Tattoo Design

So you have made the decision to get a tattoo, great but what tattoo design do you want. Over the next few pages we will explore the most popular tattoo designs, well at the moment the in thing is still:

Tribal tattoos

Tribal tattoos are no longer the domain of ancient tribes; A tribal tattoo which used to be given as a mark of respect or coming of age now seems to be used as a form of body decoration or tattoo artwork. Ancient tribes like the tribes of Borneo used tribal tattoos as a spiritual mark or a mark of respect for their particular god. Old style tribal tattoos were also used as a form of identification to mark a person as a member of a tribe or to show that a person had reached a certain level within their group.

A modern meaning of a tribal tattoo would that of wanting to belong to a group or community of some sort. Most tribal tattoos can be worn anywhere. For men, Celtic knots are very popular on the fore-arm and tribal armbands can be tattooed on muscular biceps. For women, there really is only one place for a tribal tattoo and that is on the lower back. If you have a lower back tattoo, you can show it off with a crop top or hide it with a long top, enabling you to get the best of both worlds for your tribal tattoos.

Black Light Tattoo

Something in the shadows

People want to be at the cutting edge… so whether its at all-night parties or raves, the glow in the dark phenomenon is something which keeps on growing! Once a black light tattoo has healed, it can hardly be seen in natural daylight, so its a cool one to go for if you’ve always wanted a tattoo, but your partner or boss has said no!

The difference between a black light tattoo and a glow in the dark tattoo

The pigment used for a glow in the dark tattoo enables it to glow under black light or once a light source has been removed. This is because the pigment absorbs and retains light, which is why it ‘glows’ after a light has been removed. UV reactive pigment (or black light pigment) absorbs and reflects light as long as the UV light source is present, but returns to normal after the light has been removed. It doesn’t glow in the dark otherwise. Black light tattoos can be done in lots of different colours, which will all glow brightly if they’re inked right, but white is the only colour which will disappear completely when the tattoo is not under black light.

Black Light Tattoo Ink and Health Issues

In the past, pigments used for glow in the dark and black light tattoos have contained phosphorous, which is a controversial agent that has been linked to side effects including contact dermatitis, prolonged itching, discomfort and cancer. As a consequence, many reputable artists will not do glow in the dark or black light tattoos, because of their uncertainty to do with how safe the inks are in the long-term.
New pigments which don’t contain phosphorous have found their way onto the market however, and with extensive testing and FDA approval, are supposed to be some of the safest inks around. The important thing is to be informed - check out that your artist knows which brand of Black light tattoo ink they’re using.