When someone commissions a tattoo artist to create a permanent image on their skin, it’s a very unique decision. Few other fashion choices are likely to stay with someone for the rest of their lives. They may not always look the same as the day they were received; the figure of a baby leopard spotted in someone’s cleavage on a beach at spring break may become a giraffe when observed on a shuffle board court decades later.

Yet tattoos are still popular. In the first season of the successful serial drama television series “Prison Break”, a tattoo plays such an important part of the plotline as a crucial source of information required for the breakout, it’s almost a character itself. That’s brilliant because the difference between it and other characters played by actual cast members, is that it can’t demand a raise or refuse to come out of its trailer.

And not all other tattoos are impulses on the part of the owners. If someone served in a military division or on a naval vessel, commemorating their service to their country with a tattoo shared by their colleagues is probably a gratifying part of the bonding process. On the other hand, some movie star couples have had each other’s names tattooed on their backsides, only to become divorced in a matter of months. If you were married to a divorced Hollywood star, how many times would you want to see their ex’s name in print per week while they were dressing?

Considering how fast styles of clothing, accessories, hair and makeup change it’s surprising that we get casual tattoos that are permanent, since there is the option of henna tattoos that fade away gradually in up to six weeks. If people committed to a permanent hairstyle with the same enthusiasm as they receive tattoos, chances are your next mortgage would be approved by a gentleman in a conservative suit with a “Flock of Seagulls” hairstyle.

At least unfortunate hairstyle choices correct themselves in a few weeks.