Pros and Cons of Tiny Tattoos
What is a Tiny Tattoo?
A tiny tattoo or micro tattoo is a small, delicate tattoo, often with a fair amount of intricate detail. Tiny tattoos have seen a surge of popularity and I spend more of my time doing tiny tattoos than anything else. Don’t get me wrong, I love doing these tattoos, they offer a huge challenge as they are harder than they might look!
Weighing the Pros and Cons of Tiny Tattoos.
While tiny tattoos are obviously super cute. I want to give you some information that might help you make an informed decision when it comes to choosing a tattoo design for your body. Believe it or not, there are some pros and cons that you will want to think through before you decide on a tiny tattoo.
Pros
1. Delicate
Tiny tattoos are delicate and adorable. Especially perfect for female clients. Enough said.
2. Affordable First Appointment
For the majority of tiny tattoos, you will probably be paying the shop minimum. A shop minimum is the lowest price the shop will offer to perform a tattoo. For most shops in my area, the minimum is between $50-$100. So for a tattoo, this can be a pretty economical deal for those looking for a deal. But there is more to this story though…Read in the cons section to learn more about cost.
3. Starting Small
If you are new to tattoos, a tiny tattoo can be a great option to dip your toe into the great big pool of tattoos. Don’t worry, the waters are fine! There are a few pros that can be named for starting small:
Tiny tattoos typically take a shorter amount of time to tattoo….so less pain
Speaking of pain….You can test out your pain tolerance to tattoos
4. Concealability
Tiny tattoos are typically very concealable. This can be a great option if you aren’t quite sure if you want to go all out when it comes to tattoos yet. Especially if you aren’t wanting to shout to the world that you have tattoos.
5. Good First Tattoo
There is no shortage of questions, concerns, and information to learn about tattoos. Honestly, it can feel a bit like you are trying to drink from a fire hydrant at times. Getting a tiny tattoo as your first piece can be a simple way to grow in your knowledge and comfort level with tattoos and the tattooing process.
Cons
1. It May Not Look Like The Tattoo on Social Media
Unfortunately, we live in a day and age of filters, digital touch-ups, and photo editing apps. Don’t always trust the Pinterest board or tattoo artist’s feed full of perfectly crisp and dark black fine-line tattoos. Chances are some digital workup has been done on the pictures and the client’s skin might show a different story of reality. This is not meant to bum you out or discourage you from getting a tiny tattoo, but just remember that many pictures of tattoos you see online are taken immediately after the tattoo has been completed and digitally touched up to make it look as good as possible.
2. Fine Lines Can Disappear Over Time
Believe it or not, fine lines can disappear over time. This has to do with the science behind tattoos. Tattoos only “work” because your body’s immune system surrounds the ink injected into your skin and holds it in place. Your body “sees” the tattoo ink as a foreign invader in your body (which it kind of is!) and it trying to protect you by keeping the ink from going anywhere and starting to try to break the ink down and expel it from the body. Funny enough, the body DOES accomplish this, albeit, it takes a very long time for it to happen. With the fine lines of a tiny tattoo, there is less ink for the body to deal with and it can sometimes make it easier for the body to get its mission accomplished. Because you have less ink in your skin, any ink that is removed is pretty obvious to see.
3. It Can Possibly Bleed Together, Fade, and Lose Detail Over Time
When getting a tiny tattoo you and your artist need to be very thoughtful on what lines cross where on the design. The smaller your tattoo and the closer your lines are, the greater likelihood you have for your lines to bleed together. Not only that, but because of how the body reacts to your tattoo (see above) it can mean that your tiny tattoo may lose detail faster over time than other larger tattoos. You should always ask your artist their opinion on how the design you have chosen may look 2, 5, and even 10 years down the road.
4. You Will Likely Need Regular Touch Ups
One thing that most people do not know or understand when getting a tattoo is that they will likely need their tattoo touched up at some point. The likelihood of you needing touch-ups goes way up when you have a tiny tattoo. You will need touch-ups to keep your lines looking fresh. This may mean booking appointments every 6-12 months depending on how particular you are in how your tattoo looks.
5. It Could Cost You More in the Long Run
Due to the reasons listed above in the “cons” section, while your tiny tattoo might seem like a financial win in the short term, if you do go back to your artist (or another artist) multiple times to get it touched up and re-worked, know that the appointments and the cost can add up over time.
In Conclusion
Tiny tattoos are great! I personally love them for myself and love to give them to my clients, but having proper expectations is so important. The closer you can set your expectations to reality, the greater the opportunity you have to love your tattoo rather than feeling regret and disappointment.
