The world of Tattoos

Tattoos - think of them and the first word that comes to mind to people is crazy? No only joking, poeple who have them are a 'statement maker'. Their body is a canvas of art. But do you know how they originated? Initially they were used for identification and worship purposes, but slowly tattoos have evolved into ultimate fashion statements. The art of tattooing has been around for a very long time. Not just for a couple of decades, but for thousands of years The word 'tattoo' has been derived from the Samoan word 'tatau', which means 'to mark twice'.

From the early 1990's on, there has been a huge increase in the popularity of tattooing. Anyone who has taken even the most cursory glance at the mainstream media during the past decade or so could quite easily come away with the impression that tattoos are very much "in". There are a number of famous tattooed celebrities and the best one that comes to mind is Angelina Jolie.She has at least a dozen tattoos, and shows no signs of slowing down her collecting of body art.

She has 2 large tattoo, one is for his son Maddox for luck and to avoid accidents. It reads "May your eneny run far away from you. If you acquire riches, may they remain yours always. Your beauty will be that of Apsara ( a celestial dancer in Khmer mythnology) Wheebr you may go, many will attend, serve and protect you, surrounding you on all sides."

The other tattoo shows the birth-date and place of his children including the latitude & longtitude of each one. I guess now she has to add another 2, for her twins she just gave birth to! Also for the love she has for her brother James Haven there is the letter H on the inside of her left wrist.

Several inches below her navel, she has "Quod me nutrit me destruit," meaning "What nourishes me also destroys me" in Latin. There is large tiger is inked on her back, with a dragon tattoo underneath and the roman numeral 13 (XIII) on her left forearm. On the lower left side of her midsection, she has a tilted Latin cross and the phrase "Know your rights" is between her shoulders, just below her neck. She also has a pair of tribal designs can be found on her lower back and on her right forearm is the Arabic term for "strength of will." She has a beautiful canvas to work on.

Here is a video of this beauty, I am so jealous she is beautiful has great kids and a partner called Brad Pitt! The best of everything.

Nicole Richie: The twenty-six year old Richie is very adventuresome in the body art department, she has many all over her body. She has a rosary on her left ankle and foot to represent her faith, angel wings on her back, "Richie" and a Ribbon on Her Neck and a tiara on her hip. She also has a red shooting star, "virgin" on her left wrist as she is a Virgo and ballerina slippers are also tattooed on her abdomen. The list goes on, she also has a cross on her lower back.
Britney Spears: Singer, Mom and sometime actress has tattoos of a fairy on her lower back, a small daisy circling her second toe on right foot, a butterfly leaving a vine on left foot, and a flower with Chinese symbol for mystery in middle on lower stomach. She also has three Hebrew characters on back of her neck - her Kabala connection - a pair of pink dice inside left wrist, and during her recent public melt-down she added lips and a cross
David Beckham: The thirty-one year old soccer star is widely regarded as the most recognized footballer in the world. Beckham has the words "Brooklyn" (son's name) across his lower back, and also "Romeo " (other son). He also has crucifixion scene on his upper back, his wife Victoria's name in Hindi, the Roman numeral VII (7 was his Manchister United jersey number) on the underside of right arm and there are other tattoos.
Types of Tattoos

There are many different kinds of tattoos.

• Permanent tattoos: a needle is used to insert colored ink into the skin.
• Permanent make-up: permanent tattoos use a needle to insert colored ink into the skin. It makes it look like make-up, such as eyebrow pencil, lip liner, eyeliner or blush.
• Henna (mehndi) tattoos: a natural plant dye called henna or mehndi is used to stain the skin. This kind of tattoo does not use needles. The color lasts 2 to 3 weeks.
• "Sticker" type temporary tattoos: The tattoo design is on a piece of coated paper. It is put on the skin with water. Temporary tattoos last only a few days, but they are great fun cos you can change them when you like!

Risks involved:

• Infection: Dirty needles can pass infections from one person to another person. These can be serious like Hepatitis and HIV. Make sure that the needles are clean and germ-free. So if you are getting a permanent tattoo, go somewhere reputable and ask people who have one where they went.
• You might be allergic to something used in your tattoo. This is rare, but can cause serious problems.
• Lumps or bumps may form around the tattoo color.
• People may have swelling or burning in the tattoo when they have magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This happens rarely and does not last very long.
• You may not like your tattoo even if it was done well. Not liking the tattoo is the most common reason people give for having one removed.
• If you decide you want to get rid of a tattoo, it usually takes many treatments and costs a lot of money, so think before you act. Remember scars may form when getting or removing a tattoo.

How to remove a tattoo

Tattoo removal should be done by a doctor or clinic and not by a tattoo parlor. There are several ways to try to remove a tattoo, but they don't always work. It can cost a lot of money and you may need a lot of treatment. Here are some choices:

• Laser treatment is the most common way to remove a tattoo. Light from the laser breaks up the tattoo ink. The body itself gets rid of the treated areas over the next few weeks. Most tattoos need more than one laser treatment to be fully removed. Some inks cannot be removed by lasers
• Dermabrasion: Sanding down to lower layers of skin is another way to remove a tattoo. The area to be sanded is numbed first to lessen pain. It may leave a scar.
• Salabrasion: a salt solution is used to remove the color. This is called salabrasion and is sometimes used with dermabrasion.
• Scarification: removes the tattoo with acid and leaves a scar in its place.
• You can also have surgery to get rid of the tattoo or new colors can be put into the skin to cover up the old tattoo.

Look at Angelina, she got one removed that had her ex-husbands name, l am sure she paid heaps to get it removed and even though she has put one on top, you can still see the scar.

The way in which the society looks at tattooed people has taken a complete turnaround. People who get tattooed are no longer considered outcasts or weird. This has taken place on account of a number of celebrities from different spheres sporting tattoos. So what are you waiting for? If you want to be part of modern fashion go and get it done (but may l suggest a non-permanent one!)

(Source: vabishingtattoo.com)