Henna Tattoos – The Perfect Temporary Tattoo Design!
April 12, 2009
The allure of a tattoo has spanned almost all cultures of any social and economic status. The two major stumbling blocks with some who want a tattoo is the permanence of the design and the pain caused by the tattoo gun when a tattoo is carved into your body. A henna tattoo design is the perfect solution to both hesitations and provides you with a very attractive temporary tattoo.
The Eastern World has known about the benefits and uses of the henna plant for a long time. Today, most of those uses are for dying your hair and tattoos, though it is a valuable ingredient for making perfumes.
Henna use for body decoration dates back to Ancient Egypt over 5000 years ago and was primarily used to decorate the hands and feet to attract prosperity, good health and happiness. Those ancient Egyptians also used henna to color their hair and cure some ailments of the time, like headaches.
Traditionally, henna decorations have normally been a common female custom that was passed silently down from mothers to daughters for generations – much like some traditions are still passed down the family tree, keeping you guys in the dark and puzzled forever. Just accept it! You can’t win!
Henna decorations on women have been closely linked to several ancient ceremonies and celebrations, like religious rites, festivals or weddings. This practice was common on women from all social plateaus, from housewives to royalty.
Henna tattoos today are very popular among women and teenagers or young adults. They do not require the painful needle gun procedure or require the scabby healing time. They are not permanent and will fade away in several weeks, eliminating the need to have it surgically removed if your design choice loses it’s appeal later.
Think about having your current love interest’s name permanently tattooed on your shoulder, chest or breast and then breaking up and finding another love of your life. That mistake will make your life miserable forever. Trust me! I speak from experience.
Henna tattoos are applied painlessly. First a design transfer is applied to your skin on top of a light oil base to make a clear template to work from. A henna paste is applied to the design with a cone and, after air-drying until it falls off the skin, you have a beautiful brown tattoo. Depending on the makeup of your skin, the tattoo could start out in the orange shades, but will darken naturally over the next few days.
It is important not to pick the henna paste off early. If some falls off, don’t panic. All that means is those pieces are dry and no longer useful to the tattoo. Keep your tattoo dry for at least 12 hours or the color will stop developing. Don’t expose it to the sun during those 12 hours either. If you have to go outside, wear a shirt that covers it up.
Also avoid swimming pools because the chlorinated water will stop the color development and maybe change the color to something ugly. In the shower or bath tub, do not scrub the tattoo, but wash it gently. Don’t rub your wet skin with the towel, either. Pat it dry.
One very valuable benefit of a henna tattoo is that, in a few weeks, the original tattoo will fade away and you can either replace it or choose another name wrapped around a heart. Your new lover will never know the difference.
What Do Flower Tattoos Mean?
April 12, 2009
Pretty girls and flower tattoos just seem to go together, but flowers are more than decorations on beautiful bodies. Flowers are the perfect picture of nature and have been symbolically linked to several life cycles, like birth, life and death. Different cultures look at flower symbols and tattoos as representations of different beliefs.
The flower, in many cultures, is viewed as definitely feminine, because of it’s cup shape and non-aggressive method of growing and blooming in beautiful colors. Some flowers have powerful spiritual meanings in certain cultures, particularly in the West and East. The influence of flowers is so strong that an entire subliminal language has become common knowledge from the beliefs about certain blossoms and colors.
Flowers have been used to convey subtle meanings probably decades before the Victorian period. Evidence of this can be seen in art created in medieval times and during the Renaissance. Saints were often painted with flowers that represented their moral virtues. In Christian beliefs, for example, the white rose is believed to represent virginity or chastity.
When you are choosing your own flower tattoo design, you might want to check out some meanings before you get it applied to your body. The specific flower has particular meanings or importance, but so do the individual colors. Red, for example, is often considered by many to indicate passion, while pink might symbolize immaturity or a lesser level of passion.
While most flowers have one or two meanings associated with them, the beautiful rose has a very long list of symbolic meanings in the West.
Getting a rose tattoo with your love’s name on it might tell the world that you felt true love for that person if you used a red rose, while a pink rose could symbolize youthful energy, a love of life or desire. On the other hand, tattooing a yellow rose on your body could indicate just friendship, jealousy, infidelity or platonic love.
In the East, the mysterious lotus flower is just as versatile, and, in the language of flowers, purity, chastity, and eloquence are common meanings. Others include beauty, evolution, prosperity, creativity, birth, death and renewal. Hefty load of meanings for such a simple, but gorgeous flower.
You might not believe or even consider the secret language of flowers and their colors when you want a flower tattoo. That might be a mistake.
Perhaps you favorite color is yellow and you want a yellow rose to broadcast your new love. A yellow tulip would announce that you believe your love to be hopeless. Like daffodils? Their yellow color indicates uncertainty or unrequited love.
Common carnations are very popular in flower bouquets and can be found in tattoos. They, like the rose, have a different meaning for each color. Pink says that you have a female’s love and white shows your disdain for the person you’re involved with.
Purple carnations indicate your whimsical or changeable nature, including announcing that you can be fickle. Yellow, with this flower, advertises your disappointment, rejection or disdain. White also sends a message of disdain.
Those striped carnations are very attractive, but the language of flowers says they mean refusal.
While you might not pay attention to the meanings behind simple flowers and their individual colors, it is a good possibility is that your love’s mother or grandmother are very well-versed in the language of flowers and will be giving the object of your well-meaning tattoo an earful all the time. Invisible stress you don’t need.
I’ll bet you thought flowers were simple!
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