The recent spike in teen face tattoos might not only be a response to trend setting celebs, but another symptom of Gen Z’s rebellion against the boomer status quo.
Tattoo artists across the UK are calling for stricter age restrictions on those wanting face tattoos – known in the industry as ‘jobstoppers’. But why are face tats so damn fashionable atm anyway?
If you don’t frequent the bookey-er ends of London; your Shoreditches, Camdens, or Wappings, seeing people with hand, neck, head, and/or face tattoos probably isn’t a super regular occurrence for you. But if, like me, you’re partial to heading to the bougier ends for a pint of warm ale in a plastic cup and a vintage sport wind-proofer, then you’ll surely have noticed a spike in people donning jobstopper stamps in 2019. Hell, maybe you’ve even considered one yourself.
But tattoo artists countrywide have been calling for government officials to raise the legal age for face-tattoos from 18-21 after Lee Clements, a spokesperson for The British Tattoo Artist Federation, revealed that there has been a ‘huge increase’ in teenagers wanting face ink in 2019. The chief issue being that, rightly or wrongly, these tattoos are hindering them from traditional job prospects.
The influence of new wave celebs
Despite Gen Z being champions of individuality, the truth largely remains that, like always, young people continue to adopt the latest trends. In the 90s the mod-haircut was all the rage thanks to Oasis, Greenday’s Billie Joel had teen boys wearing guy liner in the mid-2000s, Blake Lively brought the full female suit back to prominence in 2018, and now a ton of edgy musicians are inadvertently making face tattoos fashionable in 2019.
Eminem’s summation on Kamikaze’s ‘Lucky You’ – ‘All the lean rapping face tats syruped out like tree sap’ – was a bitter inditement of current rap tropes, but personal peeves aside there’s no arguing it was pretty accurate. The recent progression of mumble rap and trap has brought forth a diaspora of artists who largely promote a recreational drug culture and an alternative fashion style complete with face tats.
Rap sensations XXXTentacion, Lil Peep, and more recently Post Malone took the notion of physical self-expression and individuality and upped the ante. Traditionally, negative mental health has been a concept discussed behind closed doors but through wearing personal struggles not on their metaphorical sleeves but on their faces (with tats like ‘Always Tired’ ‘CryBaby’ and ‘Alone’), these music icons became instantly identifiable with youngsters pushing to eradicate the stigmas attatched to mental health. Their big presence in the popculture zeitgeist ensured their bold statements transcended beyond just fashion too.