David Beckham's got one, Zayn Malik's got one... are head tattoos might be becoming, well, normal?
Until recently, getting a tattoo anywhere from the shoulders up always felt pretty extreme, and tattoos on the neck, face and head have traditionally been the preserve of the kinda people you wouldn’t wanna bump into in a dark alley late at night.
But recently – as in, this week – the perception that head tattoos are only for social outcasts suffered a major blow when national heartthrob David Beckham was spotted sporting a tatt of the soalr system on his well-groomed skull.
And Becks isn’t the only mainstream star helping to rehabilitate head tattoos.
Just days before DB’s head tattoo hit headlines, Zayn Malik also debuted a huge new floral head piece on his, er, headpiece when out and about in New York. A sure sign that head tattoos are about to go mainstream.
This tattoo trend absolutely isn’t just for the famous (or men for that matter) though.
Finn Guthrie, a tattoo artist based at Made You Look in Maidstone, told us: “I’ve been involved in the tattoo industry for about four years now, and I’ve seen loads of people with head tattoos.
“Until recently they were mainly people who work in the industry like tattoo artists or body piercers, but recently I’ve noticed a slight increase in members of the general public asking for head tattoos too.”
Finn puts this increase down to people looking for ways to “push the boundaries” as tattoos become more mainstream in general, which makes total sense to us.
Grace Hunt, a 24-year-old community moderator living in London, got a tattoo on her head (by Little Jay) in October last year.
Talking about her reasoning behind it, she told us: “It was completely an aesthetic decision. I’ve been shaving my head for like seven years now and I liked the idea of this beautiful floral piece contrasted with what is considered a harsh or typically masculine hairstyle for a woman.”
This was far from Grace’s first tattoo – she reckons she has about 67, but has sort of loss count – and told us that the only negative reaction came from her parents (which is pretty unsurprising really), adding: “Most people are just like, ‘Did it hurt?’”
And when you think about it, getting a tattoo on your head’s actually a pretty safe options in some ways; if you decide you don’t like it or want to cover it up for an event, all you need to do is grow your hair or wear a hat.
Thinking of getting a head tattoo yourself? Grace had the following words of wisdom: “I’d just say don’t get a head tattoo if you don’t KNOW you can sit it because really hurts a lot!”
She added: “And that not all tattooers will tattoo someone’s head, so if your tattooer says no then respect that they are an artist who has a choice.”
Meanwhile, tattooer Finn was more cautionary, telling us: “I think people should abstain from getting a head tattoo unless you are in a place where you don’t have much other space left on your body.”
He added: “Unless you are working in a secure position where your tattoo’s won’t get you fired or offend any people you work with or you work within the body modification industry, I would advise against the general public from getting head tattoos.”
