An Open Letter to Minors and Parents

Dear minors and parents,

I thought that an open letter would be a good way to address this issue of tattooing minors. We are all entitled to our opinion and by the end of this you may conclude that we are just off our rocker and that is ok! But with a lot of teens being turned away and left wondering why we can’t tattoo minors, why not address it on the blog and put it all out there. I hope that this can be helpful and provoke deep thinking or offer up some new perspective if you are frustrated by this situation. 

No matter the time of year, despite ebb and flow cycles in our industry and market there is always a minor who wants a tattoo – and parents who are willing to sign from them. I more than anyone understand the want, the need, for a tattoo as a minor. In Grande Prairie there is a bylaw that minors (under any circumstances) cannot be tattooed. First and foremost we want to be sure we’re obeying the law but even so we wouldn’t tattoo minors (even with consent). When I was going through this as a teen my dad chatted with Chris (my now boss and friend) and ultimately decided he wouldn’t take me out of town to a county where parents could sign but would take me to see Chris when I was 18. As a 17 year old who’s so close to that coming of age I thought this was ridiculous, I know what I want and I’m close enough. Turns out, much to my surprise, a lot can change in a year.

Since eventually getting that tattoo at 18 (and a much better version of it) and working in the shop here, alongside Chris for a year; with 4 more years of life experience under the belt, I get it now. I’m even thankful that my parents wouldn’t sign for me and that Chris took the time to explain the ethics to my parents, which can be hard to understand as an older teen especially one that is so confident in themselves and their wants. This may sound cheesy and you have probably heard it before but take a second to think about it: tattoos last a lifetime. Whether you get it now as a minor with a signature or as a legal adult in a few years you still have 60, 70, (if you’re lucky) 80 more years with it. Is a few short years of waiting going to make a big difference in the grand scheme of your tattoo dreams? 

This definitely isn’t going to be what you want to hear as a teen or young adult but as someone who’s always heard, “you’ll find out when you’re older,” I’m not going to do that. Hopefully after reading this we, as tattoo shops, minors, and parents can all have a mutual respect even if we have different perspectives on policies surrounding tattooing minors. As mentioned above the most important reason we don’t tattoo minors is to follow the law but I know that leaves a big ‘why’ shaped elephant in the room surrounding why there even is a law. The next piece in this complex puzzle is ethics. 

There are risks for even the most mature teens seeking a tattoo. Tattooers (at least reputable ones) want their work to last and make you happy years later. A successful tattoo, as Chris says, is not successful because it looks good at the time that it’s finished; it’s successful when it looks good 5 years later. By waiting until you are 18 it improves the odds of the tattoo being successful – that is looking sharp 5+ years later. In your teen years there is so much change. Even if we just look at it physically, there can be unexpected growth spurts, muscle mass building, and filling out (if your experience is similar to mine). The odds of the tattoo surviving without warping or stretching is much better once you reach 18 and most of the large growing periods are over, giving it a higher chance of success. 

Then there’s a bit more of a controversial issue between young adults and parents, your interests change. I remember being adamant about what I wanted when I was looking for my first tattoo at 17 and hearing, “you don’t really know what you like yet.” As any teen would, I thought this was absolute BS. I was looking to get a piece with a lot of meaning and I knew that the meaning wouldn’t be less important or change so why can’t I get this piece. Much to my teen dismay, they were actually right, as much as I’d hate to hear it 4 years ago. I did end up getting a tattoo with the same content and meaning but my artistic taste changed so much in just a year, my tattoo goals and vision even changed. What I would have gotten at 17 wouldn’t fit with how I like my tattoos now and I would probably get it covered or reworked, which we see a lot of. 

When I started working at the Sterling Skull and still today I am surprised how many people got tattooed as minors and were coming in as adults to get those tattoos covered. I know it may sound condescending to a teen but we do come from a place of experience with your best interest in mind. After seeing client after client in their 30’s and 40’s coming in for cover ups on pieces they got in their teens there’s a point of realizing that ideas we have as teens don’t tend to last; this is where my understanding continued to build. 

It’s hard to conceptualize as a teen how large a lifetime is and that the tattoos and decisions that you make now will be with you for that whole long lifetime. In the grand scheme, waiting a few years to get that tattoo won’t be the end of the world and you will probably end up with a better version of that tattoo as an adult that will look good years later, that you are more likely to be satisfied with years later. The fun thing about this is you also have adult money to potentially go to a better artist or get the piece a little bigger. While there are some places that will tattoo a minor, in other county’s (and despite the law in some cases) just to get the payday, we are invested in the success of the tattoo and your satisfaction. I hope that this letter finds you well and is helpful whether you’re a frustrated teen like myself or a parent considering signing for a minor. Ultimately I am thankful that there were people looking out for me and saving me from my own teen decisions so that I have the freedom to get artwork I love now. 

Like Chris always says: it’s better to wish you could put ink in, than take it out.

Sincerely, SSS Gatekeeper

Gatekeeper

Hi there! I'm Taylor, you may know me as Sterling Skull reception, or gatekeeper, or most recently Tater (thanks Chris). I love writing, creating and I love tattoos; so what better way to use my passions than to bring you a personal experience of our studio via a blog! Welcome, please stay a while!