A woman who decided to get the “dumbest” tattoo because she was told they were using temporary ink that would fade over time has recently revealed that, two years on, it remains very much visible.
Tattoos are increasingly commonplace in American society, with a 2023 Pew Research Center survey revealing 32 percent of U.S. adults have a tattoo, including 22 percent who have more than one.
While the vast majority wear their body art with pride, there are some who have been left ruing their decision to get inked up. According to the same Pew Research Center study, 24 percent of respondents regret getting one or more of their tattoos.
Raimee Iacofano from Los Angeles wouldn’t go as far as saying she regrets the tattoo, she had done a little over two years ago. “I don’t know if I regret it because it does make me smile and it’s been a great conversation starter,” she told Newsweek. “I’ve also gotten so many compliments on it.”
However, it’s definitely not what she signed up for that day. When Iacofano agreed to go under the needle, she did so having been told she would be getting a tattoo using “ink that completely fades.”
“I got this tattoo from Ephemeral Tattoo which was a company that was created upon the premise of this new ‘biodegradable’ ink that your body would dissolve,” she said.
Newsweek reached out to Ephemeral Tattoo via email and social media for comment.
raimeetravel/TikTok
According to the company’s website, Ephemerals are designed to last up to three years.
They list five factors that affect tattoo longevity: tattoo design, placement, aftercare, skin physiology and immune system. The company stresses that these last two factors are “unique to each individual.”
The website goes on to state: “8% of clients can expect their tattoos to fade within one year, 76% within two years, and 98% within three years.”
Iacofano claims she was told her tattoo would disappear within “nine to 12 months.” With that in mind, she decided to go for something unusual: a chicken riding a skateboard.
“I wanted to get something silly but cute,” she said. “The intent was to remind me not to take life so seriously and that nothing really matters because everything is impermanent. Little did I know.”
Iacofano said she began to get a little concerned around the nine-month mark, adding: “I realized it hadn’t faded much at ALL so I knew there would be no way it would be gone in 12 months.”
That was when she began seeing people on social media claiming their Ephemeral Tattoos were not fading. “I realized I’d be stuck with my chicken much longer than I thought,” she said.
Even so, she wasn’t quite prepared for how long the tattoo would stick around for. “It’s been 25 months now,” she said. “While the ink has definitely ‘faded’ the entire design is still very intact and visible.”
raimeetravel/TikTok
Iacofano reckons it could take anywhere between five and 10 years for the tattoo to completely fade away. She recently marked the two-year anniversary with a video on her TikTok, @raimeetravel, late last month describing it as the “dumbest” tattoo she has ever gotten.
“It does annoy me to have it sometimes,” she said. “I don’t think I would ever get another visible tattoo. It actually does feel too permanent of a thing for me now and I like to embrace the constant change of life.”
However, she is still able to see the funny side.
“The entire point of this tattoo was to not take things seriously and I love it for that and can view it in that way too,” she said. “So, before the trolls come for me for being ‘stupid’ for believing in magical fading ink…remember—it isn’t that serious.”
