Why you should never fall asleep in a tattoo parlour
The BBC has a story on their website about a girl in Belgium who went in to a tattoo parlour to have three small stars tattooed near her eye and ended up with 56 stars all over her face. She claims to have fallen asleep in the chair and only woke up when her nose was being tattooed and now she wants most of them removed. The tattoo artist claims she didn’t fall asleep and got exactly what she ordered and only changed her mind when her father freaked out. Which of the two sounds more likely to you?
Given the picture of the tattoo artist, I don’t think anyone would be surprised if they found themselves covered in tattoos should they happen to fall asleep while he was working on them.
And, how does one fall asleep when one is being tattooed anyway? I would think the pain would be more than enough to keep you awake.
AKA Keeper of Maps, I'm a geocacher who lives in Ottawa, Canada.
Having watched the video available at the BBC site (well, I was leaning that way beforehand) I believe the tattoo artist more than the young lady.
It;s highly unlikely that she would just fall asleep during the tattooing process, especially since three small stars wouldn’t take that long. As for the pain, it depends where you’re getting it, over large muscle isn’t too bad, and can actually be relaxing, closer to the bone it can be quite painful I understand.
Your second paragraph strikes me as biased. He is in business doing his art. Why would he risk huge fines, possible jail (the case is being investigated by the local prosecutors office, so it would probably involve convictions and possible jail time).
Have a good one,
Nigel
I was talking about this with some friends last night and they all side with the tattoo artist, as do I. The consensus was that there’s no way you’d fall asleep while having your face tattooed. Pass out, either from the pain or alcohol/drugs, but in that case we all assumed that a reputable tattoo artist would stop what they’re doing.
As for my second paragraph, I guess I should have put a winky face emoticon. Presumably the artist in question wouldn’t tattoo someone without an informed decision. I don’t have a tattoo, but I would imagine that there would probably be some paperwork describing the work to be done, especially in the case of a highly visible tattoo like one on a face.
The face that she wants to keep some of the extra ones suggests to me that the tattoo artist’s story is a more accurate description of the facts.
For someone who woke up with 53 more stars than she ordered, she sure looks peaceful and content in that final photo. If I’d just “woken up” with 53 stars there is NO WAY, I’d peacefully pose for a photo. Just saying.
As someone who has two tattoos, there is no way anyone would fall asleep while getting their face tattooed. There just wouldn’t be that level of trust. I mean that man is making permanent art ON HER FACE, the stress of that alone should keep her awake. Getting a tattoo is not a gentle process, and on the face, it would hurt and well, the face is a pretty sensitive spot.
I know many tattoo artists who refuse to do hands, necks and faces, it’s just too likely that people will regret it.
Having had a tattoo put on my arm, which is one of the least painful areas BTW, there is NO chance of calling sleep!! Between the pain and the noise, it’s not possible. Well, not unless you were wasted on some serious hard drugs or booze.
I have to believe the tattoo artist on this one!