Tattoos why not

So have something on hand to cover up with if you have exposed tattoos. But always prioritize looking looking after your tattoo to prevent any potential infections. Getting tattooed or showing tattoos in public has become a touchy subject in this country in recent years. Government officials and country leaders have publicly stated that they believe the practice of tattooing is associated with devil-worshipping, and that being tattooed is seen as a sign of Westernisation, which is strongly opposed.

If going to Iran, be extremely careful about exposing any kind of ink — especially anything based around religion. Earlier this year for example, the top religious body in Turkey issued a request for all Muslims with tattoos within the country to either repent or have the tattoo surgically removed. Although tattoos can be seen as extremely positive means of self-expression in many areas of the world — you must remember that other countries dissimilar to the ones you know best may not see them this way.

Have feedback or updates re the information in this post? Leave me a comment to let me know! I would love to hear about your experiences, and will happily make edits to reflect the most up to date information. Get their daily travel article in your email. Dan, a Master of Fine Arts and a participating member of the tattooing community for over 10 years is the resident writer at AuthorityTattoo.

While no longer as active in the tattooing community, Dan still attends many tattoo conventions around the country and is here to help educate, teach and advise readers on all things tattoo related. Very good to know.

Still a law so not something I would like to risk personally though :. Because of that yakuza association, tattoos have a very negative connotation. That said most Japanese do appreciate that this is not the case for foreigners and their tattoos.

Thanks for sharing your experiences from Japan … Seems to be across the board that countries with these kind of laws or attitudes are at least willing to accept that tourists may have tattoos for different reasons :.

Booking an experience at a family bath is a great way to get around the shared bathing issue. Thanks for the tip! I am amazed to see some countries on this list. Muslim nations are understandable, even a military regime like North Korea but hearing that countries like Japan and some other Asian countries are also not happy with tattoos!! Good info to know for future travels.

NK visitors are at the whim of their ruler, he can kick someone out or detain them for any reason he dreams up. Not a tattoo related story, but recently an American student got sentenced to 15 years of hard labour for stealing a propaganda sign from his hotel. Yikes right!! The Iran one is bollocks. We know very, very, very little about North Korea; almost all information about it is shared by people who have an issue with it — defectors, enemies etc.

I am headed to Vietnam soon ,so this comes at a good time. I need to ensure I carry clothes that cover my ink — I def dont wanna stand out in any way. I would advise you to uncover your tatoo in big cities in Vietnam. Yes, local people might think you are not a peaceful person, but the thief and back snathcers will stay away from you.

Is that a good point? I knew about Sri lanka and Germany but others are news to me. Absolutely Indrani! Specifically in Germany it is the Nazi ones though. My husband is German and he and I are fully sleeved with space or animal themes. No issues accept from older generation.

Even then they just gave us strange looks. Vietnam was no issue at all. I got really shocked to see Slovakia on top of the list! But it is true that any symbols propagating nazist ideology, even symbolically, are forbidden and for a good reason as we have a terrible history during the WWII and even currently there are groups supporting this kind of ideology.

Howwever, a normal tattoo is no problem, many of my friends are inked and except for older people, nobody bats an eye. Great article! As you said, completely understandable that anything promoting or endorsing Nazi ideology would see this kind of law in place. Interesting article.. This is useful information.

Of course as travelers we need to be sensitive to the culture and traditions of the countries we visit and respect their laws and traditions. Thanks for stopping by! If they prohibit tattoos, we should try our best to cover them up! Wear a light cotton shirt if you must.

A lot of people have commented since we published and shared that their experiences in many countries have been reasonably tolerant of tourists in regards to tattoos. I am in Vietnam and see that we Vietnamese has a different feeling about tatoo. For us a person with tatoo is a fierce person.

More tatoo in body will lead a person to the rank of gangster. Many offices do not recruit a person with tattoo. So, we also have many services like clear tattoo without scar. Really interesting, thanks for sharing your local insight Long. Wow, Japan is surprising! I need to tell a few friends, ha.

Thanks for sharing :. Because of that yakuza association, tattoos have a very negative connotation in Japan. But Kavey mentioned in her comment above that from chatting with locals most Japanese do appreciate that this is not the case for foreigners and their tattoos :. Wow, this seems really surprising. Always good to know!

I have one on my lower back lol a tramp stamp if you will , but this has always been very easy to cover up. I have lived in Japan off and on for about 3 years and I definitely feel the negative vibe around tattoos occaisonally, even as a foreigner. During my first visit I studied Japanese at a language school and decided to get a part-time job to even out my income a bit.

My first interview was for a cleaning company nothing glamorous, obviously, but considering my limited Japanese at the time, I was happy anyway and I was hired on the spot. Mind you, I showed up completely covered so none of my ink was showing. Only one of my tattoos a small one on my wrist was visible and I tried my best to hide it, but of course they spotted it anyway.

As a rule, I always try to cover up whenever I am in Japan. As a foreigner, you stand out like a sore thumb anyway. I love the country, but I really wish they would put that taboo to rest..

If nothing else, then for the fact that Japanese tattoo art is so famous world wide that I think they should actually be a really proud of it.

Hi Niko, thanks for sharing your experience with us. So sorry to hear that you were fired over such a small tattoo. That sucks :. Hopefully the taboo is something which will die out over time with the older generation. However, Japan and Thailand do! Really interesting read, thanks for sharing :. Meg, the more we travel the more we learn! I have 2 small tattoos, and unless I am wearing a bikini, people can never see them.

Rule number one for any traveler: on the first day observe how the locals dress up. That always works for me! Absolutely Telma! I really like that tip :. Before jumping in, get to know your artist, look at her portfolio, and ask for references.

Unfortunately there are some inexperienced and unskilled ones out there. But there's no requirement that an artist have talent. A bad tattoo artist could leave you with a sloppy tattoo at best, serious infection at worst.

It can lead to outbreaks, and that's not something that we'd like to see. Do your homework so you can feel good about this experience. I'd love to tell you to jump right in if you're ready for your first tattoo, but if you are currently job hunting, take a serious pause. Research shows that having visible tattoos makes is harder to get hired. A negative bias against tattoos seems to affect every business sector. Restaurant managers prefer hiring servers without visible tattoos while sales managers worry that hiring sales people with tattoos will affect sales.

Just because you're not currently searching for a job doesn't mean you won't in the future. Keep that in mind when choosing the location for your new piece of artwork. Deciding to get a tattoo on a whim with friends can feel exhilarating, but it's best to sleep on the decision.

You'll be living with this decision forever. It's best to completely think it through first. Roy G. Geronemus told Medical Daily. We call it 'Tattoo Remorse. This makes it even more important to seriously weigh the pros and cons before heading to the tattoo parlor. Geronemus explained. For example, in the past the colors blue and green have been problematic in removing from the skin. However, today these colors have become the easiest to remove. Make the right decision from the beginning.

Accessed Jan. Schmidt R, et al. Tattooing in adolescents and young adults. Tattoos and permanent makeup: Fact sheet. Food and Drug Administration. Accessed Feb. Do's and don'ts when considering tattoos or piercings. American Society for Dermatologic Surgery. Good, clean art. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. See also Acne mistakes Acne treatments: Medical procedures may help clear skin Aging skin Applying sunscreen? Don't be stingy Understand sunscreen options Birth control pills for acne?

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