Rapper Post Malone
The fashion for tattoos is only just coming to Russia - though you probably think everyone around here is getting hammered. In Europe and the U.S. this boom began a long time ago, and to find a person in Western countries who does not have at least a small tattoo somewhere private is quite difficult.
For now, we like to fight the stereotype that tattoos are only for prisoners. Beating up drawings to spite all those who exclaim with horror: "What are you talking about? It's permanent!" And just expressing ourselves by putting drawings on our bodies for our own aesthetic pleasure.
We are not against tattoos at all. It's a cool trend, and it's a good thing that the inhabitants of the post-Soviet space are gradually getting rid of the lightning association with prison, they understand that you can also find a job, even if your sleeve or the entire back is stuffed. But we're afraid that in an impulse to sound like a rebel, you're likely to fall for the short-term trend - face tattoos, which have far more drawbacks and negative consequences than advantages.
You're not a rapper.
The facial tattoo trend comes to us from American hip-hop culture. What do Lil Peep, Post Malone, and XXXTentacion have in common besides Spartacuses around their eyes? They are all rappers. And they are quite dark, acutely social, depressive and marginal (Post Malone is gradually moving away from this path, and Lil Peep and XXXTentacion are gone from life exactly as you expect when you listen to their songs). And if this is their way of trying to shock the public, to draw attention to themselves and to the new school, and to relay their attitude to the world and to the problems of society, then you're just playing along with their trend. Wouldn't you be surprised if a guy walks into an office (or a bar) right now wearing knee-length pants, gold chains, a snapback and a T-shirt with a woman's ass on it? Here's a facial tattoo - exactly the same inappropriate attribute.
People with facial tattoos - who are they?
Teddy Boy Greg, 35
Photo: Victor Guseinov
My wife and I have this game: "Skinhead or Barber." The rules are very simple - you sit somewhere busy and try to guess what the selected character does. For example, we're sitting in a restaurant and two people walk in: bald, wearing high boots, black bomber jackets, tattoos sticking out from everywhere; they look like skinheads from the nineties. You start listening to what they're talking about - haircuts, some new models of machines, and you realize, no, it's the fancy hairdressers.
That's how I sat once, staring into the face of a guy and wondering where he works, what he does. Usually it annoys people when a stranger looks them over, but this one had the answer - he had a big English inscription tattooed on his forehead.
To be honest, I have quite a few tattoos too, my childhood was pretty fun, and the blue contagion didn't escape me either. But a tattoo on my face... It had never even occurred to me, because the words "facial tattoo" and "normal work" couldn't possibly be related.
Meeting such people on the street and in the subway, I tried to make a portrait of the average person with a facial tattoo. So if you see a guy like this in a dark alley, don't rush out, chances are you're looking at someone creative like this.
Vladimir Komarov. 32 years old.
Vladimir Komarov
Photo: Viktor Guseinov
I am a craftsman, working for myself, sewing clothes, haberdashery, reupholstering furniture. Since I am my own master and I have a creative job, my informal appearance sometimes even helps me, because people expect me to make some bold decisions. Somewhere I came across a picture of a cool guy with a tattoo on his face, and I thought, wow, and I made myself one too. To be honest, I just wanted to show off and there was nothing holding me back. My mom didn't like it right away, but I expected her to be more upset somehow. The only problem is that I often get stopped by the traffic cops. In general, no one in Moscow has paid any attention to me for a long time now. But I went to the Crimea this summer and felt that people were staring at me and it was a little annoying. When I was poking them, I probably wanted that kind of attention, but now I'm older and probably wouldn't want to be distracted by it anymore. I don't enjoy it. I probably wouldn't do them now. Right now I don't have the need to show off that way. Now I can show off with something more serious.
Arseny Raskolnikov. 21 years old
Arseny Raskolnikov
Photo: Viktor Guseinov
I do PR, advertising, I make money with this. My parents are creative people, my mother is a composer, my father is a musician. I also found myself in creativity, I make video projects, clips, write music. A year ago I went to Kiev, I had a goal to come back from this trip with a tattoo, at the time I didn't even think about what it would be, but on the third day in a minute I realized that I wanted a cross on my face. To me, the cross is a symbol of the sun, a symbol of the universe. I really like the way my face looks with this tattoo, this is my true face, this cross helps me in my creativity.
Eugene 25 years old
Yevgeny
Photo: Victor Guseinov
I got my first tattoo when I was 16, in honor of my mother. She was born in the year of the dragon, the dragon is such a talisman. And it started. Now I get tattoos when I have something going on in my life, I have about fifty of them. I've wanted a tattoo on my face for a long time, now I wake up looking at myself in the mirror and I just get high from it. When I want to get a new tattoo, nothing stops me, because I'm a hair stylist, I make people better and it will always and everywhere in demand, no matter how I look.
Alexei Popov 23 years old
Alexey Popov
Photo: Viktor Guseinov
I do parkour professionally and make money from it by participating in various shoots, training people. On my work tattoos do not affect in any way, except for those moments when we need people absolutely no tattoos and if the body can somehow hide them, the face particularly not smear. But, in general, they don't make me feel uncomfortable. I just wanted to get a tattoo on my face one day, so I went to a tattooist I know and got one. In the first few days, I started to notice some looks in my direction and thought, what a drag! The first tattoos stressed my in-laws out, but then they got used to it.
Teddy Boy Greg, 35
Teddy Boy Greg.
Photo: Victor Guseinov
I got my first tattoo in New York, I was only 16. Like any teenager, it was my rebellion against the system. I wanted to stand out. Then I liked getting more and more pictures on my body - musicians, historical figures... I can't even begin to count how many tattoos I have now. Almost my whole body is covered in them, only my legs are clean, but I plan to get portraits of Putin and Stalin there. Facial tattoos in general have changed my life, it's a challenge. I'm proving that I can be a successful person with a lot of tattoos and it doesn't matter where they are. All the more reason they help me develop my business. Clients remember a barber who even has his face covered in tattoos. It is unusual and attractive. In Russia, the attitude towards tattoos remains from Soviet times, when only former convicts had their portraits on. But that's how the older generation feels about it, whereas young people have a different perception of it. Exactly the same situation in the States, my mother is very unhappy that I stuffed myself with tattoos.
EXPERT COMMENTS
Psychiatrist Artem Gilev:
- The desire to decorate yourself with tattoos can be associated with a number of reasons. One of them is the desire to attract attention. It may occur in individuals with a hysteroid type. There are also morbid reasons when a person tries to "protect" himself from evil forces by special symbols on the skin for delusional reasons.
But in most cases, the application of tattoos is a tribute to fashion and the desire to decorate your body.
Head of the Rakhmanov Department of Skin and Venereal Diseases of Sechenov University, Doctor of Medicine, Professor Olga Olisova:
- The dye that is injected subcutaneously for tattoos is an antigen, i.e. a substance that is foreign to the body. This is why allergic reactions can develop after tattooing.
Pseudolymphoma of the skin in place of tattoos is not uncommon. This is a benign overgrowth of lymphoid tissue in the form of nodules, which requires serious treatment. Pseudolymphoma can develop into malignant skin lymphoma. This happens most often when red paint is used.
The same applies to eyebrow tattooing. One of the tattooed patients had sarcoidosis of the skin (a chronic inflammatory disease in which small or large nodules form on the skin that do not resolve. - Editor's note).
It's very painful.
Let's say you don't care about the appropriateness of your appearance. Remember, though, that getting a tattoo on your face-especially around the eyes or on your forehead-is going to be very painful. The skin in these areas is thin, the bones are very close, and there are many nerve endings and facial muscles. It will be an extremely unpleasant acupuncture session. Of course, if you're already a die-hard tattoo fan, have two sleeves, your legs and back are bunched up, and you have some kind of drawing on your skull instead of hair, you won't even notice the master bringing the needle to your face. But otherwise, the experience is unlikely to make you happy. By the way, it is even more painful to remove a facial tattoo. And, most likely, there will still be scars after the procedure.
What kind of tattoos does Face have and who is he?
Before we look at Face's facial tattoo, let's dwell a bit on his biography. This guy with a simple Russian name Ivan was born on April 8, 1997 into an ordinary family in Ufa. He has a brother.
The school years were far from the best in the boy's life. He misbehaved at school, for which he was often expelled from the class, and his grades were mostly low. He could even be considered a dysfunctional boy - he took part in:
- In fights;
- robberies;
- and even robberies.
Note to self.
There is talk that he was an active member of a street gang. Whether this is true has not been ascertained. Perhaps just part of the image to attract the attention of the public, who are now increasingly interested not only in his music themes, but also in what tattoos Face has.
After graduating from high school, the guy seriously decided to take up music. After all, he had no chance to enter the institute, and the prospect of getting a job did not please him.
A tattoo would quickly become boring
And, most likely, it will bore not you, but your girlfriend, for example. You do not see your face so often - only a couple of times a day, when you find yourself near the mirror. But your closest relatives, friends, or beloved are constantly watching you. Tattoo - as an accessory or a haircut that periodically need to change to diversify the look and impress others with a new style. But there's nothing a barber can do with a design tattooed above your eyebrow. The only upside is that your girlfriend will probably offer you oral sex more often. Just so you don't have to see your face.
Tattoos on hands.
There are several neotraditional drawings on your left forearm: flowers, a skull, and ribbons. Part of the design extends into the wrist, giving the impression of a sleeve. The right forearm has a guitar embossed on it, which burns with blue flame, and underneath it is a skateboard wrapped in a chain. The latter figure symbolizes Alisher's love of extreme sports. As a kid, he skateboarded for a long time and got pretty good at it.
And he got the guitar, as he always liked to play that instrument. That said, Morgenstern wasn't always into rap music. As a teenager, he liked punk rock. He even played in a band, but then for some reason decided to choose a different musical genre.
I wanted to point out that not everyone likes tattoos, but that's everyone's own business. It is with the help of tattoos that many people show their uniqueness and uniqueness.
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Skin problems are likely
The skin can react differently to a tattoo. For some, the process goes without a trace, while for others it causes irritation, allergies and dysfunction of the epidermis. As a rule, all these problems go away with time (although I, for example, had an allergic reaction to a tattoo that lasted about six months). But while it's easy to put up with irritation on your leg or arm, it's much harder to ignore inflammation or redness on your face. Just six months you will tolerate an allergic reaction, and then everyone around you will start to whine that your tattoo has bored them.
What kind of difficulties can there be with the draft, if there is a tattoo on the face?
Almost all self-respecting members of show business, especially rappersOn whom young people look like, adorn themselves with stylish tattoos. In an effort to imitate their idols, young people also make a tattoo on the face, without thinking about the possible difficulties. For media personalities it's one of the ways to earn money, while a simple guy can face problems.
Officially, the regulations, which are followed by a medical examination at the military enlistment office, says nothing about tattoos, but detailed information about them will be included in a personal file. Avoiding service will not be possible, at least in Russia.
Interesting fact
The U.S. Army will not accept recruits with tattoos on the face, neck, or below the knee. Until 2011, the same system was in effect in China.
