Kaia Gerber Found a Way to Get Her Tattoo Fix During Quarantine
“Struggling” without her favorite pastime, the model endeavored to give herself a stick-and-poke.
Until this past February, Presley Gerber was the only member of his family who stayed out of the spotlight. All that changed when the model, whose parents are Rande Gerber and Cindy Crawford, got a tattoo of the word “misunderstood” on his face (and compared the criticism to discrimination against being transgender). The 20-year-old has kept them coming ever since, adding everything from his area code on his chest to a gun on his torso.
Meanwhile, his younger sister, fellow model Kaia Gerber, has carried on with her own tattoo obsession much more quietly. She’s gotten more than 10 since 2018, but stuck to teensy black line motifs that take up nowhere near as much real estate. (Suffice it to say, she did not get any couple tattoos with her ex Pete Davidson; like Presley, he has quite the exuberant taste.)
Kaia’s tattoos are subtle, but prominent among her priorities. They’re also much trickier to pursue during quarantine than her trendier activities, like fostering a dog and cutting her hair. “I’ve been struggling because one of my favorite pastimes was going and getting tattoos, and nobody’s been able to do that,” the 18-year-old told Glamour on Thursday. So, she took matters into her own hands. “In the meantime, I gave myself a stick-and-poke, which I do not recommend.”
For those unfamiliar with the DIY process, a stick-and-poke is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of using electricity, one simply sterilizes a needle, and repeatedly sticks and pokes it into the top layer of their skin with ink. It takes a bit longer than traditional tattooing, and the ink is more likely to fade. But it’s easy and less likely to irritate the skin, making it popular among everyone from modern-day Black Flag fans to ancient Egyptians.
Gerber, on the other hand, was not impressed. “I think I have a newfound appreciation for tattoo artists,” she said. “It’s not easy.” she said. So, she kept it simple, making for her most minimal tat to date. “I didn’t get too ambitious. I gave myself a dot, just so I could be like, ‘All right, I got a tattoo this month, I’m cool.’” And unlike other celebs, she didn’t make a mistake.
Related: The Only 5 Quarantine Hair Trends That Are Possible
A Guide to All Your Favorite Models’s Tattoos, from Paris Jackson’s New Ink to Kate Moss’s £1 Million Tramp Stamp
Kate Moss, who bared her anchor tattoo on W‘s March 2012 cover, also has a “tramp stamp” in the form of two birds on her lower back, inked by none other than Lucian Freud.
Cara Delevingne, a Leo, got her very first tattoo in 2013—the first of many to come, including an elephant on her forearm.
And then there was the time Delevingne let her Suicide Squad costar Margot Robbie tattoo a smiley face onto the bottom of her big toe.
Bella Hadid got two teensy matching wing tattoos on her ankles—quite apt for someone who’d just stolen the show on the Victoria’s Secret runway.
Skater girl Natalie Westling is taking her role as a Vans ambassador very, very seriously, from the brand’s logo to the word “skate” on her forearms to the new advertisement for her collaboration with the brand across her back.
Luka Sabbat, at just 19, already has at least 30 tattoos, including at least three dedicated to dogs. (He’s also tattooed the name of his latest project onto his chest.)
After an ” impromptu tattoo party” with her sister Cara, Poppy Delevingne ended up with a heart on her neck, inked by her sister herself.
Though she’s since pivoted into acting, the Mad Max star and former model Abbey Lee Kershaw has never shied from a message, from the permanent “WOLF” on her wrist to the time she scrawled “GUN CONTROL” across her midriff to call attention to the cause at the Met Gala.
Kendall Jenner got a lip tattoo reading “MEOW” late last year, courtesy of “Bang Bang.”
A few months before she got her own tat, Jenner designed this one for her pal Hailey Baldwin, which was also inked by Bang Bang.
Like the Delevingne sisters, Ireland and Hailey Baldwin also have teamed up on tats to remind you of their legacy.
Hot felon-turned-model Jeremy Meeks is covered in tattoos, including some that stretch up to his neck.
Aside from the gun on her forearm, Freja Beha also has a few more tattoos, like on her arm that reads “serendipity is life.”
Jourdan Dunn, who has a bevy of tattoos, including her son Riley’s name on her hand, got matching D’s with Cara Delevingne back in 2014.
A master of subtle tattoos—including her matching butterfly with Travis Scott—Kylie Jenner has also adorned her forearm with a teensy red dot.
Last year, Kylie Jenner got matching red squiggly lines with her BFF Jordyn Woods, tucked away inside both of their pinky fingers.
You may not have heard of “Zombie Boy” Rick Genest, who inspired Lady Gaga and walked for brands like Thierry Mugler in six years or so, but he’s definitely still covered in tats!
In case you forgot she was a model named Chanel Iman, Chanel Iman has her name and a clothes hanger emblazoned across the back of her neck.
Instagram star and artist Jane Moseley’s all-over ink hasn’t stopped her from walking runways for brands like Balenciaga.
Fellow Balenciaga model and Insta star Ilana Kozlov also has some sleeves in the making, as well as “NO GODS, NO MASTERS,” across her chest.
Perhaps the most tatted name in the game, Cat McNeil has a back covered in ink—not too surprising for a model who cut off all her hair for Alexander Wang.
The up-and-coming It girl Slick Woods has an-ever growing sleeve of tattoos, plus a gun across her chest she had to cover up while walking Fendi.
Julia Nobis may not have Instagram, but the longtime Raf Simons muse’s tats have still made their way around the internet, like the Dr. Seuss phrase “Oh, the places you’ll go!” across her forearm.
The model, activist, and head of Gurls Talk Adwoa Aboah has the on-brand phrases “all the women in me are tired,” as well as “GURL POWER,” across her hands.
Joan Smalls got her “first and last tattoo” in 2015, dedicated to her mother.
Illustrator and model Langley Fox Hemingway, sister to fellow model Dree and great-grandaughter of Ernest Hemingway, recently added to her arms-based collection with a giant Virgin Mary on her forearm.
