Men and women in the West wear tattoos now, but it seems to me that they use them differently. If a man has a tattoo it is there for the world to see on his arm, occasionally on his leg. However, women tend to hide their tattoos about their bodies so that they may be revealed whenever they want to show them. One favourite position is at the base of the spine.

The base of the spine is usually covered, but a short top may be worn to reveal it and blouses and cardigans frequently ride up, if someone bends over, giving a glimpse of the tattoo at the base of the spine. It has become very common to have a tribal or Oriental design put there.

Hidden tattoos like this and on other areas of the body like the upper thigh or upper chest are very sensual. The only people who know about them are the people who are allowed to go there. It is like a shared secret between close friends and lovers.

Besides the tribal designs and Oriental designs, women frequently have something written in an Oriental language at the base of their spines. The Chinese, Japanese or Thai characters are unreadable to most people in the West, so again, it becomes a personal message.

Not many women place their boyfriend’s name on their arm, like men do with their girlfriend’s names, but I know a few women who have had their boyfriend’s names tattooed on the bottom of their back in Chinese or Japanese characters. If you change boyfriend’s, you can always tell people that it means ‘good luck’ and there are only two billion people who would know the truth.

In addition to these designs, it is also fairly common to see birds, flowers and vines tattooed at the base of the spine. Birds and flowers are very pretty and colourful, but the vine is an ancient symbol of love in the gist of growing together.

The vine is a widespread symbol on Welsh love spoons as well. The Welsh love spoon was given by a man to the woman he loved as a sign of his sincerity. Many of the symbols used in tattooing are also to be seen on Welsh love spoons and the tradition of giving them predates Captain Cook’s rediscovery of tattooing on Samoa in the mid-Eighteenth century.

Another popular design for lower back tattoos is the dragon (and dragonfly, for some reason). The dragon is also an Oriental and Celtic mythical animal – the red dragon appears on the Welsh flag, but it is an animal popular in most European countries as well.

There are no rules concerning which tattoo ought to go where, but the lower back is quite a large area, so it lends itself to a bigger tattoo. A bird or a dragon with outstretched wings looks pretty, as does a starscape, but the most popular is still the stylised image of a vine growing in, through and around itself.

The Celtic symbolism of the vine was love, fertility and opportunity, but the vine is used as a symbol in both the Old and the New Testaments. In the Old Testament, it seems to refer mostly to Israel and in the New one to Jesus.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on lots of topics, but is at present concerned with anchor tatoos. If you would like to know more go to our website at White Ink Tatoo.

Oetzi, the Iceman discovered in the Swiss-Italian Alps, was a traveller. No-one lived up there in those freezing conditions, so he must have been going from one place to a different one. He was a traveller, possibly an outcast. He lived 5,300 years ago and he wore 53 tattoos. The marks are still plainly visible on his parchment-like skin.

The Celts of Europe and particularly those of Briton were renowned for their use of tattoos. Briton really involves ‘people of the designs’ and the Scottish Picts were the ‘painted people’. The British are still the most tattooed people in Europe. How’s that for tradition living on?

Tattooing is an ancient form of body art, although it almost certainly had religious significance. Tattooing has to have travelled with travelling people. Tattooing has to have spread all over the globe, wherever man went trading. Sailors are, or at least were, very superstitious people and sailors the world around are renowned for their tattoos.

Despite, let’s say, 5,500 years of tattooing tradition, it is just now becoming acceptable in ‘polite society’ in the Developed world thanks mainly to film stars, pop idols and sports personalities, but how do people in other spares of the world regard tattoos? In the Developed world, they are almost purely ornamental now, but do other countries have other applications for them still?

Some countries, Eastern and Western, used to brand or tattoo criminals, so these people used to try to bear their tattoos covered up after they were released from prison. In the Fifteenth Century condemned men were tattooed with a rose so that if they escaped they could easily get recognized. These men would definitely have covered their tattoo.

Romans used tattoos to identify their troops, their slaves and their gladiators. British (ex-pat) and American slave-owners used tattoos to identify their slaves and even tattooed them ‘Tax Paid’. Romans tattooed the foreheads of slaves with ‘Stop me I am a runaway’. The Nazis tattooed the forearms of concentration camp prisoners with their ID number.

Tattooing in its modern Western variety comes from Polynesia and was transported back to Britain by Captain Cook in the Eighteen Century. It was known as tatau, but the word steadily became anglicized and spread throughout Europe among the seafarers, sailors and explorers.

Tattoos are associated with violence in many countries. In Japan, large body tattoos are used to identify members of the different Yakusa gangs. The Russian mafia applies them too. A 2004 survey in Britain revealed that 72% of those surveyed with head, neck or hand tattoos had spent at least three days in gaol in comparison with 6% of the non-tattooed populace.

The Latin word for ‘tattoo’ is ‘stigma’ from which we get the word ‘stigmatize’, which gives an accurate impression of what European societies in general think about tattoos. In other countries, such as Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, tattoos are frequently used to ward of bad luck and attract good luck.

Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on quite a lot of subjects, but is currently concerned with the Barcode Tatoo. If you would like to know more go to our website at White Ink Tatoo.

Tattoos are more popular than they have been for centuries because many people in the Developed world, both men and women, have imitated their favourite celebrities by copying their tattoos.

Tens of millions of Westerners have tattoos now are from classes of society who would never even have dreamed of having one 10-15 years ago. Tattoos have become socially acceptable.

With the proliferation of tattoos, millions more tattoo studios or parlours have sprung up all over the world, but especially where impulsive, fairly well-healed young people hang out like big cities and holiday resorts, particularly seaside vacation resorts both home and abroad.

With this proliferation of tattoo studios comes the need for health and safety. Tattoo parlours are heavily regulated in most countries, but not all, and in some countries a bit of bribery can mean less close inspection by officials. We like to think that this does not occur in ‘our country’, but who knows whether all small tattoo studios are checked regularly anywhere?

It is difficult, although most tattoo artists try to comply with the laws, accidents do and even have to occur. So what could you do to protect yourself? The only really safe way is to not have permanent tattoos or have a temporary tattoo or transfer. However, this is a little extreme.

You could inspect the health and safety certificate and note the date it was given. Is it current? Has it almost expired? You may like to come back when the certificate has recently been renewed, that is just after the next inspection.

You could take the number of the certificate and have it checked out with the local authorities. You might find that over the top as well, so you could ask about to see who local tattooed people trust.

This involves not having a tattoo when you are out of town or out of your mind. These are two of the easiest ways of avoiding disease from tattoos. But to be fair to tattoo artists, most of the infections associated with tattoos come after the customer has left the tattoo parlour. People simply do not take sufficient care of the new open wound they call a tattoo.

Be certain to heed the recommendations given to you about post tattooing care. This is a further reason for not having a tattoo done abroad, You may not understand what you are told about care and you may not be able to get the creams once you get home, which could mean a trip to the physician, which your insurance probably would not cover because a tattoo is a self-inflicted wound..

The main concerns associated with tattoos are to do with disease, therefore you should do all you are able to to prevent it. This includes: not getting the tattoo wet until it has completely healed, because water can contain bacteria; not allowing the open wound to get dirty or dusty (there is often dried faeces in dust) and wearing loose-fitting clothing over the tattoo to keep fierce sunlight and airborne particles off it. A topical antibacterial cream is normally recommended as well.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on quite a lot of subjects, but is at present involved with tatooed eyebrows. If you would like to know more go to our web site at White Ink Tatoo.

There are trends in tattooing, exactly like there are in jewellery, hairstyles and most other things and one of the rising trends is flower tattoos. This has much to do with the fact that more and more women like tattoos these days than ever before particularly in the Developed world. The good things about flower tattoos is that you do not have to change them if you get divorced and their significance is not obvious.

Flower tattoos may have a subtle meaning or no meaning at all, depending on the whim of the wearer. If you opt to believe that flowers have a extraordinary significance, then each sort of flower or each arrangement of flowers may mean something different as well. ‘Say it with flowers’ is an old advertising slogan.

So, what do flower tattoos mean? Well, every nationality or each continent might understand something else by different flowers but here we will take a look at what many tattoo artists and tattooees suggest is meant by flower tattoos.

In general, flower tattoos invoke thoughts of nature, freshness, light and gentility. Flowers remind us of life and even life despite adversity. ‘Per Ardua Ad Astra’ as the Royal Air Force saying goes. Who does not look for the first snowdrops or crocuses in the spring as a signal that the winter is drawing to a close?

If you think about the meaning of the colour of roses, it may help you pick what colour flower tattoo you want. For instance, a white flower may stand for clean living, purity, modesty or chastity. Red might mean the opposite or at the very least passionate. Yellow has the meaning of friendship or ‘friendly’ in roses. A quick search on Google will reveal the meaning of dozens of rose colours.

We all have our concept of what roses mean in the Developed world, but the same type of meaning is ascribed to the waterlily or the Lotus Blossom in the East. The Lotus Blossom has the added meaning of good fortune, peace and tranquility. In other parts of the world, the Acacia flower denotes love and friendship

In Ireland, the Shamrock is the plant of good luck and numerous people of Irish descent wear a shamrock tattoo on their arm. Other well-liked flower tattoos in the West are Violets, which are said to represent a love of home, hearth and garden, because it is an old plant that often grew in cottages and hedgerows.

The Iris is said to symbolize wisdom and perception and the Magnolia a love of nature and, in particular, flowers themselves. The favourite flower tattoo in Wales is the Daffodil, the national flower of Wales. If you are not certain what meaning you would like to express with a flower tattoo, why not make up a posy of your favourite flowers and have that tattooed on?

Flower tattoos are better than words or the more traditional tattoos like anchors, because their meaning is unclear and you never need regret having the tattoo done, if you make a radical change in your life.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on quite a lot of subjects, but is at present involved with the Barcode Tatoo. If you would like to know more go to our website at White Ink Tatoo.