Think before you ink.
That’s the message a Virginia lifestyle blogger is sharing on TikTok as she admits at 36 that she “regrets” the tattoos she chose in her 20s.
“They just don’t match who I am now and my girly/feminine aesthetic,” Sara, whose user name is @saraovershares, explained in a caption of a TikTok she posted last month.
In the clip, which has drawn 1.8 million views, the creator-turned-marketer likens her intricate ink to clothing you can’t change out of — even if your style evolves.
“Imagine if you will, you put a shirt on once when you were in your 20s, and now you have to wear that for the rest of your life,” she reasoned.
“And that is what it feels like to get heavily tattooed before you turn into a fully developed adult human,” she added.
The Post reached out to the TikToker for comment.
Although she doesn’t specify the number of tattoos she has, she shows off the ink that covers her arms and torso and the tops of her thighs.
In another clip, she revealed her biggest tattoo regret is one on her left thigh, of Lady Death riding a horse.
“I forever have a horse riding towards my crotch,” she said indignantly.
“I think if you asked almost anybody that’s over 30 if they have a better idea of who they are in their 30s than they did in their 20s, they are going to be like, ‘Oh my god, yes,'” she explained.
She said many of her tattoos don’t necessarily reflect the darker aesthetic she used to favor.
“They may have reflected a moment in time in my 20s, maybe a moment in time that I was like not doing so well mentally, and they are here forever,” she sighed.
Over 8,000 people commented on the candid post, many sharing their own ink-filled regrets.
“I’m 29 and got heavily tattooed from 19-23, I def regret most of them for aesthetic reasons too. I wish I had gotten [black and white] instead of bright colors,” one user confessed.
“My husband has a literal rat AND his ex girlfriend tattooed on him,” another wrote.
Not everyone thought she should regret her tattoos.
“It’s because you are about aesthetic. If you were genuinely collecting quality art you liked rather than for a look/trend, you wouldn’t feel that way,” one user pointed out.
“I like to think of mine as time capsules of a past self who wanted nothing more than that exact tattoo,” agreed another.
Twelve percent of US adults regret getting at least one of their tattoos, per a 2021 Statista survey.
Despite her feelings, Sara is adamant she won’t be removing the ink.
“Before anyone says anything, no, I’m not getting all of my tattoos removed,” she noted on TikTok. “Like that’s not even feasible, don’t even suggest it.”