The several thousand visitors to the Tattoo Convention held in Aiffres on November 2 and 3 know it: don't erase a tattoo who wants. While the tattoo trend continues, dedicated salons are multiplying. And the risk of regrets, too.
Cover-ups, i.e. the erasure of one tattoo under another, represent 30% of the creations of Milo, tattoo artist at the Barbe bleue salon, in Parthenay. “The problem, she notes, it is the increase in scratchers, unregistered tattoo artists who perform very poor quality tattoos. »
“I’m not proud of it but I was young”
Aged 46, Sandrine paid the price. “I wanted something fine and flowery and the result did not correspond at all to the instructions I had given”she laments, pointing to the tattoo at the top of her back. Rather than recovery, this resident of Châtillon-sur-Thouet opted for “an improvement” : “Milo must give me a drawing of what could be done. I can't wait to see ».
I can't count the number of times I've been asked to cover them up a month later, following a separation.
Matthieu, Tattoo Artist at Level up tatoo Saint-Maixent-l’Ecole
In most cases, recovery requests concern shared tattoos or first names. Tattoo artist at Level up tatoo, in Saint-Maixent-l'École, Matthieu “systematically refuses to tattoo the first names of spouses”. “I can't count the number of times I've been asked to cover them up a month later, following a separation”he justifies.
After “a bad experience”, Sandrine asked a tattoo artist present at the Convention for a sort of divining drawing, to “improve” her tattoo.
© (Photo NR, Camille Montagnon)
In addition to recovery, repentant tattooed people can opt for tattoo removal. The Skin clinic in Niort therefore offers to erase or reduce an existing tattoo via six to ten laser sessions, costing around a hundred euros each. A significant cost.
Of the ten tattoos that dot her body, Karima only regrets the first: a garter, tattooed at the top of her thigh, at the age of 19. “I'm not proud of it but I was young when I did it and in this place it's too painful to remove. »
In February 2024, several tattoo artists from Deux-Sèvres created Collectif tatoo 79 on social networks, in order to “raise awareness of good tattooing practices”.
© (Photo NR, Camille Montagnon)
Aiffres: a sure value
For the fish on her left forearm, on the other hand, the Niortaise took the plunge of covering it: “I liked him, but I want to start on a new project, which takes up my entire forearm. » Learning from her mistakes, she now surrounds herself “good tattoo artists”.
In this regard, the Tattoo Convention is a sure bet, in that the sixty professionals present were selected on the quality of their work. Thus limiting the risk of regrets.
