Lower Back- the most popular spot for tattoos

Every noww and then you find the jolies,the holmes,the simpsons,the lohans,the watsons,the jones flaunting their much hyped LBT's (Lower Back Tattoos) striking a chord with the Gen Next. The Tattoo has now became a hot commodity within the pop culture.

Lower back tattoos are more common among young women. The decoration of blues singer Janis Joplin with a wristlet and a small heart on her left breast, by the San Francisco tattoo artist Lyle Tuttle, is taken as a seminal moment in the popular acceptance of tattoos as art.

Tattoos as u all know is a permanent/temporary(sometimes) marking made by inserting ink into the layers of skin for decorative, spiritual and other purpose. Tattoo-since the word's first usage in the Captain James Cook diary in 1769 has been popular in many parts of the world. Even though the word is in usage only 350 years back this dynamic but tentative art has adorned many ancient scriptures. It is popularly used by traditional Japanese and Chinese people, the Polynesian groups, the Maori of New Zealand, parts of Europe,N.America and S.America, Philippines etc..,

History

The invention of tattoos was an accident. Someone had a small wound, and rubbed it with soot and ashes from a fire. Once the wound had healed, they saw that a mark stayed permanently.

Glimpses of ancient tattooing can be found in Chinese literature-Egypt and India (Henna and Mehendi)-Pre-Christian Germanic, Celtic and other central and northern European tribes were often heavily tattooed-spiritual and decorative purposes in Japan-as a sign of respect for the dead and a symbol of reverence in Middle East.

Between 1766 and 1769 Tattoos were Reintroduced into the western world by Captain James Cook with his knowledge from the 'tattooed savages' he had seen during his voyage to Polynesian islands.

Know more about History of Tattoos here

The Rise and Rise of Tattoos

Tattoos have experienced a resurgence in popularity in many parts of the world, particularly in North America, Japan, and Europe. This popularity provoked new advancements in the equipment used for tattooing. The growth in tattoo culture has seen an influx of new artists into the industry, many of whom have technical and fine art training. This popularity provoked new advancements in the equipment used for tattooing. The 2007 movie Eastern Promises about Russian Mafia highlighted the use of tattoos and the tattoo culture.

A poll conducted online in July 2003 estimated that 16% of all adults in the United States have at least one tattoo. Tattooing was ranked as the sixth fastest growing retail venture of the 1990s, establishing the tattoo industry as a hot property. A study by Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that 24% of Americans who were between the ages of 18 and 50 had a tattoo, which is almost one in four people in the United states.

Usage

Today, people choose to be tattooed for cosmetic, sentimental/memorial, religious, and magical reasons, and to symbolize their belonging to or identification with particular groups, including criminal gangs

For the sake of identification

• People use tattoos to tell the world who they are and to which community they belong to. For example Māori chiefs sometimes drew their moko (facial tattoo) on documents in place of a signature.
• Tattoos are sometimes used by forensic pathologists to help them identify burned, putrefied, or mutilated bodies
• Tattoos for identification are also used on animals.Pet dogs and cats are often tattooed with a serial number (usually in the ear, or on the inner thigh) via which their owners can be identified

Cosmetics

Tattoos are a hot property in cosmetics now. They are extensively used to cover face marks, pimples, dislocations, moles, enhancing eyebrows/lips etc.., This is what we call Permanent Makeup.

Medicine

Medical tattoos are used to ensure instruments are properly located for repeated application of radiotherapy and for the areola in some forms of breast reconstruction. Tattooing has also been used to convey medical information about the wearer

Negative

In the United States many prisoners and criminal gangs use distinctive tattoos to indicate facts about their criminal behavior, prison sentences, and organizational affiliation.

Some Types of Tattoos:-

I have collected some innovative and intriguing tattoos which are popular among different groups and are named accordingly. Visit these links

• Yantra Tattoo
• Permnent makeup Tattooos
• Henna
• Mehendi
• Medical tattoos
• Airbrush tattoos
• Chinese character tattoos
• Criminal tattoo Five-Dot tattoo
• Flash(tattoo)
• Irezumi - Japanese Tattoo
• Marquesan tattoo
• Sleeve tattoo
• UV tattoo
• Tear tattoo

Visit this link for the worlds most popular tattoo designs and their meanings

Techniques

• The most common method of tattooing in modern times is the electric tattoo machine, which inserts ink into the skin via a group of needles that are soldered onto a bar, which is attached to an oscillating unit.
• A technique often used for home made tattoos is "stick and poke". The tip of a sewing needle is wrapped in ink-soaked thread, leaving only the point protruding. Keeping this simple instrument saturated with ink, the skin is pricked over and over, creating a design.
• Natural Tattoos-these tattoos are often formed accidentally owing to coal dust getting into wounds,due to gunpowder,implantation of amalgam particles during dental filling.
• A wide range of dyes and pigments can be used in tattoos.

Risks Involved

• Though tattooing is attractive and helpful in many ways there are some risks involved in it.
• Uncareful tattooing sometimes leads to allergic reactions and infections.
• Since tattoo instruments come in contact with blood and bodily fluids, diseases may be transmitted if the instruments are used on more than one person without being sterilized. However, infection from tattooing in clean and modern tattoo studios employing single-use needles is rare.
• Infections that could be transmitted via the use of unsterilized tattoo equipment or contaminated ink include surface infections of the skin, herpes simplex virus, tetanus, staphInfected Tattoo), fungal infections, some forms of hepatitis, tuberculosis, and HIV.
• But upto now no person in the United States is reported to have contracted HIV via a commercially-applied tattooing process.
• There is also a small risk of anaphylactic shock (hypersensitive reaction) in those who are susceptible, but the chance of a health risk is small. The mechanism which is involved in tattooing is such that the tattoo inks have been described as "nonreactive histologically".

So with the influx of so many innovations and precautions in the field of tattooing the tattooists need not worry much about the risks involved in this art.

This art is certainly catching up fast with the young generation. Have fun tattooing atleast once yola !!!. Don't Worry even the so called permanent tattoos can be removed easily now.

Learn about Tattoo Removal here. If you change your mind.

Sources:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoo
• http://atledo.com/
• http://www.thetattoocollection.com/tattoo_post_operative_care.htm
• http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tattoos-and-piercings/MC00020
• http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic563.htm#section~histology
• http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-94598397.html
• http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/c/tattoo.htm

"Watch this video tutorial on how you can superimpose a tattoo onto your body! Before you take the plunge!"

Favourite Links:

• The Tattoo club in Russia.
• The Tattoo FAQ
• After Care for Your Tattoo
• Tattoo Statistics and Pop culture
• Tattoofinder-Largest online tattoo gallery
• Vanishingtattoo