Skin ink is trending. But that doesn't mean it's a trend
"This Style creates tattoos that are really high
contrast and super simple.” says Adamson. It can lack some of the intricacy found
in other styles but many people are down to the striking black/white look of
the designs.
The US Army bans anything on the neck, or below
the knee or elbow. Adopt a similar rule – if regular work clothes cover it,
then feel free to decorate that bit of skin. Just know that a full sleeve means
you’ll have to spend hot summers with your cuffs buttoned.
Alongside
beards and beer that tastes like mulch, tattoos have been inescapable for the
last half-decade. The hipsterisation of fringe interests means that body
modification – once reserved for sailors and bikers – no longer marks you as a
ne’er-do-well.
Since David Beckham had son Brooklyn’s name scrawled on his
lower back, tattoos have gone mainstream – even BBC veteran David Dimbleby went
under the needle in 2013, opting for a scorpion on his right shoulder.
Frankly, tattoos are trending. They've appeared on
celebrities, in the Daily Mail sidebar of shame, in every fashion editorial. “But
you shouldn’t approach it like a trend, “says Naomi Reed, from London’s Firth
Street Tattoo. “You can’t take it off.”
An ill-thought-through man bun only means some Facebook
photos you’d rather not revisit. It’s tougher to ignore a novelty mustache
indelibly etched on your index finger.
It’s estimated that a fifth of Brits have a tattoo. Among
the under-30s, that figure rises to one in three. But just because society approves,
that doesn’t mean you will in two decades. Pick wrong and you have to live with
something you hate until you die. Or you have it lasered off. Better to choose
wisely and enjoy your ink forever by following these steps to getting inked. No regrets.
The Best Tattoos For Men
Remember those baggy jeans with the hammer loop on the side
that you thought were the pinnacle of cool when you were 14? Well, imagine if you
still had to wear them now. Worse still, imagine if you had to wear them forever.
Everywhere. Summer weddings, dates, job interviews.
This hypothetical scenario should serve as a metaphor as to why it’s perhaps not the wisest move to get a tattoo just because it’s popular
at the time. Those flames on your wrists might have been cool in 2001 (debatable though), in the present day, however, not so much.
With that in mind, here are some best tattoos for men: styles
that have either been around for thousands of years and have never fallen from favor,
or newer trends less likely to age. Just remember to engage your brain when
deciding and you should be okay.
Stick And Poke
Once confined to prisons, the new craze for stick and poke tattooing involves using a needle to bore ink into the skin by hand as opposed
to using a tattoo gun. Results can be impressive when performed by a professional,
but the danger of this trend comes from people opting to go it alone.
"DIY tattoos have become a craze,” says Matt Adamson, a
renowned tattoo artist from Kings Avenue Tattoo in New York. "But they can be dangerous if you don’t know what you're doing."
Japanese
Despite modern perceptions of tattoos in Japanese society,
which often see them linked to organized crime, the tradition for body modification
is perhaps more deep-rooted here than perhaps anywhere else, with elaborate
designs dating back to around 10,500 B.C.
“Japanese-style tattoos are something that people study for
their entire lives,” says Adamson. “Composition and balance are key to this
style. It outlived the nineties era of dolphin tattoos, zigzag tribal, and it will
be there when others fall out too.”
Traditional
It took the western world slightly longer than everywhere
else to adopt the tattooed life, but once sailors started getting inked, the rest of mankind wasn’t too far behind. The style of scrawl favored at sea is
what we now refer to as ‘traditional’. It’s highly popular, it looks great and
its classic design means it’ll stay that way for longer.
"It may not be a new trend but it’s one that’s always going
to stand the test of time,” says Adamson. “Simple, bold, clean designs and techniques
make these tattoos stay that way forever."
Single Needle/Dotwork
In stark contrast to the simple designs and thick lines of
traditional-style tattoos, single needle/dot-work refers to when artists create
highly-detailed, intricate pieces, using particular techniques. “The defining characteristics are pencil fine lines and airbrush-like shading using dots,” says Adamson. “This creates depth and results in a very delicate tattoo style."
More than a fleeting fad, dot-work is a style that has been
steadily growing in popularity and is now a respected medium among artists. If
you’re struggling to alight on a style for your first tattoo, this could be a good place to start.
Blackwork
Blackwork is exactly what it sounds like –tattooing where large sections of the work are filled entirely with black ink, creating a bold
appearance where the blank space is doing just as much work as the ink in terms
of a finished look.
7 Tips For Getting The Best Tattoo Find The Right Tattooer
A tattoo artist is precisely that. And as you wouldn’t ask a conceptual sculptor to paint you a water color, you shouldn’t expect someone that
specializes I sailor tattoos to nail a photorealist portrait of your cat. If
you’re not sure what you want, let your taste dictate your choice.
“We ask people to boring in things they’re into that aren’t
tattoos,” says Reed. “It can be art, ceramics, design. It helps us get an eye
on whether you’re more graphic, or after something intricate. We then can get a
feel for which tattooer works in that way.”
Treat your first meet with them as a first date, using get
to know you questions to establish common ground. “If you’re doing a big piece
of work you’ll spend a lot of time with that tattooer,” says Reed. “A full
sleeve could be 30 hour. It needs to be a pleasant experience for everyone, and
you need to be able to communicate.” Halfway through a back piece is no time to
discover how much your opinions on politics differ.
Listen To Your Tattooer
Odds are that the person with more ink then skin knows more
than you about whether your design will work. “The body is something which is not
fixed. It’s not like paper,” says Reed. “Things shift and move with the ageing
process. And while everybody is different there are basic guidelines of what
works and what’s going to look good long term, so listen to the tattooer about
what's workable.”
Time’s effect on your skin is echoed in what’s imprinted in
it. Squeeze too much detail into too small a space and the years will have the
same effect on its intricacy as rain on an oil painting. “Colour portraits, realism
– they look incredible when they’re first done. Five years later they’re like
colorful mush,” says Reed. Black outlines add longevity. “It holds up better
than anything else. Having that structure means even as it softens, the design
is still readable and understandable.”
Black outlines add longevity. “It holds up better than
anything else. Having that structure means even as it softens, the design is still
readable and understandable.”
Don't Be Obvious
Of course, ‘readable’ doesn’t have to mean your spouse’s
name in Gothic capitals. “Meaning is an important starting point, but it has to
look good,” says Reed. “The aesthetic is the most important thing if you want
to be happy long term. It can be packed with meaning, but if it looks rubbish? Well."
Not that you should avoid resonance. But sometimes, it’s
best to be subtle. “You might not want a name, but you can get an experience that
you share together, a flower they love,” says Reed. “It looks good, it has a
meaning, but you’re not shouting about what it is.” Your tattoo becomes a
personal marker that you can choose whether or not to explain. And it’s always
nice to have a secret.
Be Realistic
You might be open-minded, but even in a smart-casual office,
most job interviewers still bowlk at ‘Love/Hate’ knuckle tattoos. “Don’t get a
tattoo because you think it’s hilarious,” says Reed. “Finger tattoos, you can’t
hide. Some employers won’t employ you, and it’s not worth limiting your work
options over a joke.”
Stop Worrying
Tattoos hurt. But probably not as much as you think. “It’s very
uncomfortable, rather than painful,” says Reed. A tattoo machine uses a small
needle to punch ink into the deeper layer of skin (called the dermis), which contains
nerves and blood vessels. But the damage is no worse than a graze. “Some areas
are more painful than others."
Look After it Properly
Timing Is Everything
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