A woman who got a face tattoo on “impulse” says she has “no regrets” despite strangers assuming she is “stupid” and a “criminal”.
Alitia Thoburn, 20, has always been passionate about tattoos since she was eight years old.
The tattoo artist was letting her tattoo artist fiance Jonathan Saunders, 37, ink her arm when they impulsively decided to bring the design to the right side of her face.
The design is a large brush stroke of ink that goes down to her collarbone and ties in with the rest of her tattoos.
The ink is one of Alitia’s favourites, despite trolls telling her it has “ruined her face” and that “no one will be with her”.
Alitia, from Bristol, said: “I don’t understand why people always thought tattoos meant you were a thug or a criminal.
“I always thought it could be something positive like a memorial or something that you just like.
“I’m lucky to have a tattoo on my face.
“I didn’t know it was going to happen, it just felt good.
“I don’t regret it.”
Alitia began practicing tattooing on herself when she was just 14 years old, after buying a stick and poke bag online.
She started her practice when she was 18 and now works full-time in a studio in Oxfordshire.
Alitia has had up to 50 hour sessions tattooing the rest of her body and got her first face tattoo in May 2023.
She had been thinking about a face tattoo for a while, but was initially committed to getting the rest of her body done first.
But when she sat down with Jonathan for an arm tattoo, he impulsively said, “Why don’t we just do the design on your face?”
Alitia has now added some flowers to make the tattoo “look more feminine”.
She loves her tattoo, but said she’s received a lot of hate online and in person – with people telling her “you’ve ruined your face” and “no one will want to be with you”.
Alitia said: “People who think I’m going to regret my tattoos leave, I don’t care what they think.”
She says she gets stares in public and strangers are told she will “regret it in the future”.
Alitia also said to an old lady ‘what fk have you done to your face? before being told she was a ‘stupid b—h’.
But she also has a lot of support with people telling her how good she is.
Alitia plans to cover her entire body with tattoos – so all her ink will merge into one big design.
She said: “It’s all going to tie into one big body suit – it’s a work in progress.
“Everywhere will be tattooed eventually.
“I like to customize the way I look.
“I don’t regret anything in my life, because I wouldn’t be the same person.
“A face tattoo like mine won’t be accepted for a very long time is completely ridiculous, but I understand.”
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Image Source : nypost.com