Yahoo News Woman with 25 tattoos says she regrets every one and 'wishes she could take them all back'
A woman with 25 tattoos all over her body said she regretted every single one. Rose Nicholson, a 32-year-old accountant from Manchester, had her first inking when she was just 19 - an eight-inch heart design across her chest.
Over the next eight years, she added a half-sleeve of colourful characters from Neverhood - a 90s computer game - on her arm, along with lyrics to the song 'Smile' by Eyedea and Abilities. On the same arm, she had four "flash" tattoos - where you turn up on the day - and three Harry Potter tattoos.
She continued adding tattoos all over her body until she was 27. Her final one was the Deftones White Pony logo on the back of her thigh but Rose said she hated them all by that by the time she was 30.
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She considered getting them removed - but it was too expensive. She said: "I still love Harry Potter but I don't want it on my skin. I don't know why I thought it would be a good idea.
"I don't like the way it looks on me anymore. They don't look right with the clothes I want to wear. There was no attempt at design. There is no uniformity. The work isn't bad, but it's cartoon characters", reports the Manchester Evening News.
"By the time I was 30 I realised I hated my tattoos and wished I could take them all back. The first time everyone saw them at work was during a 40 degree heatwave and people were surprised."
She said she avoided low-cut tops because of her prominent heart tattoo. "It was my first tattoo," Rose said.
"I didn't really want it that big but the tattoo artist talked me into it by saying to go 'all out'. It's eight inches wide and two to three inches tall and it's really hard to cover up."
Dresses were mostly off-limits for her, she admitted, saying the same tattoo artist later apologised after learning it was her least favourite piece. "People look at tattoos and assume I am a certain way; interested in going to metal shows, or going out and getting sloshed with friends," she said.
"There was once a guy who came up to me and asked me if he could touch them," she recalled. "That might have been part of what led to me to wishing I had never got them. I didn't want to talk about my tattoos all the time.
"I thought it was cool to have tattoos and here I am now and I hate them all and wish I could take them all back."
Rose admitted she had thought about getting her tattoos removed but said: "I know it's possible but the process is long-winded, expensive and painful. I don't really have the disposable income as an adult as I did when I was younger, I was living at home and my cash from my job went to buying tattoos.
"When you're young you don't care about what everyone else thinks and you don't want to listen."
She said she would tell her younger self: "Consult with the tattooer about your ideas, and think about uniformity and at least making them look good together. My advice would be to wait until you are 30 to know who you are as an adult because there is no rush if you still want a tattoo."