Some Pros and Cons of Foot Tattoos

Foot tattoos can look very striking – for one thing, the foot provides a nice flat place for the tattoo to lie, and for another thing, foot tattoos are rather rare and therefore sort of exotic. There’s no question that a foot tattoo peaking out of a sexy shoe can be very attractive.

There are some good reasons why foot tattoos are rarer than other tattoos, though. In fact, there are some tattoo artists who won’t even undertake them. For a start, tattoos on the foot and hand tend to be more painful than other tattoos. The general rule is this: if a tattoo is right over bone, it will hurt more. If it’s on a fleshy part of your body, it’ll hurt a lot less. That’s why a shoulder or upper arm might be a better place for a first tattoo – if you’re a little worried about the pain and not sure what to expect.

For another thing, though there are many tattoo designs that look great on a foot, there is also a greater incidence of ink migration with foot tattoos. This means, simply, that the ink is likely to spread over time, blurring your tattoo design. This is possible with any tattoo, on any part of the body – but it’s more common with foot tattoos. If you get a foot tattoo, be prepared to go back and have it re-inked if need be.

Then there’s the little issue of healing. In general, a new tattoo should not be allowed to rub against clothing while it heals, which usually takes two to three weeks. For most tattoos, this is a pretty simple matter, but not for foot tattoos! Basically, depending on the placement of your tattoo designs, this may mean that you can’t wear shoes or socks for the whole time your tattoo is healing!

But going around barefoot can lead to one more problem related to foot tattoos – infection. Feet, as we all know, are harder to keep clean than other parts of the body. Though it’s fairly rare to get an infection from a professional-quality tattoo, it is possible, and having a tattoo on your foot makes it slightly more likely.

With all of these ‘cons’, you might wonder why anyone bothers to get foot tattoos. The fact is that their relative rarity, and the fact that it can be painful to get one and difficult to maintain it, makes foot tattoos rather exotic. For some of us, that’s reason enough. For others, it might be better to stick to ankle tattoos and shoulder tattoos for now!