With the rise of social media, we have more access to tattoo artists and seeing what is trendy. Apps like Pinterest, TikTok and Instagram are leaders in amplifying trends. There are many tattoo styles, and social media has made some more popular than others. Some of the most popular include American traditional, watercolor, fine line and neotrad. People tend to see fine line popular among younger people, and older people lean towards timeless styles like American traditional. Some of these newer and more popular styles have concerns about longevity.
Social media has turned into a way artists can showcase a portfolio or artistic process. Short videos can catch the attention of consumers, especially younger people that are more visually keen to short form media. The act of saving an aesthetic post or sharing it to a friend can amplify algorithms, reaching more people and abruptly creating a trend.
Trends usually start with people at the top– celebrities and large influencers. When people see what these A-Listers are doing, viewers see these trends as fashionable or what all the “it girls” are doing. People generally want a sense of community and to be seen as staying current, and these trends get boosted from people following them.
When these trends go viral, desires to follow these trends are harder to ignore.
“I mean, everybody has access to [social media], so it’s like that impulse and you want to go get it right away,” teacher Bri Ames said.
There has been a major shift in the trends of tattoos with an uprise in fine line styles, especially daintier tattoos and the newly claimed cybersigilism style, which combines fine line and tribal.
Some styles have major concerns. While they look nice for the first few months, these styles have a harder time lasting in skin. The daintier lines sometimes aren’t thick enough to last as long as people expect. Especially with cybersigilism, the details are often messy and thin, making it hard for skin to hold the ink long term. Fine line tattoos are also often small, increasing the risk for the tattoos to bleed out and the lines to blend together.
Younger people are leaning heavily into these specific styles. A lot of young people get tattoos without thinking about longevity.
When looking at older trends, we see a lot of American Traditional styles. Thicker lines and bold primary colors are seen more often. Especially with older people who gravitate to these styles, people can learn a lot from seeing how these tattoos have aged. They are still bright and have held together despite having these tattoos for decades.
While impulsivity is fun at times, people need to think more before they make decisions that will be permanent on their body. There are a lot of artists who specialize in these particular styles that have a reputation of being hard to maintain that can make ink last. With an overly saturated tattoo industry, research the multitudes of styles, artists and aftercare to make sure that tattoos will last as long as possible.
Tattoos will only get more and more popular, and trends are going to keep coming and going. Before booking a session and spending hundreds of dollars, research is imperative to make sure you have no regerts.
