Sweetheart tattoos last longer than most relationships
Cleen Rock One, the owner of Topnotch Tattoos in downtown Elgin, said he tattoos hearts, roses and the portraits and names of loved ones. Does he tell his customers that love does not always last?
"They don't want to hear that," he said.
There is an urban myth among tattoo artists that goes like this: Relationships end six months after a sweetheart tattoo is inked. Adam Young of Cary, who works at Fox Valley Tattoo in Algonquin, said a tattoo can make the person feel owned.
"If they've been married 20 years, that's one thing," Young said. "But if it's just a girlfriend, we tell them it's a bad idea."
Tony Uno of Aurora, a tattoo artist at Topnotch for the past five years, said he warns customers before giving them a sweetheart tattoo. He recommends tattoos of mothers and daughters instead: "The only girls who can't leave you," he said.
One of Topnotch's customers, Michelle Miilu of Palatine, said she would not consider getting a sweetheart tattoo. She has a portrait of her father tattooed on her, but no boyfriends.
"Relationships aren't permanent," Miilu said. "My longest relationship is three months."
Fox Valley Tattoos owner Christian Hanssler said children's names are more common, but he does at least a few sweetheart tattoos a year. Last year, February was Hanssler's busiest month, but he is not sure how much of it was due to Valentine's Day.
Despite the risk involved, Cleen Rock One said there is one guarantee: "You get yourself a sweetheart tattoo, you know you're getting some action."
