Can a tattoo disappear in a week? The case of a young woman who went viral on TikTok

One day, while Daniela Montecinos (26) was browsing the main TikTok feed, she came across a video of a Chilean artist doing fine line tattoos. She was immediately attracted by the delicacy of his work. Since he had a large following on the platform and seemed trustworthy, he contacted her to set up a date.

To see what the tattoos she wanted to capture would look like on her skin, because they had a special meaning, she created them herself in Adobe Photoshop: the number 222, in addition to the words “love” and “art ” were chosen designs.

Until the day of the session with her tattoo artist arrived. Everything seemed to be going according to plan, the professional was guided by her design and shaped the pigment into her skin. Daniela, architecture student and dancer, loved the result at first sight.

“Even though it hurt and everything, I felt like the tattoo wasn’t that deep” says the young woman The third .

On the second day, when it is customary to remove the protective patch for a new tattoo, Daniela noticed that her drawings were slightly blurry. On the fifth day, they didn’t even have straight or solid lines. It was there that he spoke to his tattoo artist and she told him that it was “normal” for this to happen, that she had even warned him during the session.

“I understand that some tattoos may fade a bit, but I think it happened too quickly. When they say they’re faded, it’s not that they’re completely faded, it’s logic, the ink comes out a bit. But it doesn’t,” he says.

Daniela’s problem didn’t end there, but it got even worse. After a little over a week, the three tattoos he had on his arm were completely gone. Virtually no trace remained of the pigment that had been put on it not long before. .

Trying to come to an agreement with her tattoo artist, she told him that she offered to redraw them in one more month. But when specifying the day and time of the appointment, the artist did not respond or took several days to do so. After insisting on a solution, Daniela says she was fed up with his “unprofessionalism” and unreliability, so she demanded a refund: I paid $25,000 for each drawing, which didn’t even last a month. .

“He refused to give me the money back because he said he had discussed it with me and we had agreed that if necessary it could be brought to light again. I explain to him that in this case this wouldn’t be noticeable, it would be to redo the tattoos from scratch, that’s what I’m complaining about, ”he confides.

Although Daniela does not want to expose the name of the tattoo artist, in order not to cause problems in her other jobs, she decided to publicize her bad experience in a TikTok video . Her story left hundreds of comments from users who couldn’t believe a tattoo could completely disappear, leaving almost no trace, in such a short time.

But what could have happened to Daniela? Can a thin line tattoo only last a few days and then fade away until it leaves no trace? To what extent does this happen to users? Here, what two professionals from the tattoo world say.

Social media tattoo artist Sherry Podesta saw Daniela’s story and found it so interesting that she wanted to address the issue in another TikTok video which then went viral with 16,000 like and over 130,000 views.

The professional tells The third that his idea was to warn about this type of experience and the solutions that can be given because thin line tattoos have had a great preference among users lately. The problem is that this style also has risks and difficulties, mainly because it is difficult for them to maintain their definition and thickness over time, compared to those tattoos with thick lines and saturated colors.

“People like this very fine line, almost invisible from afar. It’s good to warn them about what can happen, as well as what can’t happen, and it’s also good that as tattoo artists we take care of it. At least I know that, but I couldn’t speak for the whole category because we’re very adrift in those kinds of situations,” says Sherry.

Despite being a danger of this technique, the tattoo artist understands why the ink Daniela had on her skin faded so quickly: bad practice on the part of the artist, since the tattoo was done on the uppermost skin cape.

“The tattoo artist probably didn’t hit the right layer of skin. The tattoo should normally go on the epidermis, it should not be made so superficial because otherwise the pigment will not adhere well to the skin. It also has its complexity, because as such a fine needle is used, if inserted too much, it tends to burst the ink, so it wouldn’t look good and below it looks like an expansion. It’s not very aesthetic,” he says.

Tana González, Mahawk Tattoo artist, also points out that in this case it was not possible to reach the epidermis and therefore the ink ended up being erased. Although he believes that the complete disappearance of a tattoo is not a situation that occurs frequently, he points out that there are other elements that must be considered in this process, such as the thickness of the skin. of the client or if there is a lot of friction in the following days.

“There could be a combination of factors or poor direct execution, but it can happen to any tattoo artist faced with new skin. It will also very much depend on the knowledge and experience of the tattoo artist to be able to calculate how deep a fine line can be worked on,” stress.

Another point to consider is where on the body Daniela tattooed her designs. There are areas where tattoos tend to fade easier and in less time: the fingers, hands and feet, including the ankles.

This happens because the skin on these parts is much more different and is in constant contact with water or clothing. But the same thing does not happen in the forearms, since it is a much more resistant area of ​​the body. And that’s where the college girl got some ink, so she should have gotten in trouble for that.

In addition, Daniela has several tattoos in different areas of her body, including a few fine lines, so she knew in advance how to take care of them: “For me, getting a tattoo, apart from the fact that it’s something for life, is an investment. I want the investment to be worth it, I would never get a tattoo and not deal with it” .

For both professionals, it should be clarified that there is always the possibility that using this technique the pigment is not consistent, but for the same reason it is recommended that users ask the artists for touch-ups. The time during which this examination can be done will depend on each tattoo artist’s vision, although in general it should be done within the first few weeks after the tattoo has healed.

The problem is that not all tattoo artists like doing touch-ups and prefer to avoid them at all costs, so the attitude isn’t always positive when the consumer asks for it, says Sherry.

“It makes it harder for them because they’re not charging and they’re wasting time and inputs. Instead of getting another new tattoo, they’re going to have to do this free reminder. But I think one has a moral duty to keep in mind that if you did something wrong, you have to fix it, because later there may be consequences.

Precisely, the last thing the artist mentions is what happened to Daniela: the tattoo artist who made a mistake in her case avoided correcting the mistake, constantly delaying the agreement for the revision appointments. Seeing no solution in the service, the young woman wanted to tell her bad experience on social networks to alert other people who could be involved in the same situation.

“When you have a visible bad result from a tattoo, you at least try to find a solution with the client. For me, it is very important to leave the person happy because they are paying for something you are doing to them” says Tana about this case.

Then, he adds: “It is always very necessary in the professional ethics of a tattoo artist to leave the other happy. Finally, look for an intermediate point to give him a solution as soon as possible, you have already been paid, you have already done the work, so it is better to solve it”.

In Sherry’s view, the practice of not responding to poor work shouldn’t happen, but she points out that it all comes down to the professionalism and ethics of each artist. “I believe that the generalization of this type of situation can help the sector to take control , on what happens if a tattoo is erased or loses definition, whether it is valid or not to see it again. Finally, he will be questioned, ”he concludes.

Daniela drew several conclusions about this process. One of them is that it will now be more complex than ever to choose the person with whom you will mark your body for life: “I would say that the only way to know if a tattoo artist does it well or not is by having relatives who have already left with him. There is no other way”.