Tattooing One's Face WITHOUT Consent or Ink Regret? (video)
In Belgium, 18 year-old Kimberley Vlaeminck, claims that she requested three small star tattoos, but awoke to 56 of them sprinkled all over the left-hand side of her face. Yes, Vlaeminck claims that she fell asleep during the tattoo session and was startled at the results when she woke up.
The artist, Rouslan Toumaniantz, who works at the Tattoo Box in Kortrijk is adamant that she did not fall asleep and only came up with the story once her father became aware of her tattoos. Toumaniantz says "She was awake and looked in the mirror several times as the procedure was being done."
Watch this video to hear both sides of the story:
After reading several accounts of this story from various news reports, it seems to me that the media is painting the tattoo artist as a villain. Of course, only the artist and client know for sure what was requested and what went on during this tattoo appointment, but I question how she fell asleep so quickly, when she only planned to receive three small star tattoos. Given the average size of the stars in the photos, this procedure would not have taken more than 10-15 minutes to complete in its entirety. Hardly enough time to fall asleep, I believe.
Now don't get me wrong, I have seen many people fall asleep during a tattoo session; however, these situations that I have observed have been substantially long sittings, involving many hours of tattooing. Some people become so comfortable and relaxed that they are able to sneak in a nap while adding to their ink collection.
When one is getting three tiny tattoos though, such as Kimberly was, I find it hard to fathom that she would have had enough time to slip into dreamland. Was she really unaware of where the needle was at while all 56 stars were applied or was she not prepared for such an altering change to her appearance and the reaction of her friends and family?
Hmmm... what do you think?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 11:01AM
Reader Comments (24)
Hahahaha! She doesn't look too happy!
i think this girl is lying!
Honestly, I don't believe her. I have the entire side of my face tattooed, which took 6 1/2 hours in one session to do. Trust me, you CANNOT sleep through that!
They are right, 3 small stars should take anywhere between 5 to 15 minutes to do, but 56 will take at least 2 hours to complete.
Pay attention to location, too. The temple and cheekbones are not bad, but you work on the side of the nose or the jawline, and that is brutal.
Besides, I do not know ANY tattoo artist that would do anything like she was claiming without her consent. We have a name, and in tattooing, if you don't have a good name, you don't have anything.
But, I do agree that it doesn't make much sense that she fell asleep that fast.
jinxi. i posted this on facebook this morning, and had the same kind of reaction hunni...NO WAY did that happen without her knowing.......if it had, i'm sure she would have rang the police, not paid him, and not left his shop til she filed a legal complaint...this girl is a fantasist...and regrets her silly decision too late.....i hope this gets laughed out of court, cos it sure derves too!!xx
I've had my share of tattoos, and I must say that 3 stars would only take 15 minutes at most. I think the girl is lying and having regrets. I really hope that the artist wins this case. No way did she not feel that!
She should just get the other side of her face done. I think it looks cute, but uneven
YOU CANT SLEEP WHILE GETTING YOUR FACE TATTOOED...TATTOO ARTISTS SHOULDNT TATTOO SOMEONES FACE.ONLY MONEY HUNGRY PARASITES IN THE TATTOO INDUSTRY WOULD DO THAT TO SOMEONES FACE.
Not saying anything bad about facial tattoos however, being only 18 and making such a rash descision is all on her. She should have went small and worked her way up. I also agree with everyone else, with three stars it would have taken a maximum of about 20 mins. you wouldn't have time to fall asleep. She must have nacolepsy because it's pretty hard to believe that someone could fall asleep within 5 mins. into the tattooing.
Also, the girl would have had to give her consent in order to go on with this procedure. Tattoo artists are professionals. In no way shape or form would any do something that was not asked to do, they realize it's your body and they're drawling on what you wanted. If she would have said three, then i guarentee there would have been THREE stars on her face. Personally i think she's just trying to get attention because daddy wasn't happy with it.
It mentions that it's "hard for her to look in the mirror now"...please it was hard to look at before she got the tattoo, i think she looks better with it.
If you're going to get a tattoo, don't plan on having regrets about it anytime soon. It's for life, and i'm guessing she didn't know that.
ALSO in the video she says she was awoken by a pain on her nose, while he was applying a "large"star, well after that large star there are 4 more little ones, don't you think she would have told him to stop?
There's absolutely no way you'd :
One - Fall asleep during such a (what "supposedly" should have been) short procedure.
Two - Not notice the entirety of half of your face being covered.
I'm calling bullsh!t.
This story is completely ridiculous. If she was so unhappy why did she pose for the artists portfolio afterward? Why didn't she throw a fit and call the cops then and there? She didn't because she asked for it, then didn't like the results when it was finished. Her own fault. Hope the artist sues HER for defamation of character!
She looks like Kat Von D on crack!!!! How original. Thank God for release forms.
Okay, I'm not a fan of tattoos, nor do I know much about the procedure, but I agree with everyone else. She could not have fallen asleep that quickly! And if it's anything like getting a shot, how could she not feel it, even if she's asleep? I have had shots on my face (near mouth, for dental surgeries) and they HURT! If she is really annoyed, she COULD get them removed, but doesn't that leave scarring?
well......1 star or 1,000 stars whats the difference if it's on YOUR FACE!!!!!! let me see if i got this right...." hmm i think i'm going to take a cat nap. cuz this felling of a neddle in my face is puting me to sleep" hahah well i just don't know what to say. oh yea, i know what to say. make shur you get a 13 and thay don't draw a 31.
-SERJ
Fell asleep? hahahahahahahahahahahaha.....ok, I think.....wait, hahahahahahahahahaha, I agree with you all.
I do feel a bit sorry for the artist. I'd pop a defamation lawsuit on her if I started losing business after this. I mean, he gets paid to do what the patron tells him to do. He obviously did what she told him to do. Now he's got this story hanging over his head.
This is crazy . It is ridiculous that ANYONE would even assume for a second this girl is telling the truth. It is obvious she got a tattoo she wasnt emotionally ready to bear. CASE CLOSED-- Hi jinxi-- Rob Laux
There's no freaking way she did not know she was getting 56 stars. I mean come on, there's no reason for the artist to just decide on his own 56 stars all over her face is better than 3. I mean she looks ridiculous and no artist would do something that ridiculous and bad looking without it being a direct request of the client. Not to mention he has a picture of her after the procedure smiling and posing for him, and an unhappy client would not smile and pose for the artist. She's just saying this because she probably still lives with mommy and daddy and they didn't approve so oh I know let's blame the artist so they won't stay mad at me. Boo-hoo suck it up buttercup you got what you asked for.
I think she's lying 100%. This is why you should PLAN your tattoos carefully, and think them over. I thought my chest piece over for 3 YEARS before getting it. (my 12th tattoo, but first "hard to hide" big tattoo piece)
I just want to know to learn to fall asleep during any tattoo LOL!
Love you Jinxi <333
I can understand regret, but blaming someone else for 'my' own bad decision? Unacceptable.
Well, I was unable to watch the video due to technical difficulties, but like they say...a picture is worth a thousand words. There is NO WAY on God's Green Earth that girl fell asleep and woke up with the entire side of her face covered in stars. I have nodded off a couple times during a tattoo session, but never on a painful part of my body.
But this little snot should teach tattoo artists a nice lesson about liability. The best way to avoid this sort of nonsense is to write up a consent sheet that describes the tattoo and the location on the body, then have the client sign and date. Ta Da...no surprises. Bring the signed consent form to court, and the nice judge will throw the case out, as long as the client is old enough in the area to enter into a legal contract.
God, I should quit wasting my time and go to law school.
yea there is no way she slept through that pain unless she was on narcotics , in which case she obtained a tattoo when she was not of sound mind and body.either way , she is to blame. one quick side note , she claims she felt no pain but look at the bruising on her face in the video! fuck her , and the media for painting this image of tattooers who "mutilate" people without mercy......shoot your television people!
I am a trained tattoo artist, and I think there was a failure here concerning both parties. In the shop I worked in, we do both a sketch and most times a stencil, both of which would be clear evidence of planning behind such a piece of work. Also, our liability waver has a space to write in what the tattoo will be, and this paperwork is signed before the tattoo is completed. Where is the sales receipt? The difference in price between 3 stars and 56 stars would also show what both parties agreed on. There should be a paper trail that would put this disagreement to rest.
If a girl so young came in with this request, I would need a lot of convincing before I would undertake this project. In fact, I can't even imagine myself doing it. I would discuss her job situation with her, since facial tattoos make you undesireable in many occupations. I would discuss her reasons behind such a desire, and even suggest getting something temporary and trying it out first. There are always witnesses in a tattoo shop. Someone would be able to testify to the fact that these conversations took place.
If the artist cannot show proof in any of these ways, he has left the doors wide open for this public embarrassment. In his defense, though, did anyone notice the photo of the girl, eyes open, with her face tattooed, in the artist's portfolio? Does she mean to tell us that she woke up, found her face covered in stars, posed for a picture, and THEN realized that 56 is more that three????
As for sleeping, I've seen lots of people fall asleep in the chair. MOST of them were on drugs. NONE of them were getting tattooed on their face.
So the girl confessed. Here's the update:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/5603769/Girl-with-56-stars-tattooed-on-face-admits-she-asked-for-them.html