Hand tattoos

Hand Tattoos

Hand tattoos are more common in certain circles than others. Many people choose to commemorate loved ones by placing the birth and death dates on the tops of their hands – an ever-present reminder of the loss, and in some cases, perhaps a reminder to be a better person for having lost them. Many different cultures and societal sub cultures employ hand tattoos as a part of their culture. For instance, the indigenous peoples of New Zealand, Australia and Polynesia often use facial tattooing and hand tattoos to signify station, class and which family or tribe they belong to. Another culture that uses hand tattoos is Arabic society. The use of Henna hand tattoos is often a beautification process employed by many women in the middle east. The final example of hand tattoos employed by a culture, or actually a sub culture, is in prison. Incarcerated men and women who get prison tattoos will often get a hand or wrist tattoo to denote a connection to a specific gang or clique within the system. Often a small set of three dots in a triangular formation on the top of the hand between the thumb and index finger is a symbol that one has been "jumped in" or become part of a gang.

Hand Tattoos

Hand tattoos can be visually stunning and impressive. But, before one gets a hand tattoo a couple of things need to be taken into consideration. The first thing to remember is that the back of the hand can be a painful place to get a tattoo. Not only are there blood vessels and nerves close to the skin but there are also very little meat over the bony structure of the hand. And the general rule of thumb is, tattoos over bone hurt more then over fatty tissues. Another thing to bear in mind before getting a hand tattoo is your future employment. Even though tattooing is enjoying unprecedented popularity nowadays, there will always be certain groups where hand tattoos are looked down upon. And since hand tattoos are next to impossible to hide, this could affect your job prospects. The last thing to consider is that because of the aforementioned problems there are a lot of tattoo artist who are unwilling to do these tattoo. But, if you think about all the negative aspects and find an artist willing to do the work then a hand tattoo can be as beautiful as any other piece of body art. Just remember to think it through first.