‘I tattooed my body at a young age — here are the ones I now regret’

David BenjaminNovember 10, 2025

Tiktokker, Sydney Mulvaney, regrets tattoos — A tattoo artist and TikTokker has shared a video revealing which tattoos she regrets. Sydney Mulvaney — aka @sydneytattoos on the social media platform — boasts 122.5K followers, almost six million likes, and has built a strong community thanks to her tongue-in-cheek content. (Picture: @sydneytattoos)

Tiktokker, Sydney Mulvaney, regrets tattoos — While obviously an advocate for tattoos, Sydney did reveal in her video that she wishes she had waited a few more years to get some of her ink, many of which she got in her early 20s. From a portrait of a lady’s face, which she said looks ‘bloated’ from every angle, to a candy corn skull she drew when she was younger, Sydney also revealed she got the Machine Gun Kelly red line tattoo before MGK. ‘I swear to God, like a week after I got it, MGK got that red line, so everybody was like, “Oh you got the MGK tattoo”,’ she said. (Picture: @sydneytattoos)

Tiktokker, Sydney Mulvaney, regrets tattoos — But perhaps Sydney’s biggest regret is her zombified Miley Cyrus portrait circa 2013, which she got during the singer’s Bangerz era. She explained the story: ‘My mentor really wanted to get into doing colour portraits, and was like, “Can I practice on you?” So I was like “absolutely”.’ Sydney continued, adding that she was an ‘anti-fan’ so ‘pretended not to like her.’ ‘So I thought, “Ooh let’s be edgy, I’m gonna get Miley Cyrus as a zombie”.’ (Picture: @sydneytattoos)

Tiktokker, Sydney Mulvaney, regrets tattoos — Despite some of her regrettable tattoos, Sydney ended the video explaining that, while she does like all of her tattoos, she got them when she was really young. She concluded: ‘If I had waited a little bit longer, I think I would have done everything a little bit differently,’ adding: ‘I don’t think I would have gotten zombie Miley.’ (Picture: @sydneytattoos)

On the subject of tattoo regrets, Metro spoke with celebrity tattoo artist and owner of London’s Sixty Ink, Claudio Traina. Claudio has inked everyone from Doja Cat to Teddy Swims to YungBlud, and is one of the most respected artists in the business. He explained that ‘most tattoo regrets come from tattoos that were either objectively bad or tied to something — or someone — people want to forget, like an ex’s name.’ (Picture: Claudio Traina)

However, alongside these classic ‘mistakes,’ Claudio revealed that the pandemic brought a new wave of bad tattoos, which, five years on, many people are now trying to get rid of. Explaining that it’s still a ‘massive issue,’ Claudio said: ‘During Covid, tattooing blew up on social media. Suddenly, people with zero training or passion were tattooing from their kitchens and calling themselves “artists.” A lot of friends and clients trusted these people and ended up with tattoos they now regret, sometimes even feeling scammed by people who weren’t real artists.’ (Picture: Claudio Traina)

According to Claudio, this had a ‘huge impact on the industry.’ Many legitimate studios struggled while non-artists cashed in, and now many of those pop-up ‘artists’ are quitting after leaving a mess behind. ‘They hurt our community, our careers, and an art form we’ve dedicated years mastering,’ Claudio said, adding that ‘most of us even come from formal art backgrounds or creative careers.’ (stock image) (Picture: Getty Images)

That’s why today, Claudio said one of the biggest categories of regret is poorly executed tattoos, followed closely by tattoos tied to personal relationships. ‘Even in 2025, people still come in wanting their ex’s name removed or covered. We do our best to advise against it, but sometimes you just can’t stop someone from learning the hard way.’ (stock image) (Picture: Getty Images)

Advice on getting a tattoo

Claudio has urged anyone thinking about getting a tattoo to be completely sure about it before booking a session. He recalled a recent story of one customer who came in asking for a tattoo that would only last two years. ‘We were stunned,’ Claudio remembered, who said that, as well as not being possible, why would someone only want a tattoo for this amount of time? ‘We told them to think it over, and when they’re ready to commit for life, we’ll be here. Because that’s what a real tattoo is about: permanence, intention, and art done with the right hands.’ (stock image) (Picture: Getty Images)

Advice on getting a tattoo

Claudio, who said that tattoo regret is ‘avoidable,’ also listed three non-negotiables if you are going ahead with getting inked:
• Be 100% sure about what you want; a tattoo is (or should be) forever.
• Find a trusted, professional artist or studio, do your research, read reviews, and look at healed work, not just photos.
• Don’t let price be the deciding factor; you really do get what you pay for.

(Picture: Getty Images)

What trends have increased due to tattoo regrets?

Claudio said that some tattoo regrets have led to a rise in the blackout tattoo or black sleeve. ‘A lot of my clients lately are covering old tattoos, not because they regret being tattooed, but because they’ve outgrown what those pieces meant.’ In a nutshell, people change and evolve, and sometimes the artwork just doesn’t represent who they are anymore. ‘When you’re heavily tattooed, a blackout can be the simplest and most cohesive way to start again. Look at Kat Von D, or even Machine Gun Kelly,’ the artist said, who added that his girlfriend did the same thing; she wasn’t happy with her old colourful arm piece, so she blacked it out completely. (Picture: Getty Images)

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