After all of the negative media coverage surrounding Lindsay Lohan’s lifestyle, it is hard to believe that an extremely popular new fad could have sprouted from one of her recent decisions.
But the white ink tattoo of the word “breathe” on her inner wrist seems to have started an overnight phenomenon. Other celebrities, including Kate Moss, have also been tattooed with white ink, and the popular new style is spreading like wildfire into the lives of everyday people across the nation. Photos of white ink tattoos are plastered across social networking sites such as Pinterest and Facebook. Interest continues to be on the rise.
One of Northwestern’s very own has brought this trend to campus. Freshman Heidi Gritters had the word “tirzah” tattooed on her right foot in white ink this past fall.
“Tirzah is Hebrew for ‘one who I passionately love,’” Gritters said. “It’s also the name of a bold, courageous woman in the Old Testament who put her life on the line to stand up for what she believed in and save her family.”
The tattoo also portrays a bird flying away from the ‘h,’ which symbolizes the freedom that is found in this courage.
There are several traits of white ink tattoos that make them particularly appealing to Gritters and others.
White ink tattoos are aesthetically unique. After healing, they emerge as a thin wisp of ink that often ends up appearing almost scar like.
“The white ink tattoos I have seen are incredibly beautiful and subtle,” said senior Andrew Stam.
Gritters says that because of its delicacy, she sees her tattoo as particularly “intimate, personal and private.”
White-ink tattoos fade throughout time, and this temporariness is seen as an advantage to many. “Because the image fades, you aren’t stuck with that image permanently if its meaning changes for you or you can’t have a tattoo for professional reasons. Put yourself in your 80-year-old self’s shoes,” Gritters said.
Others don’t see this temporary nature as a positive trait in tattoos. Freshman Joey Spoelstra has been inked 5 times, and has a different opinion. “If you decide to go through the pain and price to get a tattoo, it should have a message that is important enough to you that you want to hold it with you forever.”
Gritters reluctantly admits a few negative aspects of her white ink tattoo.
“It was excruciatingly painful,” she said. “To make the ink stand out more, the artist first inks the tattoo using water to raise the skin. Then they tattoo over the water lines with the actual white ink. Essentially, you’re being tattooed right on top of another fresh tattoo.”
Many students on Northwestern’s campus who are preparing to enter the professional world have decided that white ink tattoos are a great alternative to for boldly inked images.
White ink tattoos continue to grow in popularity around campus and across the nation.
