Is It Safe To Tattoo Your Face?

Tattoos are ancient, literally. According to Smithsonian Magazine, the earliest known "ink" is from the Egyptians, who lived around 2,000 BC. Fortunately for fans of the tattoo, the tradition of tattooing our skin and the instruments we use to get tattooed has modernized with the times. When observing how the practice of tattooing was once done, English writer William Lane observed, "The operation is performed with several needles (generally seven) tied together: with these, the skin is pricked in a desired pattern: some smoke black (of wood or oil), mixed with milk from the breast of a woman, is then rubbed in...It is generally performed at the age of about 5 or 6 years, and by gipsy-women (sic)."

Breast milk and seven needles aside, getting tattooed is likely more hygienic today than it was in the past. Even though this ancient practice is still alive and trending today, is it safe to get a tattoo anywhere you want, including your face?

Let's focus on our faces. Getting a tattoo in this area is actually incredibly risky. Very Good Light explains that, for starters, the skin on your face is much thinner than the skin on the rest of your body, making it more difficult to tattoo. The risk of the needle penetrating too deep into the skin, thus ruining your desired image, is greater when done on thinner skin. In addition, face tattoos aren't fully accepted by the 9-to-5 crowd, so you may receive some unfair judgment in your direction when it comes to the workplace.

According to the BBC, the recent wave of celebrities getting face tattoos, including Post Malone, Amber Rose, and Chris Brown, may encourage many to get one themselves. If you are considering this type of tattoo on your face, it's up to you. Just make sure you have weighed all options and have found a legitimate tattoo artist before you commit to the ink.