A woman who got a face tattoo on “impulse” says she “regrets nothing” despite strangers assuming she is “stupid” and a “criminal”. Alitia Thoburn, 20, has always been passionate about tattoos since she was eight-years-old.The tattoo artist was letting her fiancé, Jonathan Saunders, 37, ink her arm when they impulsively decided to bring the design up onto the right side of her face.
The design is a large brush like stroke of ink which comes down to her collar bone and connects with the rest of her tattoos. The inking is one of Alitia’s favourite despite trolls telling her she has ”ruined her face” and that ”nobody is going to be with her”.
Alitia, from Bristol, said: “‘I don’t understand why people always thought that tattoos meant you are a thug or criminal. I always thought it could be something positive like a memorial or something you simply enjoy.I’m lucky enough to have a face tattoo.
“I did not know it was going to happen it just felt right. I don’t have any regrets about it.”
Alitia started practicing tattooing on herself when she was just aged 14 after buying a stick and poke kit online. She started her apprenticeship when she was 18 and now works full time at a studio in Oxfordshire.Alitia has had up to 50 hours of sessions tattooing the rest of her body and got her first face tattoo in May 2023.
She had been contemplating a face tattoo for a while but was initially committed to finishing the rest of her body first. But when she sat down with Jonathan for an arm tattoo he impulsively said ”why don’t we just do the design on your face then?”
Alitia has now added some flowers to make the tattoo “look more feminine”. She loves her tattoo but said she has received a lot of hate online and in person – with people who tell her “you’ve ruined your face” and “nobody is going to want to be with you”.
Alitia said: “The people who think I will regret my tattoos let them, I don’t care what they think.” She says she gets glares in public and is told by strangers that she will “regret it in the future”.
Alitia was also told by an elderly lady ‘what the f*** have you done to your face? before being told she was a ‘stupid b***h’. But she also has lots of support with people telling her how much it suits her.Alitia plans to cover all her body in tattoos – so all her inking’s will join up in one big design.
She said: “It will all be connected into one large body suit – it’s a work in progress. Everywhere will be tattooed eventually.I like to customise how I look.I don’t regret anything in my life because I wouldn’t be the same person.
“A face tattoo like mine won’t be accepted for a very long time it’s completely ridiculous but I understand.”