Tattoos have become an cultural fad broadly accepted as body art, and creative expression of individualism. In the past, tattoos were considered deterrents to gainful employment and were stigmatized as signs of a rough person. Tattoos were not as widely accepted and often used by criminals, rock and roll stars, and military personnel. The acceptance of tattoos has come about with the younger crowd embracing the concept of permanent body art. Tattoos are worn by sports stars, popular singers, celebrities and other influential people. Peer pressure plays a role in people embracing the body art movement.
According to the Washington-based Pew Research Center, the statistics of people having tattoos has increased. In the last 2012 study, 36% of people aged 18 – 25 had at least one tattoo. People aged 26-40, 40% of people had at least one tattoo. Since tattoos are permanent, deciding to get one is not something to be taken lightly. You do not want to end up with misspellings or shoddy work. Nor do you want to end up on the TLC television show, “America’s Worst Tattoos.”
The price of tattoos, as in various service industries, the better the job, the more it costs. Such body art shouldn’t be completed on a budget. Save up the money to get a well-defined, shaded tattoo that you will not regret in later years. Tattoo removal is bound to be significantly more expensive than the original cost of the tattoo.
Tattoo artists normally price their work by the piece. Factors which change prices of a tattoo are the following: Colors — the more colors and shading you want the more expensive the price; size of the tattoo — large tattoos require longer amount of time to create; custom work — tattoos that are created just for you; and the location to be tattooed. Difficult locations to be tattooed are the sensitive areas such as hands, lower back, neck and ankles. The tattoo of sensitive areas are higher in price than non sensitive areas.
The average price for a small flash tattoo (designs displayed on the wall of parlors) is $45.00. The average cost of a large flash tattoo is $150.00. Custom ink tattoo costs are typically $50.00 – $250.00 per hour. Well-known tattoo artists can command $2,000 for their custom work tattoo. Since prices are so varied make sure to go into several tattoo parlors for consultations. View portfolios of tattoo artist’s work. Recommendations from others is a positive step in determining where to start researching tattoo parlors. The script and lettering tattoos have gained the most popularity in 2012. It is not proper etiquette to haggle over the price of a tattoo with a tattoo artist.