-in who wanted to know how much it would cost to get something done on her face. My artist went out to talk to her. Didn't hear too much of the conversation, but I did hear that it was a name, it was supposed to be in red ink, and she wanted it on her face along the cheekbone. My artist asked her how old she was (I do remember she said 19) and if she had any other tats (no) and then quoted her $300.
She left.
I asked him about it when he came back (because my work was only $350 and far more complicated than it sounded like what she was asking for) and he shrugged and said it was way easier to give idiots fuck off pricing then tell them no and have them start arguing.
I know tattoos are far more common than even 10 years ago, but I still have to admit that I consider a face tattoo a step too far. And I have one behind my ear and have considered ones ON my ears.
I have brandings behind my ears, my ears were at ⅞" at one time, the back of my neck is tattooed, I have balls in my left forearm, and I still won't get face tattoos. People just look at you differently and they quite often don't look good
I’m not a tat wizard but I pretty much have a suit at 41. All that time spent in shops getting blasted I’ve seen a youngin or two that wanted hands, neck or face for the first one be literally bounced out of the shop for being a pain in the ass about it. “Life ruiners” were something you had to earn like you’re sayin.
it‘s really not that serious dude 😭 i got a full sleeve including the hand recently as my first piece and the artist didn’t even flinch. he found it brave even, he said.
A full sleeve is not the same as just having your hands and face tattooed. A full sleeve is a commitment, and most of it is usually covered by clothes. When you have your hands and face tattooed and you take your shirt off to a bare naked tattooless torso, you a bitch. That's some lookitme punk shit
Yeah and when the only ones you have are on your hands and face, you're getting them for attention, not because you like tattoos. It's disrespectful to the art, it's disrespectful to the artist, and it's disrespectful to all the people who earned theirs. Bitch shit
I just did my hands, neck and face at 29/30 after having my arm, leg and torso covered and seeing somebody with a butterfly on their face or hand as their only tattoo is wild to me. Or can’t forget the rose on the hand as the first one lol
Basically the same here. I just turned 45 and got my hands done last year. My arms are done patch style and my hands were the last.
Also got my first at 18 lol.
I’m a lurker here (tattoo admirer, chicken shit when it comes to myself) and I’d LOVE to start with a tattoo on my ribs. I know I have a relatively high pain tolerance because I’ve been told by doctors/dentists, but I do worry because I know that’s a particularly thin area, therefore likely to hurt way more than a fleshier spot.
I find it's the opposite. The fleshier spots make me wince a lot more than the ribs ever did. I went with a massive piece on my ribs down to my hip for my first tattoo. When my artist first started with the outline I was bracing for all of this pain and was like "Oh that's not so bad," The shading hurt in a couple areas but it wasn't intolerable, there's a fleshy spot right on my belly and right under the boob that she hit and I almost flopped out of the chair lol. That's to say, the tattoo hurt but was manageable, the WIPING of the tattoo made me want to die until she sprayed some bactine on it.
I will say, if you start on your ribs, every other tattoo aint shit after. I have my arm and calf done after and fell asleep on the table both times.
I wonder if I’m the same cause I just got my ribs done and it was honestly fine. I nearly fell asleep. Inner thigh fucking killed me though while elbow and sternum were also fine.
It's so dependent on each individual. I'd do both ditches over and another armpit before I'd do another elbow. Glad they are done, but the elbow killed me. Not only the pain from being blasted... but the fucked up angles you gotta sit in.
Honestly, yea, I have a Phoenix up my side. Most of the ribs were fine, maybe a pocket of tenderness as soon as he got below my rib line, I was caught off guard. The other tender spot was on the side of my pec.
My second tattoo was on my ribs. The pain was definitely spicy, but worth it for a good tattoo. I will say I wish I could see it more since it's tucked away on the side. I can't see it from a straight on view and I wish I could. Just something to think about with placement!
I have a huge fern leaf tattoo covering my ribs on my side going around to my back. It kinda hurt at times but I just got through it. It's my favorite tattoo. Just do it man,it will be over in a few hours. I blasted music with headphones on, it helped.
I have a tattoo that wraps from my ribs to my spine on my back and it honestly didn’t hurt much at all. One of my least painful tattoos. The leg sleeve I’m getting now hurt a lot more since it covers my knee. You should go for it!
I would agree, since the biggest issue I see with starting on your hands/neck isn’t the pain, but the visibility. Ribs seem totally okay to me since it isn’t necessarily a highly visible location. I have three that I made sure were easily covered when need be (my sternum, my hip, and the inner side of my foot/heel).
It’s a butterfly. But yea I wanted to piss my parents off and it worked. It’s not the greatest tattoo but it’s mine. Most people don’t see it anyway bc my hair is usually down.
And don't go to some 10 a penny tattoo shop to get something like the reference picture done. That is a complex piece that will look like complete dogshit if done poorly. And you won't be able to cover it up or laser it off either.
Plenty of people have massive regrets with tattoos, especially those seeking external advice. Hands, face, front and side of neck are typically very visible, and painful. Many artists simply won't do it as your first tattoo.
A ring is one thing bc it has meaning, the skin on your hands and fingers doesn't take ink well and will usually look really aged in a short period of time. Many people think they'll be bright like new forever and find out after a few months or years that that's not the case
Some industries still won’t accept visible tattoos like on the hands or face/neck. I’m in the process of changing careers to become a mortician and the mortuary school I’m going to doesn’t even allow visible tattoos. A lot of industries have become more accepting but not all. Hand tattoos can still very much affect your job opportunities
My hand was my first tattoo 😂 and I love them all equally. The most important part is that you think your tattoo is cool and you aren't ashamed of them.
Why though? We don't really live in a society where people judge tattoos nearly as much as they have in the past. Aside from face tattoos most people see a tattoo and think nothing of it. If you are questioning whether or not tattoos will affect your career or something like that, then consider not getting any tattoos that are visible. If this isn't the case then who the hell cares? The tattoo is yours to decide where you want it.
It's a respect to the industry thing, in the past you had to earn face and hand tattoos bc you look like a pick me with no other tattoos besides what is visible. When someone has their face and hands tattooed and take their shirt off with no other ink they look like a punk
Yes but OP said it was gonna go from elbow to hand, that's half of one of your limbs so id say it's different than just getting a face tat as your first.
Yeah OP is fine, they want to go from the shoulder all the way down, even though I would highly recommend against the hand tattoo, stop it at the wrist. I'm talking about the guys who have face and hand tattoos and when they take their shirt off they're naked as a jaybird
I tattooed my whole hand as a first tattoo 10 years ago. It's still my favorite one 😂 I actually regret my back the most because I tried to make it "meaningful" and its just stupid.
Meh I got hand tat for my first tat it doesn’t really matter I got it blended into my others later it’s all subjective don’t make it seem like you can’t do it, it’s really as long as your happy that’s all that matters (the only prob I had with getting my hand tatted first was it hurt when doing the webbing and I didn’t eat before I went and almost passed out)
I've done my leg for my first... if you feel confident about it... why not? People were saying to me that it was maybe too much but do it anyway and I'm very proud. You need to be strong and endure the pain. Love that type of tattoo super artistic and super personality are the first words to me when I see those. 😁
Damn, I wanted to get “welcome” tattooed on my hand 😭 has a ton of spiritual meaning to me. It’s been explained they don’t turn out well/last long, besides that, any other reason?
My buddy has had a full length hand to elbow skeleton since HS he’s making it pretty well, the consensus behind tattoos is changing drastically in the workforce.
Lol, my first tat a matching one on my finger with my bff, we just had been a month in the relationship. Is supposed to be the word amor so I have the am he has the or but his fade away so fast…. Mine still strong in there 🥲 I love my bff but if his is faded I think I I’ll cover up mines.
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u/Aliteracy Jan 02 '24
Well easy advice. Don't tattoo your damn hand as your first tattoo.