Meaning of Dragon Tattoo

Dragons are one of the most popular mythological creatures. The descend from various legends, telling tales of fire-breathing, winged creatures.

There are two different dragons that you'll commonly see- the Eastern and the Western dragons. The Eastern dragons of the orient are seen as benevolent creatures who are the protectors of life, fertility, and good fortune. The Western dragons tend to be the evil creatures that destroy villages and guard hoards of treasure.

As a tattoo, dragons are usually represented in the form of the Eastern dragon and of oriental styles. Dragon tattoos are normally seen in black and commonly drawn with flames and fire. But, Japanese and Chinese dragon styles are usually pretty ornate and can be in color or black and white shades.

It's up to you as to what dragon style you choose for your tattoo.

Dragons are a popular tattoo among both men and woman, each person finding a different reason and symbolism behind the dragon.

Meaning of Dragon Tattoos

Dragon tattoos can have different meanings to different people. It's all depending on how you see the mythical creature and as to what design you choose.

In general men tend to use dragon tattoos to represent:

• Courage
• Strength
• Raw power and force
• Wisdom and reason
• Protectors of sacred items

Many men tend to associate with the dragon which is why they get dragon tattoos. Some men see themselves as guardians over loved ones, so since the dragon tends to symbolize protection, it fits the mold of a guardian.

In general, woman tend to use dragon tattoos to represent:

• Creator
• Protector of life
• Strength

Because woman are those who give birth, they can be seen as a creator of life. Women can associate with the dragon in terms of protection and children; in most cases, mothers will protect their children till the end. Women may see the strength of the dragon and see it embodied in themeselves.

For the most part, there are many different meanings of a dragon tattoo, so each individual and each dragon will represent something a little different.

Meaning of Angel Tattoos

Angel tattoos are some of the most popular tattoo designs that people get. There are so many different styles and unique ways of getting an angel tattoo. These include, getting angel wings tattooed on your back, guardian angels tattooed on your arms, chest or upper back, angels and devils fighting, or just a simple angel watching over you.

Tattooing is the art of embedding ink into the skin to create a permanent design, has been around for a long time. Several indigenous cultures have practiced tattooing for ornamentation, status and spiritual reasons. Though there are several tattoo designs, angel tattoos have always been most popular with men and women. Angel tattoos are believed to be very protective, since they symbolize protection, guardianship, beauty, spirituality, moral-value, peace and keepers of dreams.

An angel tattoo on a woman signifies her search for purity within the soul. In addition to this, it also represents her divinity, patience and her presence as a gift to the world. It implies that she regards self-confidence as a significant part of beauty and believes in protecting herself and others. Those who sport the angel tattoos are believed to do so to express their belief in this concept. It is read as a sign that a woman will not settle for anything but the best.

However, angel tattoos are also symbolic to men. It is believed that men who wear angels are extremely fond of women. It is often considered to be an expression of their masculinity and their love and respect for an angelic woman in their life. Men madly in love opt for angel tattoos. However, there are several men who wear these tattoos to simply flaunt them as a symbol of personal style.

Angel Tattoo (Album 1)
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Source : tattoodesignshop.com

Meaning of Tribal Tattoos & Tribal Tattoo Pictures

Tribal Art

Most tribal tattoos are solid black in design, but some artists will through in variuos shades and colors to break up the design.

For the most part tribal tattoos are derived from ancient tribal art, and have no significant meaning. They tend to be random patterns of lines and curves that are put together in order to create an abstract form of art.

Modern tribal tattoos are based off of ancient tribal designs, such as Borneo, Aztecs, Indian, Hawaiian, Maori, Samoan, and Polynesian. These tribes use their tribal art to depict rites of passage, social status, family identification, and for medicinal purposes. Each tribe has their own way and special design that they focus on.

Types of Tribal Tattoos

Borneon Tattooing

Even though most Borneon tattoos are copied from the Kayan Kenyah and Bakatan tribes, they are the most popular form of tribal style tattooing.

This style of tattoos hold up well over time with it's bold black lines and simple coloring. This style is less prone to fading and blurring when compared to other styles of tribal tattoo that may call for shading and coloring.

Hawaiian Tattooing

Hawaii once had a tradtion of tattooing that is now diminished with the contact with Western culture. These designs have a lot of geometric elements and are primarily black.

Hawaiian tattoos are more commonly seen as flowers, palm trees, sun/star, ocean waves. Many Hawaiian tattoos symnboliz the paradise of the seven islands.

Maori Tattooing

The aboriginal people of New Zealand, once practiced some of the most unique tattooing in the world as their tattooing style evolved from facial tattoos. These tattoos is a sacred from of family and personal identification; they tell the story of a person's family, achievements, skills, and other social status information and details, all in one glance...

Source : HubPages

Can a Tattoo be Removed?

There are several factors that must be considered for the successful removal of a tattoo:

1. Ink injected evenly on the same level of skin or many levels of skin? Chances are better if the ink was injected on the same level.
2. Size and location of the tattoo.
3. The age of the tattoo (how long ago was it done?) Newer ones are harder to take off.
4. How well the person will heal from the removal procedure.

Total and complete removal is never guaranteed. The pain from getting a tattoo is far less than the pain of getting it removed. The standard today for tattoo removal is with laser surgery. It is easier to remove certain colors than others, for example yellow and blue are the hardest to remove.

The technique used with this laser technology is called Q switching. There are three lasers that use this technique; the Q-switched Ruby, the Q-switched Alexandrite, the Q-switched Nd (YAG).

It usually takes more than one session to remove the tattoo. A side effect of this procedure is hyper- pigmentation and hypo-pigmentation. Hyper-pigmentation is where the skin color is darker than normal and hypo-pigmentation is where the skin color is lighter than normal.

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Tattoo Removal

While tattoos are considered permanent, it is sometimes possible to remove them with laser treatments, fully or partially. Typically, black and darker colored inks can be removed more completely. An ink trademarked as InfinitInk is designed to be removed in a single laser treatment. The expense and pain of removing tattoos will typically be greater than the expense and pain of applying them. Some jurisdictions will pay for the voluntary removal of gang tattoos. Pre-laser tattoo removal methods include dermabrasion, salabrasion (scrubbing the skin with salt), cryosurgery, and excision which is sometimes still used along with skin grafts for larger tattoos.

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Health Risks of Tattoo

Because it requires breaking the skin barrier, tattooing may carry health risks, including infection and allergic reactions. Modern tattooists reduce such risks by following universal precautions, working with single-use items, and sterilizing their equipment after each use. Many jurisdictions require that tattooists have bloodborne pathogen training, such as is provided through the Red Cross and OSHA.

Infection from tattooing in clean and modern tattoo studios employing single-use needles is rare. In amateur tattoos, such as those applied in prisons, however, there is an elevated risk of infection. Infections that can theoretically be transmitted by the use of unsterilized tattoo equipment or contaminated ink include surface infections of the skin, herpes simplex virus, tetanus, staph, fungal infections, some forms of hepatitis, tuberculosis, and HIV. In the United States there have been no reported cases of HIV contracted via commercially-applied tattooing process.

Tattoo inks have been described as "remarkably nonreactive histologically". However, cases of allergic reactions to tattoo inks, particularly certain colors, have been medically documented. Occasionally, when a blood vessel is punctured during the tattooing procedure a bruise/hematoma may appear.

What is a Tattoo?

(A Māori Chief with tattoos (moko) seen by Cook and his crew)

A tattoo is a marking made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment for decorative or other reasons. Tattoos on humans are a type of decorative body modification, while tattoos on animals are most commonly used for identification or branding. The term "tattoo" or from Tahiti, "Tatau" is first referenced by Joseph Banks, the naturalist aboard Cook's ship the "Endeavour" in 1769 where he mentions it in his journal. To paraphrase. he states, "I shall now mention the way they mark themselves indelibly, each of them is so marked by their humor or disposition".

Tattooing has been practiced for centuries worldwide. The Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan, traditionally wore facial tattoos. Today one can find Berbers of Tamazgha (North Africa), Māori of New Zealand, Arabic people in East-Turkey and Atayal of Taiwan with facial tattoos. Tattooing was widespread among Polynesian peoples and among certain tribal groups in the Taiwan, Philippines, Borneo, Mentawai Islands, Africa, North America, South America, Mesoamerica, Europe, Japan, Cambodia, New Zealand and Micronesia. Despite some taboos surrounding tattooing, the art continues to be popular in many parts of the world.

Source : wikipedia.org