Woman's Mystery Tattoo Stuns Viewers: 'Googling Laser Places'

A woman shared the outcome of what her mystery tattoo looked like in a video that has since gone viral on TikTok.

Tahlia Pritchard posted the video on her TikTok account @tahliapritch where it was viewed more than 3 million times as she showed herself sticking her leg through a hole in the wall while an artist gave her a tattoo without her seeing what was done.

The finished tattoo featured a bird perched on a skull, but viewers chimed in and commented about the quality of the piece, some going so far as to say they would look into getting it removed.

Laser Removal

Dr. Suzanne Kilmer, the founding director of Laser & Skin Surgery Medical Group Inc., told Newsweek that the laser removal process is often painful, likening the feeling to rubber bands snapped on the skin.

She explained that a rapid pulse of light heats up the ink and shatters it, causing the ink to mobilize. However, Kilmer said there are some colors that are more difficult to remove, like yellow.

"This is done in several treatments because of how densely the ink is put into the skin," Kilmer said.

The timeline of removing a tattoo may vary depending on the size and the bulk of the tattoo. Some of the most common reasons Kilmer said she sees patients looking into tattoo removal is if someone has the name of a former partner tattooed on their body, if they have a prison tattoo and if trafficking victims were previously branded.

According to the Mayo Clinic, scarring, infection or skin discoloration may occur after tattoo removal.

Kilmer said those who intend to get a tattoo should find a shop that is reputable and clean, otherwise, they face several risks, including hepatitis.

The Tattoo

"Putting my blind faith in someone I've never met to give me a mystery tattoo," read the text over Pritchard's video.

She laid down on a bed and put her leg through a hole in a tall wall that blocked her from being able to see the stencil and the tattoo process.

At the end of the video, Pritchard showed off the tattoo that was completed just above her ankle, and while some said they liked how the bird looked, others were more critical of how the skull looked.

"Not to be dramatic but I would be booking laser or a [coverup] literally the moment I saw that," a viewer wrote.

"Spent last night googling laser places in Sydney," Pritchard replied.

"I refuse to believe the skull and bird were both done by the same artist," one viewer commented.

"At first I was like omg I would totally do this...then I saw it," another TikTok user wrote.

Some viewers were more optimistic about the piece.

"I honestly love the contrast between the ultra fine line and the ignorant style skull," a viewer commented. "Not sure I'd be brave enough to do this though."

'Bit of a Blur'

Since getting the tattoo, Pritchard has named the skull "Bert."

She wrote to Newsweek that she's never gotten a mystery tattoo done before and does not anticipate getting another in the future.

The event was at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas in Sydney, and Pritchard planned to get the tattoo done and write about it for her job.

"I didn't meet the artist at all or specify anything, and he had never seen me," she said. "I asked if I could stick my leg through the wall because I was happy to sacrifice an ankle—a lot of people stick their arms through and I wasn't prepared for that risk combined with my other arm tattoos—so I angled myself so he'd have to do my ankle and then it was all systems go."

The session lasted 45 minutes, but the experience was "a bit of a blur."

Pritchard said when she saw the tattoo for the first time, she felt adrenaline coursing through her and had neither a positive nor negative reaction to it. It isn't her typical style of tattoo, and she realized the next day that it was permanent.

Though she was planning to get it removed, Pritchard has had a change of heart.

After the tattoo healed, she said she'd gotten attached to it.

"The funniest thing at this point is that if I was to get it removed, I'd probably remove the bird, not Bert," Pritchard said. "Plus it's a very funny story now to tell at this point and people either really love it or hate it which makes me laugh. I'm weirdly defensive of Bert now."

Others have taken their tattoo stories to the internet, including a comedian who posted a video of his grandmother adjusting her ranking of family members after seeing his new tattoo.

Another video showing how a woman paid tribute to her dog also went viral, while one sweet video showed the sweet reaction a grandfather had to seeing his granddaughter's tattoos that matched his own.