Hi everyone!
It's been a long while but I have a question...
I want to get a tattoo...a few tattoos to be honest. My question is what effect will losing weight have on the tattoo? I remember hearing that gaining (lots of) weight will ruin your tattoo by "streching" it out, so I wondered if losing (lots of) weight will mess it up as well. One Tattoo that I'm getting is going to cover much of my back. And because I have those horrible back rolls I wondered if I would ruin the tattoo once i lost the weight.
So I figured I would save the big tattoo for a goal reward once I lost a good amount of weight. But I just wanted to know if anyone knows if this is true?

I have a few tattoos and so far none of them have really been effected by the loss. Though i might say that you might want to wait until closer to goal to get the back piece. 1) it will be a nice reward. 2) you will have to sit down for many sessions if its going to be huge and im not sure if that will make a difference in the look of your tattoo if you get it worked on when you are 5 different sizes.
But im not a professional its probably best to talk to your artist and ask their opinion.

If I were you I would go ahead w/ the tattoos you want that can be put on ankles/wrists/neck/chest or whatever that won't be affected. You never EVER do a backpiece for your 1st tattoo (I'm assuming it would be your 1st since you didn't mention already having tattoos). Think of your back as a blank canvas waiting for a masterpiece...you save it until you know EXACTLY what you want and exactly who you want to do it.

I guess I should've said, too, that I've got 3 tattoos but they're all in places not affected by my weight loss. Before I stopped drinking Pepsi and went on the SBD my ankles and feet would swell horribly. Because of that I have put off getting a tattoo that I've really wanted on my foot. My ankles and feet no longer swell and, come income tax refund time next year, I will be getting that tattoo. It matches my bestfriend's foot tattoo...it's vines w/ flowers that cover the top of her foot and then wrap around her 2nd toe w/ a band of vines and a flower on top. It's my favorite tattoo of hers.

Not to worry Natasha.. these are tattoos I wanted from before I was 18...i'm 25 now... hehe I don't know what ever stopped me from getting them before...now that I have a job and could pay for them. I guess I was too worried about messing it up if I ever do lose the weight. But some...like the one's I want on my ankles won't be messed up so I'm thinking of getting those...and saving my back peice for my goal reward after all....(anyway it would take me that long to save up for it @.@ I cn only wonder what it would cost.) thanks for the advice!

I've been thinking of getting a tattoo to celebrate my 100 lbs loss, when I achieve it. We met a friend for lunch at his tattoo shop and I asked the tattoo artists about it.

They said that it depends on the subject and position of the tattoo, but usually it isn't a problem. If I wanted a tattoo in a trouble spot like my shoulder/bicep, they suggested I go with more forgiving tattoos (like leaves, vines, geometric patterns, rather than say a recognizeable cartoon character like Kermit in which case a distortion could leave it looking very much like a frog, but like a very badly drawn kermit....).

Go to a good tattoo shop (know their reputation in town), and ask the artist.

For a full back piece you're looking at anywhere from $800 to $1500 depending on the detail involved...plus your tip. Just keep in mind...a good tattoo isn't cheap and a cheap tattoo isn't good.

TOO FUNNY!!! My first tattoo was Kermit...and he's on my right ankle. LOL

I think you would be wise to wait on the back tattoo, like you said. But I wouldn't worry about getting some in places like wrists, ankles, even calves. I have a wrist one and an ankle one (both with important lines where the tattoos would be ruined if stretched) but I'm confident they'll be fine because there's hardly any fat below.

My SO has tattoos on his back, arms and lower legs and none have been effected by his 20kg+ (44 pounds) weight loss.

I have 11 tattoos, but none of them are affected by my weight GAIN, so I will assume none of them will be affected by my weight LOSS.


But different people experience different things, and some people who lose great amounts of weight can have hanging skin and stretch mark issues. I'd definitely talk to a tat artist to get their professional POV.

I got thin for the first (and only) time ever a few years back, and all my tattoos looked the same.
But that was when I started HATING my tats, because I finally had a nice body, and all these "scribbles" all over it really ruined it for me....

My number one wish is to win the lotto and be able to laser them all off.
Long sleeves and pants in summertime is HOT! But damn I hate them so much.

I'm sad to hear you hate your tattoos Do you mind me asking what/where they are and what made you get them in the first place?

Mine is on my shoulder blade. I got it when I was at my goal weight. I think because of where it was done I really haven't seen it change much as I've gone up and down in my weight. Its a 4 inch wide butterfly.
My SIL has one across her lower back that she got when she was at her heaviest. She never showed me but she's very unhappy on what happened to it after she lost a good amount of weight. I live too far now to see her, I know she's talked about having it removed.