Tattoo Artists Want to Ban Face Tattoos For Clients Under 21

Celebrities have a huge impact on cultural trends, especially among teenagers and young adults. For example, during the early 2000s, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera inspired the fashion, beauty and hairstyles of millions of young girls. Today, the hottest stars in the music industry have all gravitated to getting face tattoos and we’ve noticed a significant rise in people under the age of 25 getting what the industry would describe as job stoppers—tattoos on the face, neck and hands.

A group of tattooed artists in the United Kingdom, who belong to The British Tattoo Artist Federation, have banded together to raise the legal age a client is allowed to get a face tattoo to 21. In the UK and most other countries, 18 is the legal age a client can get tattooed and the location, size and subject matter is not taken into account. In an interview with the telegraph, BTAF spokesman Lee Clements discussed the recent rise in job stoppers amount young clients, sharing, “I can’t go a week without a young person coming into our studio asking for a tattoo on their neck, face or hands.”

Artists of the BTAF are taking a hard stance against people under 21 having job stoppers because they believe young people aren’t mature enough to understand the consequences these tattoos can have, with Clements sharing “It could carry weight to higher the age people can get facial tattoos. It is concerning for us as professionals because in the future it is going to affect job prospects.”

What do you think of this argument? Should people under the age of 21 be permitted to tattoo their faces? Are heavily tattooed young celebrities setting a bad example for their young fans? Let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments section.