#RedefineNormalToday – Temporary Tattoos Are WAY Better Than Real Ones

I recently got myself a tattoo that read ‘unconditional love’. Why?  I was being too hard on myself because it had been an unproductive week and I needed a reminder to help me stop doing that.

When I chanced upon an old pack of affirmative temporary tattoos in one of my drawers, I thought a relevant one might help me practice some self-care.

So I stuck it on my arm and hoped it would help. And it really did.  Each time I read those words, I told myself that my self-worth is not determined by external factors like the amount of writing I get done or how much junk food I eat. Instead, it is based on my evolution as a person, on how I am staying true to my values and taking action in the direction of finding myself.

After a week, I no longer needed to see those words on my arm as I had gotten out of the ‘kick myself when I am down’ phase. Because it was beginning to get on my nerves, I decided to get rid of it immediately. So I put some makeup remover on a cotton ball and three-four swipes later, the ink was history.

Would I have been able to get rid of the tattoo so easily and cheaply if it had been permanent? Not a chance. Unless someone decided to give me a special discount or something. To quote Cher Horowitz from Clueless: “as if!”

Temporary tats aren’t just for those who don’t want to commit to the same set of words for their entire life. They are a better choice because unlike real ones, they don’t leave scars, don’t cause infection, and there’s definitely no risk of being stuck with embarrassing typos like this:

But like always, there’s a catch. Depending on what the ink is made up of, like the chemical Para-Phenylenediamine (PPD), you might have an allergic reaction. You can avoid this if you stay away from tattoos that have black henna and pick ones that are organic.

While purists scoff at anything that’s not permanent, I will always pick one that is “fake” any day.

This blog post is a part of The Normal Project.