“I like the fact that they are permanent because they are part of me,” she said. Joanna Acevedo, 24, who works in an ice cream shop in Prospect Heights, has more than 100 tattoos all over her body: “The only thing I don’t have tattooed is my chest.” Many of her designs are random, she said, listing “a crocodile, a cat skull, a barbed wire, the words ‘steak fry,’ an eagle, a cactus and an ice cream cone.” Unlike other temporary tattoos, such as henna dye or stickers, Ephemeral tattoos, like their permanent counterparts, are applied with needles and ink under the skin.īut some think the idea of a disappearing body art completely defeats the purpose. Instead of going to a traditional tattoo parlor, she headed to Ephemeral, a company with a studio in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn that uses a trademarked ink that fades nine to 15 months after it’s been applied tattoos cost $195 to $450, depending on size. She chose Snoopy to honor her mother, who played the character in a production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” She added the joint to give it “a little twist.” Undeterred, she loved the idea of getting a tattoo. (There are differing interpretations, but some rabbis believe the Torah prohibits tattoos.) “I am Jewish so obviously most of my family is not the biggest fan of tattoos,” Ms. She also knew a permanent tattoo would upset her family. When Skylar Hertz, a junior at Purchase College, got a tattoo of Snoopy smoking a joint on her left calf, she was pretty sure it wasn’t something she wanted on her body forever.Īs an aspiring actress, she felt that having a tattoo could shape the roles she is considered for.