Recently, we sorted through Reddit, Twitter, post comments, BuzzFeed Community submissions, and my coworkers' own opinions to see what people think the trendiest and most "overdone" tattoo designs are today. Here's what ✨the collective✨ had to say.
1. "The Deathly Hallows symbol."
"My friend who's a tattoo artist said he's done the Deathly Hallows symbol probably 15 times in his career."
2. "Chemistry formulas."
"I have a couple chemistry tattoos, and my artist made a comment about girls getting dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin with the word 'happiness.' Seemed like he might have done a few too many."
3. "Phrases in Latin."
"Asked my buddy and he said, 'If I have to do another goddamn Latin paragraph on a chick's ribs, I'm gonna lose it!' Ironically, he was doing one on his girlfriend when he told me."
4. "Astrological signs."
5. "Tiny Roman numerals."
6. "Potted plants."
—Anonymous credit
7. "Palm trees."
"My local tattoo shop in the Caribbean has a running tally of how many times they've had to tattoo palm trees on girls' ankles."
8. "Little sun/moon combos."
9. "Anchors — usually accompanied by the words 'Don't sink.'"
"And when you ask them what it means, it's always, 'It symbolizes that I can't be held down.'"
10. "Tiny cactuses."
11. "Outlines of mountains."
12. "Stick-and-pokes of random, cutesy household items and foods."
—Anonymous credit
13. "Big cats in crowns."
"The head artist at my shop was getting super burned out on big cats (specifically lions) wearing crowns. In about a month, he'd done five realistic lions (and a panther) wearing crowns on dudes who wanted to feel like kings. I had to start politely turning them down when people called to inquire about them."
14. "The entire Bible."
"I'm not religious at all, but I think I've ascribed the entire Bible on human flesh at this point."
15. "Monstera leaves."
—Anonymous credit
16. "Getting your cat tattooed on you."
17. "The under-boob chest plate thing, like Rihanna has."
18. "Barcodes."
"My friend got so tired of doing barcodes on people's necks [that] he made a game out of using the silliest products as references. So if the customers scanned the tattoo, they’d see that the barcode was for sanitary products, a bag of nuts, mashed potatoes, etc."
19. "Pocket watches, specifically surrounded by roses."
20. "Bridges from the local city."
21. "Snakes, skulls, and snakes coming out of skulls."
"Why does the guy who wants this tattoo always have a perfectly groomed goatee?"
22. "Tree silhouettes."
23. "A mustache on the inside of a pointer finger."
"I've seen so many people get a mustache on the inside of their pointer finger. I feel like that fad has to have gotten old with a few artists."
24. "Face tattoos on 18-year-olds."
"I’m not against face tattoos — I have friends and peers that wear them quite well. My issue is 18-year-olds who want to get them because they want a certain look. Pop culture has made them seem a lot more acceptable than they actually are. At the end of the day, in the majority of careers, they will hinder employment."
25. "Octopuses."
"I'm completely sick of octopus tattoos. Everyone who has one thinks they're insanely unique and doesn’t realize it’s a ridiculously popular tattoo."
26. "Lemon wedges."
—Anonymous credit
27. "Any kind of Disney movie quote or something written in the Disney font."
—Anonymous credit
28. "A literary quote that covers the person's whole arm."
—Anonymous credit
29. "I always roll my eyes when someone asks to get an airplane design. It's so common but so cringey."
—Anonymous credit
30. "A cluster of tiny music symbols on someone's wrist or ankle."
—Anonymous credit
31. "The outline of a city's landscape. I'm so tired of doing them."
—Anonymous credit
32. "Wrist or back tattoos with inspirational words like 'faith' and 'just breathe.'"
—Anonymous credit
33. "A tiny tattoo of something nautical, like a single wave or a tiny ship or something, on their wrist."
—Anonymous credit
34. "The singular word 'be' or 'go,' and nothing else."
—Anonymous credit
35. "Any combination of the words: dream, laugh, hope, love, live, dance. It's like 'build your own inspirational quote.'"
36. "White ink in general. It's just so overdone."
—Anonymous credit
37. "A matching tattoo where one person has half of the yin and yang symbol, and the other person has the other half."
—Anonymous credit
38. "The word 'love.' Like, we get it, we all like love."
—Anonymous credit
40. And lastly, "Infinity loops."
"As I was setting up my last appointment, my artist and I were talking at the front desk when the receptionist took a call. They told the caller, 'Just a minute,' and asked my artist, 'Hey, do you have time for a walk-in today?' He looked over and said, 'Maybe, what do they want?' 'An infinity loop.' 'Are they on hold?' 'Yes.' 'Fuck that, I'm so fucking sick of infinity loops. Tell 'em I'm busy.' Safe to say my artist is sick of infinity loops."
What other tattoos do you think are overdone? Let us know in the comments!!!
Answers have been edited for length and/or clarity. Additional answers are from BuzzFeed Community users.
Personal note: I included a picture of one of my own tattoos in this and have several of these, so please don’t come for me. This list is just for fun; obviously everyone has their own subjective taste. What do you think? Are these tattoos dated or timeless?