Louis Theroux’s tattoo idea should be ink-spiration for us all

Louis Theroux has shared a post on social media showing his partially missing eyebrows; a result of the alopecia which has affected his facial hair. Alongside the post, he asked for “advice” – and floated the idea of having his eyebrows tattooed back on.

The most surprising thing? For once, the comments section of a social media post (especially a post debating a possible act of tattooing) was actually a positive and inspiring place to visit.

A shock – I know. But people widely supported his idea (though we have no idea how seriously he meant it). Both alopecia sufferers and non-sufferers alike mentioned how great tattooing had been for their confidence. As a tattoo artist, I can tell you: it makes a change to be praised and congratulated for what we do.

The first thing I noticed in response to Theroux was the acknowledgment of the healing impact of cosmetic (or semi-permanent) tattooing. Often written off as vanity, cosmetic tattooing was for years placed somewhere in between the extreme of botox and fillers, and the everyday accessibility of false eyelashes and hair pieces.

But with our growing understanding of the external pressures of aesthetics on our mental wellbeing, is it possible that as we’ve moved on from the outdated images of Towie-influenced solid blocks of black ink masquerading as brows? I would say: yes. We are witnessing an evolution in cosmetic tattooing. It might actually be beginning to fill a void between the “frivolous” beauty industry and an “acceptable” medical practice.

One area where cosmetic and creative tattooing has very much crossed over is within post-breast surgery tattooing, often referred to as “mastectomy tattoos”. While areola tattooing (creating the image of an areola after its removal during surgery using micropigmentation) has been available for many years, both on the NHS and privately through cosmetic tattooers, the last few years has seen a huge increase in the number of people opting for decorative, aesthetic ink.

Many survivors of breast cancer decide to go down the route of tattooing their rebuilt or reformed bodies; whether to conceal or highlight a scar, to embrace the change they’ve experienced, to reclaim their body, their femininity or sexuality, to feel like themselves again, to commemorate the person they once were, or to celebrate their survival and the person they get to be in future. The number of breast cancer survivors I have tattooed in the past few years is well into double figures, but I have yet to hear the same story behind their tattoos twice.

The reasons for choosing tattoos vary as vastly as the personalities of the people involved, but they are all connected by themes of self-confidence and self-love. In fact, so many survivors are now choosing post-surgery tattoos that in 2019 I worked with Breast Cancer Now on their advice and support for these individuals, ensuring that whatever imagery they chose to adorn their skin was as skillfully, safely and beautifully expressed as possible.

Seeing something beautiful in place of a scar or an emptiness that would otherwise remind you of a traumatic experience can only be a positive thing to encourage, and this goes for more than just cancer survival.

Body dysmorphia can dramatically impact quality of life. Traditional tattooing has become just as established as an important tool in addressing bodily insecurities as cosmetic tattooing, with artists focusing their practices to specialise in working around scarring, or working with gender-diverse individuals to address and correct dysphoria. Recently, UK-based tattooer Jade Clark began offering scalp micropigmentation (the process of tattooing fine dots into the scalp to create the appearance of hair follicles) alongside her creative, artistic tattooing practice, citing her desire to improve people’s confidence through all forms of tattooing as a driving force to branch out into this cosmetic procedure.

These days, cosmetic tattooing encompasses much more than beauty spots and lip-liner, just as artistic tattooing is more than blurry swallows on a weathered forearm (but that’s not to imply that there’s anything wrong with those choices, either).

As the perception of tattooing for confidence and self-care grows, the lines between cosmetic and artistic tattooing become harder to differentiate. While, on the one hand, this does further highlight the snobbery that exists around tattoos – memorial tattoos are “acceptable”, fun tattoos are “tacky”; cosmetic tattooing for medical reasons is “wonderful”, for aesthetics, it’s “vain” – it reminds us again that it’s not the tattooing that needs to be addressed here, it’s the attitude towards tattooing across society.

Why are we judging someone for doing something that makes them feel good about themselves?

Whether Theroux decides to get his eyebrows microbladed or not, I hope we can continue to show support for people opting to use tattooing to make themselves feel better about themselves and their appearance, especially in a world where external validation based almost solely on looks is the new normal.

Tattoos are supposed to make you feel better about yourself; to add something that you felt was missing from your body or your appearance – and that is valid whether it’s through an artistic interpretation in a traditional piece of ink, those missing eyebrow hairs on your signature look, or a perfectly imperfect set of freckles across your face.