AWFUL MODS

Submitter comment: i found this on my newsfeed, this girl has been wanting a tattoo and shes been really excited about it. when i found out she got it done, i was expecting.. not this.

What’s awful: this girl is 15 or 16, the lettering is really inconsistent. some lines are really thick then really thin. really shaky lines as well 

(SOURCE)

SUBMITTER’S COMMENT: I saw this in my Tumblr feed earlier this afternoon, it’s on a friend of mine. It mit just be me but it looks kind of faded and splotchy, also her hand is a bit disfigured. Again it mit just be me or the way the picture was taken.

 WHAT’S AWFUL: It seems poorly done, at least by what i can tell in the picture.  Her tail is splotchy and her hand is a bit disfigured, and it is faded. She is also missing lines on her upper tail around the waist. Her arms are distorted and her face is oddly shaped on her right cheek.  Also if you look closely near the end of her tail the lines get wonky. This is just a bad tattoo all around. 

HOW IT CAN BE FIXED: Go to a professional/more experienced artist, and get a cover up. I don’t think there is any way that it could be fixed as is. A cover up is the best option in this case.

MODERATOR COMMENT:
Honestly, I think this could be fairly easily fixed by a good artist who can rework what’s there. I don’t think a full-on cover-up is necessary.

-Kat 

SUMBITTER’S COMMENT:-This is my first tattoo I got, I went to a licensed tattoo artist and I’d seen some of his other work and thought he was good so I did do my research. For some reason it didn’t turn out how I wanted even though I gave him a very detailed picture and explained what I wanted but he did it wrong :/ My other tattoos are much better.

WHAT’S AWFUL: I think the shape of it is awful and the line work is really bad, want it fixed so badly.

Source

Submitter Comment: I wore these for about 2 weeks in 2011. It was almost a year before my lobes were healthy enough to stretch again, and even now I’m only able to stretch about a mm per year. I can still feel the difference between the piercing that had the bottom plug (exposed to mystery metal) and the one with the top plug (only exposed to mystery coating). 

What’s Awful: Flaking coating over mystery metal, a significant scratch on a wearable surface, poor finish on the one that didn’t flake, and a visible seam and filler hole mark. The bottom one broke within about a week of buying it. 

 How it can be avoided: Learn which materials, styles, shops and companies are acceptable and don’t buy jewelry if you don’t know that it’s good quality. If you do end up wearing something like this, remove it as soon as you notice problems and seek advice from a reputable piercer. 

COMMENT: linework looks poor, general appearance isnt great! 

WHATS AWFUL: if this is done by a professional i question their qualifications. 

HOW TO FIX IT: go talk to a profession tattooist, with a good reputation! 

SOURCE: MTV’s Teen Mom 2

SUBMITTER COMMENT: I like to watch trash TV and so, when MTV had a new episode of Teen Mom 2 last night, I tuned in.

At one point in the show, Adam, one of the principal girls’ on-again-off-again boyfriends, goes into a house and what appears to be an upstairs bedroom to be tattooed. Nothing was said about the procedure being unsafe and actually, it was sort of blown off like it was supposed to be completely normal and okay.

WHAT’S AWFUL: Being tattooed in a home can’t be sanitary. Although the guy wore gloves, they (and the tattoo machine) appeared to touch his jeans before he started tatooing. As far as I could tell, no autoclave was present.

Even though I think people should be allowed to do whatever they think is appropriate, this kid (and MTV) is setting an example for the thousands of people who view their show. By not acknowledging the risks of getting tattooed in a private residence, many kids may think it’s normal or safe and will put their health in danger because they are misinformed.

HOW IT CAN BE FIXED: Honestly, MTV should probably add a tag to the show during that part or at the end that warns the teenagers who watch the show about the dangers of home body modification. Those consequences can be just as permanent as teen pregnancy and more life-threatening to boot.

I never thought I would have an awful mod, seeing as how I ALWAYS have mine professionally done, research my mods months before, and follow the aftercare instructions completley. But I want to submit myself. In August, I was pierced at Body Accents in Joplin, MO. I had wanted a dimple piercing since I was 16. I waited until I was 18 because my mom is against modifications. I went in and filled out a crap ton of paperwork and then I was “stabbed” (as they call it at body accents). Only after I left had I learned that they’re nicknamed “bloody accidents”. Well my piercing started to swell really bad, and ended up closing over the ball inside. I went back to them and they “attempted” to dig it out with a small needle. After they couldn’t help me, I went to several other piercers, who wouldn’t even touch it after I showed them that it was stuck in my cheek. No one could do anything for me. I even had to get married with it stuck in my cheek. Finally, 3 days ago, I went to the hospital and had it cut out. My advice to anyone looking for a body modification, DON’T GO TO BLOODY ACCIDENTS!

I was getting a tattoo yesterday and there was an Australian guy sitting next to me also getting one. From what he said, I assume he was on a cruise ship and had stopped off in Auckland briefly where he had decided to get a tattoo. There’s nothing wrong with that, he picked a very reputable shop and it turned out well, but it was the stories he was telling of his previous two tattoos that were horrible.

One looked semi decent, it was a word I couldn’t read in artistic graffiti style, his comment being “the guy who did it was sober for half of it anyway”. The worst one, although I had no opportunity to get a picture, was a completely unrecognisable dragon. He was showing us how one of the arms and the foot wasn’t even attached properly and it just looked like a mess of faded black lines.

His story was that on his eighteenth birthday, him and his friends got drunk and decided to get a tattoo. The picked this particular tattoo shop because, get this, they also sold bongs. They decided to smoke weed with the tattooist, after which he asked them if they wanted a tattoo. This turned into almost a game where they each stood in front of a wall of designs and pointed to a random one. They then got these tattoos, while drunk and stoned, from an also stoned tattooist, and the results were absolutely shocking.

He didn’t seem too bothered by his terrible tattoo, he just laughed and said “we probably should have waited until afterwards to get high, but oh well”. 

All I can commend him on is finally getting a tattoo where the artist was sober for the entire duration.

This is my own story about how stumbling across your page saved me from my own ignorance. I was stretching at the time and by stretching, I mean shoving acrylic tapers in my ears that were two sizes too big. Eventually the inevitable happened; one of my ears got a nasty blowout. I quickly took them out and looked online for modification sites for help. I stumbled across Awful Mods and read through easily 20 pages of submissions. I have three self pierced holes and four done with a gun, which I was completely unaware was bad. I signed all of the anti gun petitions and vowed never to use them again. I went and got my daith pierced in a very reputable shop as well as my navel and stretched back up safely, following directions you guys have posted as closely as possible. I also got a tattoo for my 15th birthday (legal in my state with parental consent) at the same reputable shop that I go to for my piercings. I try to educate my friends on what not to do and discourage their self piercing attempts. My friend recently offered to “make me some gauges” out of polymer clay, which I declined and warned her not to use. I credit this blog alone with most of my modification interest and knowledge. Thank you guys and keep up the amazing work!