19 Tattoo Fails That Haunt Me

Sarah Kester
Tattoo
Unsplash | Allef Vinicius

There are few regrets in life as bad as tattoo regret. 

It's a different type of failure that keeps you up at night. Tattoos are permanent, after all. You can’t just wipe it away like you do the tears. And if you do decide to remove it, prepare for a lot of money and a lot of pain on laser treatments. 

In other words: think before you ink, folks! These 19 tattoo fails are the poster child of this message.

Stand tall... or don't

Tattoo of giraffe
Reddit | ecky--ptang-zooboing

By tall, they mean "short and lumpy," right? It just goes to show that imitation is only the sincerest form of flattery when it's done right. This giraffe has definitely seen better days...

The misunderstanding

Tattoo
Reddit | [deleted]

"Man gets a tattoo he found on his pup, not knowing it means he's neutered," this Redditor wrote. This one is rough. It's a good thing dogs can't read, or else he might ask for a new owner.

The thong

Tattoo of thong
Reddit | Reddit

This guy must be a plumber. That way, he can make customers laugh when they see this pink thong sticking out while he's under the sink. That, or this is clearly the result of a drunken dare on a night out.

The Karen

Woman and her tattoo
Reddit | soer7022

"Woman gets tattoo about not wearing a mask to pretend being someone you’re not. 2 days before the first Covid-19 case in her state," this Redditor wrote.

Yeah, this didn't age well... But it's okay, it'll rub right off. Oh, wait...

The protector

Family tattoo
Reddit | Vaguswarrior

Apostrophes matter, people! While the tattoo was meant to be special and personal to his family, it now looks like he's the protector of all families. And for that, we say thank you.

The tattoo

Tattoo of sun
Reddit | Vaguswarrior

"The sketch I made for my tattoo vs what I ended up with. The shop had hundreds of great reviews, oof," this Redditor wrote. It's pretty sad when the person's sketch is better than what the tattoo artist can draw...

The portrait

Marilyn Monroe tattoo
Reddit | Reddit

Marilyn must be turning over in her grave right now. She's been the face of many tattoos after her death. Some great, some meh, and some, well, better left uninked.

This sexy tat

Tattoo of Chinese writing
Instagram | chakarron117

"My friend got a tattoo thinking it said “nature” but recently found out it says 'sex,'" this Redditor wrote. This is why you have to be careful getting tattoos in different languages! In all fairness, though, nature is sexy.

The word search

Word search tattoo
Reddit | /everythingisending

The point of this is just about as confusing as what this tattoo is supposed to say.

Couldn't he just be a good dad instead of having it inked on him. What's next, are we supposed to do our Wordle on him?

The extra ink

Tattoo of sign
Reddit | JaninaSnooze

"When you wait 3 weeks for the 'bruise' from your tattoo to go away only to figure out it’s actually terribly blown out and will never go away," this Redditor wrote. Yikes! Just goes to show that some tattoos take a little while to look horrible.

Can they part from this tattoo?

Love tattoo
Reddit | very-okay

If you think about it, we're all "due" death one day. But most of us rather not think about that, let alone ink it on our bodies. It also spoils the romantic notion that this tattoo is supposed to be.

The anti-pro

Box tattoo
Instagram | Scarface190

"If you are ever feeling stupid, just remember that you did not try to tattoo yourself with no experience...with a tattoo gun from amazon... without tracing..." this Redditor wrote. Amazon shouldn't let just anyone purchase things.

We don't "heat" this

Heart tattoo
Reddit | LEAVE_SUSAN_ALONE

Oh, boy. Tattoos like this go to show how important one letter is. We tell ya, it's a good thing "heat" turns red, or else the point of this tattoo would be completely lost.

The nipple

Tattoo of nipple
Reddit | Imgur

"Some guy tried to copy my tattoo artist's work = nipple tattooed on his arm," this Redditor wrote. Karma was really working overtime on this one. Lesson learned: don't steal someone else's work! You'll end up looking like a total boob.

The food preference

Foot tattoo
Tumblr | worst-tattoo-ever

Tired of McDonald's workers messing up your order? Do what this woman did ad get instructions tattooed on your feet! Sure, the staff will say, "ma'am, please put on your shoes and get your feet out of our face," but that's all good!

The two-faced man

Tattoo of face
Reddit | youdontknowimadog

The dedication here is quite frightening. This man had to leave on random bits of hair on his head for the eyebrows and mustache.

Can you imagine sitting behind this your whole flight? Good luck not crapping your pants after waking up from a nap.

Sound advice

Never don't give up
reddit | [deleted]

Ugh, so this is why we're failing at everything! We saw this tattoo once and have been living by it ever since. It's why we gave up on our last five relationships and why we give up on work as soon as the going gets hard.

It's is my life

Bon Jovi Tattoo
reddit | Reddit

It's is their life, so don't try to get in this person's way! They have proved that they will do what they want, when they want. Let's hope the real Bon Jovi* never sees this.

It was written in the stars

Stars tattoo
Reddit | macsimilian

Oh, if only this tattoo turned out just like this woman envisioned. Instead, she'll be left explaining it for the rest of her life to friends, strangers, doctors...

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