Tattoos Through the Ages

Posted By Pat Johnson
Categoirzed Under: Tattoos and Henna
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by Michael Gandy

People often associate those who have tattoos with criminal activity or being socially outcast. That misconception is rapidly changing as more and more people from all walks of life are wearing tattoos. This form of body modification has always been a part of society and culture.

Over the years tattoos have taken on various roles of significance in a multitude of cultures. For some they were a mark that you had achieved a specific rite of passage. In others they denoted what tribe or clan you belonged to. Still in others they illustrated what skills you carried. They were even believed to ward off disease and illness in some spiritual groups.

Some of the earliest tattoos were worn by the ancient Egyptians. They used them to mark their peasants and slaves during the construction of the pyramids. While these are some of the earliest tattoos research has uncovered, it is likely they were used even earlier than this.

From Egypt the practice of tattooing was passed to China and then to Greece, where it was adopted as a practice to facilitate communication for espionage. The Japanese of this time incorporated them into their religious ceremonies. The main concern at this primitive stage in the history of tattoos is that infection was very common. They didn’t have the strict sanitizing procedures that are in place at tattoo parlors today.

While initially very popular with outlaw biker gangs to denote affiliate, tattoos exploded with popularity among Americans in the late 1960s. In fact it is estimated that nearly fifty percent of all Americans have at least one and they are no longer limited to the biker crowd.

Everyday people are getting a tattoo as a form of self expression and to tell to the world something about themselves. Some are designed to mark a special occasion, while others pay tribute to a loved one. The choices are limitless. The Web has made browsing design ideas even easier with several thriving online tattoo communities. Here artists and fans alike share inspiration and swap pictures. If you are undecided this will certainly give you plenty to consider.

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Female Foot Tattoos

Posted By Sara Smith
Categoirzed Under: Tattoos and Henna
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by Sara Smith

Are you looking for a sexy and cute female tattoo design for a women? Tired of the lower back tattoo designs that have been so over done? If you are thinking that you want to get a sexy and cute tattoo designs and really just don’t want to do the lower back tattoo design thing like everyone else then you should check out the possibility of a foot tattoo design. These are beautiful designs and are often really unique and beautiful. This article will help you learn more about t the potential pain of a foot tattoo, some design ideas that can work well, and where and how to find a good tattoo artist to complete the work.

Tattoo pain and the pain of any tattoo is of course subjective. Everyone feels pain and very different levels. What might be excruciating to you another person might not even notice. So it is difficult to state exactly how painful the tattoo will be on your body as it depends on how well you deal with pain. Generally speaking however the pain of a tattoo can be measured by how much fat and muscle is between the skin and the bone in the area that is getting the tattoo. So a leg tattoo is going to be less painful then a foot tattoo. If you are concerned about how painful the tattoo will be remember that others have gotten such a tattoo before you. It can also be helpful sometimes to get another small tattoo in a less painful area first so you learn what to expect. Sometimes the unknown is the worst part of the whole experience.

Possible Foot Tattoo Designs For Women: There are a bunch of designs that look great as a foot tattoo. You want to stick with something on the smaller side and not super intricate. Since the foot is a pretty small canvas you do not want a large or overly intricate design as it will just become an ink spot over time if you do that. Probably the three most popular foot designs are the following

Flower Tattoos One great source for female foot tattoos are flowers. They fit perfectly onto the top of the foot and can be done in a wide variety of styles, and colors. They are also highly symbolic and therefore can be fully of symbolism and meaning.

Fairies: Fairies also make for a great tattoo design on the foot. Their wings and beautiful colors lend themselves to a beautiful female looking design and style. The best thing is the fairy can be made to look and express just about anything you might want to express about yourself.

Stars: Stars make another great subject for a tattoo in this location. It could be anything from a shooting star to a nautical star tattoo design. What you choose is again up to you and what you want to express about yourself with the tattoo design.

Finding An Artist It is important to shop around and find a good tattoo artist that you can trust and feel comfortable with. Don’t just get stuck going with someone because you are in a hurry. Instead take your time and look for a tattoo artist early and often. Once you connect with someone you know they will do a great job on your tattoo and they are someone you can talk to about design considerations and ideas for your tattoo.

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How to Ensure that You’ll Love Your New Body Art

Posted By Ben Swank
Categoirzed Under: Tattoos and Henna
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by Ben Swank

Choosing a tattoo is difficult. If it isn’t, you have not done your homework. Too often, newcomers will stroll into their local tattoo parlor, pick up a few books or check out the artwork on the walls, and thirty minutes later sit down in the chair for their session.

This is crazy! Call it short-sighted, or having too much faith in tattoo removal technology (dubious odds, at best), but for something that will be on your body for your entire life, you really need to take a few steps back, slow down, and take your time making a design choice. Here are a few steps that you should consider taking so that you don’t end up with a visible reminder of your bad decision.

Your first step is to determine where the tattoo will be positioned. There′s no sense in looking for a design just yet, because many designs only “work” in certain areas. For example, designs for hip tattoos often will not work as lower back tattoo desings. It’s even a good idea to apply a similarly-sized temporary tattoo in your target location so that you can be sure that you like the placement.

Next choose your design: first narrow down your selection into a style of tattoo that you like, and then narrow it further by finding several designs within that style that appeal to you.

Test drive your design: get some professional transfer paper — this is the paper that tattoo artists use to transfer designs from their books to your skin. Trace the design onto the transfer paper, optionally using a lightbox for assistance. You can find some transfer paper samples on this tattoo finder blog. Then have a friend transfer the design onto your skin and fill it in with fine-tipped permanent markers in the appropriate colors. It doesn’t have to be perfect - you just want to make sure the size, style, and colors agree with you.

Now you′ll just observe that design in its natural habitat! Don’t obsess over it, but glance at every time you pass the mirror, see how it works with the clothes you normally wear, make sure you can adequately cover it up when you need to, and be sure that you like the design and placement. Don’t be afraid to try on more than one design either; often, your second or third design choice will actually suit you the best. It should only take a few iterations until you find a tattoo you′ll love.

Additionally, if your tattoo will include a lettering style, don’t limit yourself to what you see in the parlor’s books. There are literally thousands of freeware fonts that you can download and install on your computer. You can use a graphics program (even a free one like gimp) to add the tattoo lettering to your design of choice, and then transfer it to your skin with the rest of the test tattoo. Like the design, you′ll eventually find a font that is perfect for your new tattoo.

To some, this sounds like a lot of work, and that’s true. But this tattoo will be with you for a lifetime, so you will want to do your research. Use a tattoo finder to locate a great design, browse through the many free fonts available online, and test drive all of the promising tattoo designs before you ink them permanently. Your effort will be rewarded many fold in the years to come.

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An Insider’s Trick to Prevent a Bad Tattoo Design

Posted By Ben Swank
Categoirzed Under: Tattoos and Henna
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by Ben Swank

For those who are thinking about a new tattoo design, there is a lot of legwork to cover. And if you don’t believe that to be true, then you might end up being one of those with ink that you hate. Gone are the days of just thumbing through a few dusty design books to find your (im)perfect design.

This is crazy! Call it short-sighted, or having too much faith in tattoo removal technology (dubious odds, at best), but for something that will be on your body for your entire life, you really need to take a few steps back, slow down, and take your time making a design choice. Here are a few steps that you should consider taking so that you don’t end up with a visible reminder of your bad decision.

Your first step is to determine where the tattoo will be positioned. There’s no sense in looking for a design just yet, because many designs only “work” in certain areas. For example, designs for hip tattoos often will not work as lower back tattoo desings. It’s even a good idea to apply a similarly-sized temporary tattoo in your target location so that you can be sure that you like the placement.

Next choose your design: first narrow down your selection into a style of tattoo that you like, and then narrow it further by finding several designs within that style that appeal to you.

Test drive your design: get some professional transfer paper — this is the paper that tattoo artists use to transfer designs from their books to your skin. Trace the design onto the transfer paper, optionally using a lightbox for assistance. You can find some transfer paper samples on this tattoo finder blog. Then have a friend transfer the design onto your skin and fill it in with fine-tipped permanent markers in the appropriate colors. It doesn’t have to be perfect - you just want to make sure the size, style, and colors agree with you.

Sleep on it: now just take your time, continue observing your test tattoo, and trying on different designs. You can see, with a high degree of accuracy and realism, what that tattoo is going to look like on your skin. If you don’t like, just scrub really hard and try again with a clean canvas! Eventually you′ll find a perfect design.

Additionally, if your tattoo will include a lettering style, don’t limit yourself to what you see in the parlor’s books. There are literally thousands of freeware fonts that you can download and install on your computer. You can use a graphics program (even a free one like gimp) to add the tattoo lettering to your design of choice, and then transfer it to your skin with the rest of the test tattoo. Like the design, you′ll eventually find a font that is perfect for your new tattoo.

To some, this sounds like a lot of work, and that’s true. But this tattoo will be with you for a lifetime, so you will want to do your research. Use a tattoo finder to locate a great design, browse through the many free fonts available online, and test drive all of the promising tattoo designs before you ink them permanently. Your effort will be rewarded many fold in the years to come.

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Tattoo Aftercare: the Best Method to Heal Your Ink Correctly

Posted By Ben Swank
Categoirzed Under: Tattoos and Henna
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by Ben Swank

So many people get a new tattoo and think that as soon as leave the chair, the work is done. The fact is, the next three to five days after the needlework are crucial to ensuring that the tattoo turns out well. Without proper aftercare and attention, new tattoos can easily fade or blemish. Or worse, they could scar or become infected — a double whammy.

But if you ask a dozen tattoo artists how to take care of a new tattoo, you’ll probably get a dozen different answers. The conclusion is that no one knows precisely what will work for everyone, so your best bet is to follow a conservative, consensus-driven aftercare procedure.

The most important rule of tattoo aftercare is ‘listen to your tattoo artist.’ Their advice will always trump the procedure outlined here because they know your tattoo best. In the event that they didn′t give your directions, or they were incomplete, here’s how to go about it.

Tattoo Aftercare Do’s

Do use an approved aftercare moisturizer / healing cream Do leave your tattoo covered with the initial bandage for the recommended minimum time period (usually four hours or more), and do remove the bandage in no more than 12 hours Do prevent your tattoo from becoming wet Do keep your tattoo moisturized Do pat your skin dry when the tattooed area gets wet Tattoo Aftercare Don′ts

Don′t expose your tattoo to sunlight until fully healed Don′t submerse your tattoo in water, and especially avoid chlorinated water Don′t let your tattoo dry out Don′t over moisturize your tattoo Don′t pick your tattoo scabs Don′t cover your tattoo with a bandage once the initial bandage has been removed Don′t scratch your tattoo or allow it to bruise Tattoo Aftercare Procedure

1) Four to six hours after you leave the tattoo parlor, wash your hands thoroughly with an antibacterial soap. You’ll want to ensure that your hands are free from dirt, germs, or anything infectious.

2) Carefully remove the bandage that was placed over your tattoo at the parlor. With a gentle antibacterial soap, carefully wash the tattooed area, removing any of the ink residue, greasy covering, blood, etc. You can tell that the area is clean when it just feels like wet skin. Be very gentle with your skin. Pat your tattoo dry — do not brush or rub dry.

3) Apply a thin layer of moisturizer / healing ointment. Popular brands recommended at parlors include A&D Ointment, Neosporin, and Bacitracin. There are also tattoo-specific products that are designed exclusively for aftercare, and they include Tattoo Goo, H2Ocean Aftercare, and Black Cat Tattoo Cream. If you have a large, expensive tattoo, or a tattoo with deep colors that you want to protect, they are probably worth the investment.

4) Three to four times per day, apply a small layer of anti-bacterial ointment to your tattoo. You will want to use enough to moisten the tattooed area, but not so much as to leave streaks or allow it to build up. Your goal is to moisturize the area only, so start with a small amount and work it in with your fingers.

The problem with over moisturizing the skin is that the inks can seep and fade from moisture, and that moisture includes more than just water. If you slather on a thick coating of Neosporin and keep it saturated throughout the day, your tattoo might heal in just over a week. Great news? Not so fast — it will also result in faded inks. If, however, you lightly coat the area three to four times per day, your tattoo might take two to three weeks to heal, but the colors will set properly. This is a tough lesson for many to learn. In some cases, letting the body heal at its own pace makes more sense to your tattoo.

5) Keep your tattoo covered, and out of exposure to sun, moisture, and other danages, but don′t cover it tightly. Ideally, a loose, breathable fabric can be worn. Don′t scratch or pick your tattoo! If your tattoo begins to itch unbearably, gently slap the skin or use rubbing alcohol to relieve any itching or irritation.

While there might seem to be quite a few steps to follow, each step is quite simple. The bottom line is that you need to be mindful of your tattoo, and allow the body to heal itself as naturally as possible. You will do everything you can to assist that process, but you don′t want to rush it — just help it. If you can do that, and stay diligent with your care for 2 to 3 weeks, you will be blessed with a rich tattoo that can be enjoyed for years to come.

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