But then there were some paparazzi pics of her that definitely showed off her knuckles, and this time it looks more like the gal has indeed gone and done the deed.

But the celebrity tattoo bonehead move to beat them all came when boxing champ Floyd Mayweather tweeted pics of his 13 year old son’s new tattoos, which are not small or insignificant.

Of course, part of me is not exactly pleased that Mayweather has bad enough judgment to allow someone like 50cent to “babysit” his son. Yes, I have heard the word –they are good friends and both have sons and have been seen hanging together a lot lately. Doesn’t change the fact the kid is just 13. In fact, without the father to give permission, whoever did the tattoo should not have done it.

But I guess if you are a tattoo artist and 50Cent walks into your place wanting a bunch of tattoos for his friends son, who am I to deny that bit of glory?  With any luck, the things will fade in a week or two. But they look pretty permanent in the pics I have seen.

And finally, Dallas Bradan has to have gotten one of the silliest tattoos for any celebrity tattoo I have seen for a while. Dallas is the pitcher for the Oakland As baseball team. He had recently done a commercial shoot with famed baseball pitcher Rollie Fingers and must have been really impressed by the guy. Not long after the shoot, there he was showing off his latest tattoo – of Rollie riding a dolphin over a rainbow. Not sure what the significance of the dolphin and rainbow are – but aren’t they cute?

So it may only be January but I think this may be the biggest year yet for a new batch of weird and wild celebrity tattoos. I guess only time will tell!

Tattoos have had a long and rich history in several ancient cultures and to them, the tattoos that one sported actually meant something. It usually identified them as part of a group or clan, marked their social status, it showed respect and devotion to their gods and so on. Although most of that ancient symbolism is now lost in our modern world, a few strong ideologies still remain, and angels are one of them.

The concept of Guardian Angels has long been a part of our culture. They are meant to protect their human ward during times of crisis. These guardian angel tattoos are often depicted as human like figures with wings and holding swords. Today, people normally wear these tattoos as a symbol of their love for their children. Another type of angel tattoo in use today is that of cherubs. Cherubs are supposed to be messengers of love. Many today wear these together with their loved one’s names.

The fallen angel tattoo is perhaps the most popular among angel tattoos. It is often depicted as a beautiful angel with a bloody sword or torn and injured wings. Artists usually use heavier, darker inks for these designs.

On a woman, an angel tattoo usually is representative of her search for purity within her soul. It also represents her patience and divinity. The tattoo also shows that the wearer believes that confidence in one’s own ability is an essential part of beauty. Whereas on men, they are representative of their masculinity and their fondness of women! It also symbolizes their love and respect for an angelic woman in their life. These associations in our modern world however, are mere generalizations and don’t necessarily mean the same for everyone. After all, it is your tattoo, I guess it can mean what you want it to mean!

As they say, every coin does have two faces and so does this one. So, before you get sucked into the idea, there are some things you probably ought to know! The most important question you should be asking is ‘what makes something glow in the dark?’

By design, all things that glow in the dark contain phosphors. Phosphor is a substance that is energized by light that is visible and radiates that light when in the dark. Although these inks are being used in tattooing (with inks made available from overseas), none of these ‘glowing’ inks have been approved by the FDA (the Food and Drug Administration); and there is a reason why they haven’t been approved!

One of the main reasons these inks haven’t been approved is because they are one of the known cancer causing substances and as you can plainly infer, are detrimental to health. In order to make these phosphors retain more energy (and therefore more visible in the dark), a certain type of radioactive substance is added. You would see this commonly in the manufacturing of high quality watches.

There is another type of tattoo that also glows. These tattoos don’t glow in the dark but seem to glow under black (also known as ultraviolet) light and are made from florescent material. Until very recently UV reactive inks were also made from phosphors. However, there are a lot of commonly used materials that glow under black light.

Black light emits extremely energetic ultraviolet light that is invisible in the light spectrum (and hence the name “black light.”) Fluorescent substances absorb this black light and re-emit it almost immediately. This re-emitted light has a longer wavelength (as some of the energy is lost in the absorption process) and thus seems to glow.

This is the newest technique in body art so far. Although black light inks have been approved for use, it is important to remember that the original idea still remains unapproved by medical authority. There have been numerous accounts of bad skin reaction to these inks that most reputed tattoo parlors don’t offer these types of tattoos.

Today, the Sun as a tattoo design is an indication of its deep symbolic nature in almost every culture around the world. One of the common symbols of the Sun is a circle with curvy lines stemming from the perimeter denoting the sun’s rays. Sometimes these designs come with a dot in the centre of the circle which is representative of the blending of the male and female forces.

Usually the Sun is perceived as a masculine symbol and the moon and the earth its feminine counterparts. Hence it is common for the Sun to be paired with the earth or the moon. For years people believed that the Sun was the centre of the universe and it came to be a symbol of both divine and royal powers. This idea was adopted by the ancient secular as well as religious authorities.

Almost every major ancient culture has a myth about creation. It speaks of how the Sun came into being and these stories are often accompanied by the apocalyptic myths that prophesy the end of the world. They explain that the end will come when the Sun is destroyed (quite true if you ask me, I don’t see how mankind can go on living on earth if there were no Sun!) The rising and the setting of the sun, the cyclic light and darkness is also representative of life itself in most ancient cultures. The idea of regeneration or reincarnation takes root from these beliefs.

The Sun is also symbolic of passion, courage and eternally renewed youth; vitality, fertility, enlightenment and knowledge. The different ancient cultures in our history denoted the Sun in different ways. A winged Serpent (like a dragon), an eagle with a serpent, an eagle, a falcon (which also represented the Egyptian god Horus), a phoenix, a swan, a ram, a cock, a bull and a lion are all various representations of the Sun. Some cultures even used such symbols as a rose or a rosette, a lotus, a sunflower, a chrysanthemum (a perennial garden plant) and the heart symbol to depict the Sun.

It is important for you to discuss any allergies that you have or any medication that you are taking with your tattoo artist prior to beginning the procedure. Tattooing involves inserting foreign particles into your body and it is better to know what reactions are normal and what aren’t.

The first step to getting a tattoo is of course preparing that part of your body for a tattoo. If shaving is necessary, just make sure that the artist uses a fresh disposable razor for sanitary purposes. After that the area is cleaned further by rubbing alcohol on the skin.

Now that the area is cleaned, it is now ready for the design. The tattoo artist may either outline the design free hand or they may also use a thermal paper to trace the design on your skin. Just make sure that all the needles and ink tubes used are opened from their sterile packaging in front of you – again, for sanitation.

Before the artist starts injecting the pigments into your skin, they will first apply an ointment (something like Vaseline jelly) that will aid in the easy movement of the needle along your skin.

After the design’s outline is drawn on the skin, the artist will prepare to color or shade the design. A different needle (called the magnum) maybe used at this point as it is more suited for coloring.

Once the tattoo is completed, the artist will apply an ointment that prevents air borne bacteria from getting into the open wound and will cover the area with a bandage and that’s it! Now all you have to do is take good care of the tattooed area and follow the after care instructions correctly and enjoy your new tattoo!

Tattoo Inks are not to be mistaken with other types of inks that are used in the world today. The inks that are specifically made for the purposes of coloring a tattoo are basically made of two components – Carriers and Pigments.

Anything that is ground to fine particles to provide color is called a pigment. Most pigments are made from matter such as vegetable dyes, minerals, metallic salts and plastics. The liquids used to deliver these pigments under the skin are called Carriers. Good carriers are those that distribute the pigment equally without causing them to clump together. In addition they also offer a little disinfection to the tattoo wounds.

The particles commonly used to give color to the pigments are Calcium Copper Silicate (blue), Curcuma (yellow), Carbon (black), Zinc Oxide (white), Iron Oxide (red) and Chromium Oxide (green.) Some of the commonly used carriers are made of Purified water, Listerine, Vodka, Witch Hazel, Propylene Glycol and Glycerine.

Although some of these pigments and carriers are said to be completely safe, the absolute truth is that there are still certain risks associated with them. Some of these side effects include allergic reactions, reaction due to exposure to sunlight (also known as phototoxic reactions) and scarring. The plastic based pigments in particular have been said to cause reactions. Though some are safe most of them are either radioactive or toxic.

The risk frequently associated with alcohol being used as a disinfectant is that it allows more chemicals to get into the blood stream when compared to other inks. Alcohol in fact works together with carcinogens, mutagens and teratogens, thus making them more harmful than they are by themselves. When these substances are present in the ink, alcohol works with them thus increasing the chances of disease or mutation both to the part where the tattoo is located as well as other parts of the body.

Don’t fret! There are still ways you can get a tattoo without risking your health. Several medical-grade chemicals used in tattoos are safe as they are specifically made for medical uses. It is important however that your tattoo artist knows proper sterilization techniques.