By Buggga - 22/08/2009 09:07 - Australia

Today, I was instructed to shave my back in preperation for my first tattoo. I'm a girl. FML
I agree, your life sucks 40 075
You deserved it 12 593

Same thing different taste

Top comments

everyone one has hair on their back. hair has to be removed for a tattoo. you're not special

That is standard procedure when you get a tattoo. Calm the **** down. It's not the end of the world.

Comments

You always have to shave it, no matter if you seem hairless or not. Every person in the world has hair ALL OVER their bodies, usually on girls it's fine and blonde. I had to do the same thing when I got my tattoo on my back. I don't have a hairy back but they have to do it anyway because if they leave the tiny hair there they can inject it backwards into your skin and cause an infection, ruining your tattoo.

What everyone is saying is true, no matter what sex or how few vellus hairs there are there they shave it, they even shaved the spot directly behind my ears for mine.

Ummmm....i had to have my hand shaved when i got tattooed and i'm a girl...everybody has hair everywhere...even if its just fine hairs that you wouldn't even notice regularly (like on my hand, and probably on your back), you still have to shave it, usually. the weird thing about this is that you were told to shave your own back. thats pretty uh, difficult. and whenever i've had to be shaved for a tattoo, the artist has done it himself...

Everyone has hair everywhere. Even if you can't see it, there are hairs. Also, as everyone else said, it's procedure. Good research. YDI.

skiBOAT 0

Not an FML, everyone has back hair, stop being a girl.

Well, that's going to be a little tricky for her.

jkp1005 0

When i got my tattoo on my foot, they shaved it and you couldnt see any hair, they have to shave where ever it is.

emileenicole 0

too bad you really dont have to shave everytime you get a tattoo. ive got two, on my back, and i never had to shave my back for them.

WitchCirce 0

Well then your artist was an idiot who was putting both you and your tattoos at a great risk. Even if you don't have noticeable body hair, it's still there, and if you tattoo over hair, you can inject it into the skin with the ink, causing an infection which could potentially seriously harm you and ruin your tattoos. Not to mention shaving also scrapes off the dead skin. I'd recommend never doing business with that tattoo artist again, as he/she clearly doesn't have your and your tattoos' best interest in mind.

abrasive_punk 0

Some tattoo artist are weird. When I got the one on my back they made me shave, and I only have some normal peach fuzz. So unless you're a wookie, fyl.

i have a tattoo on my foot and my back and they didnt shave me, or make me shave...it does depend on the area that is being tattooed.

mmeow 0

Agreed, i have a tattoo on my hip and it didn't get shaved. You don't ALWAYS get shaved no matter where you put your tattoo.. although some girls do have pretty hairy backs blahh

WitchCirce 0

As I told #48 above, you have a terrible tattoo artist if they don't insist that you shave or they shave you in an area where hair does grow on a human body, no matter how fine and difficult to see it may be. I'd think the only exception would be if you were getting tattooed on the bottom of your foot or your palm, where hair doesn't grow (and even then those tattoos would be incredibly hard to take care of and probably heal awfully).

cryssycakesx3 22

I hate when people say "it didn't happen to me so it's not true" a good tattooist will shave the area because they know it *can* happen. what'd you do, go to a kitchen scratch or a tattoo party? haha. either way I'd go to someone a little more experienced. I have 15 tattoos and gotten an ingrown hair once. it hurt worse than the tattoo.

They tell you to shave so they have a smooth surface to work on. Plus, they're tattoo-ing your skin, not the hair on your body.