Tattoos may be mainstream enough for the cops but here’s what to consider before you get inked

Once a countercultural symbol of rebellion, tattoos are now so mainstream that a neck or hand tattoo is no longer an impediment to becoming a cop in Victoria.

The recent change in heart is mostly about boosting recruitment to that State’s police force.

But it also reflects changing societal norms, with about one-in-three Australians under the age of 30 now inked up. WA’s police force still bans face, neck and hand tattoos, as well as any body art considered offensive or culturally insensitive, but tattoos elsewhere are not an issue.

Perth people love their tattoos so much that hundreds queued for up to six hours earlier this year when East Perth tattoo parlour Arcane Tattoo Studio offered free 50¢-sized tattoos for a day.

Tattoos were already big business 15 years ago when Emma Commander of Fine Line Studios in Nedlands started in the industry. Since then she’s seen their popularity grow and sees everyone from 18-year-olds to those in their 70s embracing the needle for the first time.

“The industry has changed a lot,” she says. “Advancements in technology, the introduction of social media have had big effects.

“The accessibility of tattoos to the masses has grown and the options for styles have broadened . . . tattoos have always been popular since I started out but they are becoming so with a broader range of people.

“I think it has been a gradual growth towards becoming mainstream within a larger culture in Australia. It’s continuing to grow.”

But, while it’s estimated that as many as one in four Australians now have ink on their body — up from 10 per cent in 2000 — there are still pitfalls to consider before taking the plunge.

Choose your symbol carefully

You have probably heard the stories about tourists who thought they were getting the Chinese symbols for “hope” or “integrity” tattooed on their body and wound up with insults like “illiterate foreigner” instead. Some of those may be apocryphal.

But choosing the wrong design can have long-term consequences and even limit future career options.

US president-elect Donald Trump last month tapped former Fox News presenter Pete Hegseth to lead his Department of Defence. But Mr Hegseth, a US Army National Guard veteran, was previously flagged as a potential “insider threat” by a fellow service member because the words “Deus Vult” are tattooed on his bicep.

The phrase, which translate as “God Wills It”, was once used by Christian crusaders in the Middle Ages and has since been co-opted by white nationalists. It is unclear whether Mr Trump would consider such an association a drawback.

Ms Commander has received some “colourful” requests during her time in the industry.

“Some I said yes to, some I said no to. . . I probably can’t go into too much detail about the nos, though,” she said. “You do have to learn to not be too judgmental in this job.”

Tattoos can outlast partners

High on the right arm of Hollywood actor Johnny Depp’s arm is a tattoo that says: “Wino Forever”. But once it read “Winona Forever”, in tribute to Depp’s former fiancee Winona Ryder.

Depp is not the first person to have a tattoo outline a paramour and he is certainly not the only celebrity to be left with a visible reminder of an ex.

Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan got their matching “side by side” tattoos while on their honeymoon in Bali in 2009 — only to divorce nine years later.

When Arianda Grande and Pete Davidson split up, the Thank U, Next singer covered up the matching tattoo she had acquired during the relationship with the name of another ex’s dog.

New York tattoo artist Jon Mesa claimed to have staged something of an intervention with Davidson after being called in to help conceal the image of a former partner’s face. “I did a huge cover-up,” he told the New York Post. “After we were done, I told Pete, ‘hey, dude, let’s just stop with the girlfriend tats”.

One survey found as many as 30 per cent of tatted-up Australians had at least one they regretted. It did not specify how many involved an ex-partner’s name.

Social media is full of complaints about new partners whose skin still bears the mark of an ex.

Ms Commander has tattooed clients with their partners’ names before but says it’s not an “overly common” request. So far she has never had someone return asking for a Wino Forever-style cover up.

“Again, withholding any judgement, it’s not my place to make a call on whether that’s a good idea or not,” she said. “I’m sure some of them regretted it but I’ve never redone one of mine for that reason.”

Choose your artist carefully

Ms Commander receives messages “almost daily” from people unhappy with tattoos they have had done elsewhere, hoping to have them altered or covered up.

“It’s something I choose not to do personally, as it’s quite often not straightforward and doesn’t always have the desired outcome of making the tattoo more like what the client wanted.,” she said.

At least in WA tattoo studios must comply with the Health (Skin Penetration Procedures) Regulations 1998 and Code of Practice for Skin Penetration Procedures, which impose basic standards for hygiene, disinfection and sterilisation.

Not everywhere is quite so strict.

Just ask Englishwoman, Kirsty Griffiths, who recently paid the equivalent of $250 to get a tattoo while on holiday in Turkey and got a lot more than the floral design she had wanted on her ankle.

According to the Daily Mail, Ms Griffiths contracted a bacterial skin infection called cellulitis, which spread to her stomach and gall bladder.

“Two different surgeons came to visit me and one said if this doesn’t clear up, I might have to have my foot amputated. I was crying and screaming every night in pain,” she said. “It was morphine drip after morphine drip and I could still feel the pain through the painkillers.”

Ms Griffiths kept her foot but has decided to take a break from getting any more tattoos. For now.