Sanskrit tattoos hot fad with world celebrities

Recently, there has been a surge in interest in Sanskrit tattoo designs and symbols among Hollywood and other celebrities.

Famed British footballer Theo Walcott is the newest one to join “Sanskrit Tattoo Club”. On the inside of his right arm, a Sanskrit tattoo reportedly meaning "Beautiful, Blessed, Strong, Intelligent” is engraved. “Beautiful” is dedicated for his sister Hollie, “blessed” for his father Don, “strong” for his brother Ashley, and “intelligent” for his mother Lynn.

Actress Jessica Alba, musician Tommy Lee of “Motley Crue”, singer and model Rihanna, dancer and singer Kimberly Wyatt of “Pussycat Dolls”, are some of the celebrities who sport Sanskrit tattoos.

Om, the mystical syllable containing the universe, seems to be the most popular of Sanskrit tattoos.Ancient language Sanskrit is considered a sacred language, the language of the gods. Tattoos go back in history to at least since Neolithic times.

Source: calcuttatube.com

Study finds link between tattoos, piercings and trouble

Here's a new aphorism: "The more body art you have, the more likely you are to be involved in deviance".

So says Jerome Koch, a sociologist with Texas Tech University's Body Art Team which surveyed 1,753 students at four colleges and found a correlation between multiple tattoos or piercings and "deviant behaviour".

The severally inked or pierced at the unnamed colleges said they engaged in, roughly speaking, more promiscuity, more drug use, more binge drinking, more arrests and more cheating on tests than their peers.

The research team has been studying tattoos and piercing since 1999.

Its latest study will be printed in The Social Science Journal in March and was first reported in Miller-McCune magazine, which tracks academic research.

But the new data also suggest parents shouldn't freak about a lone dolphin tattoo (14 per cent of surveyed students had a tattoo) or a belly-button ring (37 per cent had a body piercing).

"For low-level body art, these kids are not any different from anybody else," Koch says.

The correlation with deviant behaviour came among the four per cent of students who had four or more tattoos, seven or more piercings, or one "intimate piercing," said Koch.

At Taylor Street Tattoo, near the University of Illinois at Chicago's Near West Side campus, owner Timothy Gooding stood up for his clients.

"The people I see on a regular basis that get tattooed are some of the nicest, most well-mannered people," Gooding said.

"I see college kids, screaming, yelling, fighting on a regular basis. Those are not my kids."

Koch doesn't necessarily disagree. He says what the study really demonstrates is how body art going mainstream has upped the ante for those who would treat it as more of a subculture.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/study-finds-link-between-tattoos-piercings-and-trouble-20100120-mle2.html

David Beckham's Tribute Tattoo to AC Milan

LONDON: David Beckham has sparked rumours that his new secret tattoo is a "tribute" to AC Milan and its fans.

The ace footballer is said to be keeping the latest design on his body under wraps until the upcoming Milan derby.

His tattooist Louis Molloy, who was secretly flown to Milan, confirmed the latest bodyart.

"Our agreement is that I don't comment on a tattoo until it has been unveiled publicly," the Daily Star quoted him as telling Radio Five Live.

"I can say that it has only just been done and David plans to show it off at next weekend's Milan derby. There was a gap on his arm and we have been talking about what to fill the blank in with for a few months."

"We discussed various kinds of images before coming up with one we are both happy with and we went ahead with that design," he added.

Bangkok International Tattoo 2010

Here are some fine pictures of the Bangkok International Tattoo Convention 2010 courtesy of The Toronto Sun!

Tattoo parlor slaying in Arleta

The boyfriend of a woman killed at an Arleta tattoo parlor had been booked on suspicion of murder in connection with the slaying, police said tonight.

Louie Mendoza, 33, was arrested after a standoff with police and SWAT team members at a house in the 14800 block of Cobalt Street in Sylmar, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The victim, Lupe Fernandez, 29, of San Fernando, died from apparent blunt trauma at Painful Pleasures Tattoo sometime between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, investigators said.

Her body was taken to the Cobalt Street house, where it was found inside a plastic trash can in a garage, police said.

Mendoza was taken into custody without incident about 4:15 a.m. today at the house, police said.

This news article is from latimesblogs.latimes.com

David Beckham's new religious tattoo

The latest of the footballer's tattoos to have a religious theme, it depicts Christ with a bloodied back, wearing a crown of thorns.

The tattoo, on the right-hand side of the footballer's torso, is based on a painting called Man of Sorrows by Matthew R Brooks, founder of a group called Art for the Catholic Restoration.

Beckham, 34, revealed the tattoo during victory celebrations during AC Milan's 3-0 win over Juventus at the Olympic Stadium in Turin.

A friend told the Daily Mirror: "He is delighted with it.

"David has an appreciation of religious art and iconography and the new tattoo reflects that."

Beckham has two religious-themed tattoos on his upper back and neck, one a winged cross and the other a guardian angel in a crucifix pose.

He has numerous other tattoos, including the names of his three children, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz, and one of his wife's name Victoria, misspelt as 'Victoria' in Hindi.

The friend added: "Each tattoo he opts for is very carefully considered. It's more than a hobby for him – it's almost spiritual."

Article from www.telegraph.co.uk

Want smudge-proof eyeliner? Just tattoo it on!

Sandra Serafini of Hamilton, Ont. was on her way home from the gym with a friend a few years ago when he remarked that one of her eyebrows looked as if it was slipping down her face. In fact, the 49-year-old flight attendant's makeup was merely smeared, but she vowed to avoid such future embarrassments by undergoing what some might regard as a drastic remedy: micro-pigmentation.

A precisely focused brand of face tattooing, micro-pigmentation provides an alternative to traditional cosmetics by enhancing the colour and silhouette of eyes, lips and eyebrows on a long-term basis. Commonly known as permanent makeup, it is executed under local anesthetics by trained aestheticians wielding tattoo guns. The technique was trendy in the 1980s, but is currently experiencing a renewed popularity among women seeking the convenience and cost-efficiency of not having to buy and apply makeup for years at a time, says Pat Shibley-Gauthier, founder of the Micro-Pigmentation Centre, a Mississauga, Ont.-based school that trains aestheticians how to do it.

According to Shibley-Gauthier, recent improvements in technology have also made the process more attractive.

The old machines, she says, were “loud and intimidating, especially when coming at your eyes.” Today, the tattoo needles are thinner and steadier, so the shaping and feathering are more refined, she adds.

Karen, a client who lives in Unionville, Ont., especially likes the greater range of colours and subtler pigments. Over the past 10 years, she has had her eyebrows tattooed several times, says the 70-year-old, who did not want her last name used.

Despite its label, “permanent makeup” isn't everlasting: The dyes (especially lighter colours) fade over time, so users can need touch-ups after a couple of years. Many women also come in for modifications if they aren't satisfied with how a treatment has turned out, says Tina Davies, an aesthetician who treats five to six micro-pigmentation clients a day in her midtown Toronto studio. Davies' own rosy lips and perfectly arched eyebrows are the result of repeat tattooing.

Shibley-Gauthier says that the nimbler technology makes such upkeep easier than it was in the eighties. It is especially useful, she adds, when micro-pigmentation goes wrong. “A lot of people have come to me crying” over what's been done in other places, she says.

Indeed, the procedure isn't a walk in the park. Even in the most skilled hands, lips and eyes have many nerve endings that are sensitive to repetitive needle pricks. Although pain during treatments if often minimal, the skin can swell, ooze and become scabby as the wounds close and heal.

With lip procedures, kissing, smoking, swimming and grinning are off limits for five days to limit exposure to bacteria while the skin heals. Food must also be chopped into small pieces and liquids must be drunk through a straw.

Despite the drawbacks, fans aren't dissuaded. After she had her eyeliner tattooed chocolate brown, for instance, Suzy Bazzana, a marketer who lives in Richmond Hill, Ont., didn't see anyone socially for a few days. In her case, the anesthetic didn't work as it should have and she could feel the tattoo gun painfully pricking her eyelids. Nonetheless, Bazzana has had her eyelids tattooed three times in recent years – and would do it again in a heartbeat, she says.

“It is very convenient,” the 42-year-old adds. “I like the fact that I always have makeup on, no matter what.”