does gaining/losing ruin tattoos?

I would wait. With the back tattoo, as your skin shrinks with you, so will your tattoo, and it might not shrink evenly. With the hip tattoo, I would also wait if you plan on having children -- I've known several people who have gotten tattoos that stretched with pregnancy, and after they lost the pregnancy weight, the tattoo was never quite the same. Since skin is a living organ, it doesn't always stretch and shrink uniformly. And if you get stretch marks in your tattoo, those areas will never look the same.

i've got one on my wrist, had no problem there! the one on my stomach does not look good post-pregnancy though, so i would assume that excessive loss/gain would cause problems with tattoos in certain places. *note to self - do not get tattoo on stomach and then have a baby..*

Why not make the tattoo a celebratory present to yourself when you've lost the weight? I have a huge tattoo on my right leg that I got when I was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis. It's been a huge motivator for me to work through the pain, and I'm so glad that I got the tattoo days after I was diagnosed and not before. It has so much more meaning that way.

My tattoo has shrunken slightly very slightly since my legs are toning up, but the tatttoo has only become brighter and more vivid, the overall shape and proportions haven't changed.

I'm not sure about pregnancy though, you might have a few stretch marks within the tattoo, but it will probably go back to normal once your body shrinks back to normal size.

When in doubt, you can always get touched up! Most veteran tattoo artists are very used to working on all sorts of different kinds of skin, and seeing the same client for years and years even when they age. (My tattoo artist loved talking about some of the elderly people he's worked on.)

It's incredible what they can already do with tattoo work that they weren't able to 20 years ago. I imagine that 7-9 years from now, after you have your first child, tattoo technology will have changed dramatically and any minor problems with your tattoo due to the pregnancy will be able to be fixed!

I suppose it might depend on where you get it... but all my tattoos actually look better as I lose weight. I have a full length sleeve on my right arm and people notice it more and compliment me more on it now that my arms are getting more muscular. Infact, a lot of people mistakenly think I've had new ink work done .. "your tattoo is coming along really nicely!"... and I it's been finished for about two years now. Ha ha.

I think your back would be similiar in that as you lose weight and get fit, it'll have more muscles and will actually look better on you. The only time I think tattoos might be a problem is if you have a tattoo on an area of your body where you'll have a lot of saggy excess skin.

When I was 19, I got a tattoo of a flower on my hip. It wasn't done very well to begin with to be completely honest, but even after my first pregnancy - where I only gained 10lbs and got NO stretch marks - - the tattoo was completely distorted. It now looks like a big fat blueberry. I would avoid the hip area until after babies for sure. A good spot - in my opinion - for a tattoo would be the FOOT! I love my foot tattoo

My brother is a tat artist (he works at Staircase Tattoo in Santa Cruz) and he says the wrist/ankles should be no problem.

However other areas could be- if you are REALLY overweight to include arms, thighs etc he suggests waiting until you lose the weight. One area that typically is not to bad is the shoulder blade= he says that area does not change all that much either.

Also the size of the tat and complexity also have a lot to do with it- he said a small tattoo that is relatively simple will tend to keep its look much better then a very large and complex tat that covers the back, arm and so on.

His best piece of advice- everyone's body and tats are different- he said go see a professional and get their opinion on this topic.

I would wait. With the back tattoo, as your skin shrinks with you, so will your tattoo, and it might not shrink evenly. With the hip tattoo, I would also wait if you plan on having children -- I've known several people who have gotten tattoos that stretched with pregnancy, and after they lost the pregnancy weight, the tattoo was never quite the same. Since skin is a living organ, it doesn't always stretch and shrink uniformly. And if you get stretch marks in your tattoo, those areas will never look the same.

I don't have a tat, but I had 4 babies to term. And I know plenty others that have. The lower abd will never get quite back to where it was. The skin does not stretch out like a watermellon over less than 9 months (the 2nd and 3rd trimester is the big rapid stretch), and then snap back to it's original shape. The lose skin might be slight, but there will be some. Some people do stretch marks in a big way, too. Hips, boobs, and belly. I never did except boobs where they are hidden. They fade over time, but not quite the same ever again. It's worth it for the babies, and no real sorrow for the trade off, but better to avoid those areas if you are wanting to decorate it first!

I got my belly tattoo at my high weight, and have lost about 30 pounds since then. It's only looked better.

When I first got it...


Peeping above my waist band when I got my navel pierced...


Last weekend...

my hubby has said my "tramp stamp" lol has gotten smaller

Funny...my husband says my tattoo has gotten bigger (my back has shrunk!!! :laugh: )

I have a tattoo on my hip. It's kind of right on the edge of the area that was stretch for each pregnancy (I've had 3). It's kind of blurry now, but it's also 13 years old and only cost $35 (cheaper might mean not as good). I've thought about getting it covered but have decided I'm okay with it being blurry.

My brother is a tat artist (he works at Staircase Tattoo in Santa Cruz) and he says the wrist/ankles should be no problem.

That's where I got my tattoo done! It's been 5 years so no idea who did it though.