In the world of tattoos and body art white is not a considerable choice when determining the design of the tattoo. However, recently, white ink tattoos have become a new and attractive trend among tattoo lovers. And we are not talking about tattoos that use a tiny amount of white ink for shading but tattoos that are all or almost all white.
Here we will describe the unique nature and fast-growing popularity of tattoos in full white color, we will show interesting examples of how white ink can look equally awesome on dark and pale skin color, we will tell you about artists that are best in designing them and we will try to convince you to get one before your friends do.
From tattooed mummies dating back to several thousand years BC up to the European colonization of the Pacific countries, tattooing as a form of art in Europe and the rest of the world was a fairly less familiar trend.
Moreover, there is an unclear famous myth whether the arrival of Captain Cook’s freshly tattooed crew from New Zeeland had also brought the term “tattooing” on European land. This was heavily believed to be true during the 20th century, but recently with the Internet boom and improved journalism, it has become a debatable topic.
History books also tell us that the first-ever professional tattoo artist was a German immigrant in the USA called Martin Hildebrandt. This was in 1846, only a few decades before a new professional tattoo artist popped up in Britain. It was not long until the art became appreciated by the general public, but it was only affordable for the wealthiest.
Thus, getting a tattoo at that time was a symbol of wealth and power. In the last few decades, tattooing was boosted by several music genres and fashion trends and has become a common art that almost everyone appreciates. Today we can see all kinds of tattoos made in all kinds of color and texture, from the colorful to our favorite white ink tattoos.
White tattoos have become attractive only these past several years.
Why’s that so? We can’t list exact reasons why, but we have noticed a pattern in the behavior of people that have or are keen on getting a white ink tattoo or already have one. Here are some of them.
As tattoos are becoming a part of modern globalization and culture, it is very normal to see tattoos on people who at first would not seem like the “tattoo loving type”. Therefore tattoos are often present at workplaces where looks play an important role in one’s position. Tattoos in white ink offer the lesser dramatic expression on employers’ faces during interviews or during office hours.
No matter how much we want to end stereotyping and judging people based on looks it is still real and present in many work environments. And until we reach a world without tattoo stereotyping, all-white tattoos are a successful short-term solution leaving space to act on the bigger issue – no one should be judged by their looks.
If done properly tattoos in all white look absolutely stunning on pale and dark skin. With all due respect to all types of other tattoos, but a white tattoo done properly has a specific and unique beauty that is found in rare forms of art. Some of the amazing white colored tattoos we have seen have made many anti-tattoo conservatives scratch their heads with a seed of the thought “hey this isn’t that bad” growing in the back of their head.
Another cool thing you might not know about white ink tattoos is that they are UV light sensitive.
This means that some white skin pigmentation accepts white ink only to a barely visible level and UV light is the only solution to enhancing the exposure. Such effects will make you would look pretty awesome in a club dancing while UV light exposes your tats even stronger. As much as we know, this just might be the perfect conversation starter leading to an unexpected romance.
White tattoos are very subtle in delivering a message that you don’t want to be seen instantly. You can choose to tattoo letters, words, or even a text that is deeply personal to you, something that you don’t want to forget, but at the same time, you don’t want to create a big fuzz out of it.
This suits the more conservative types of people that don’t indulge attention in public very well but still have a personal desire to mark a few words that have a sincere meaning to them.
Because of their specific nature, white color tattoos have a few cons that cannot go unmentioned.
For starters, people keen on getting tats in white must understand that not all skin tone and pigmentation can preserve white ink in its best form. Some skins show a higher tolerance for white ink and manage to expose white ink as much as possible even without the help of UV light.
On the other hand, some people are born with skin that just doesn’t tolerate any tattoo color, including white. Therefore the result is a tattoo that shortly after healing starts to fade and requires constant restoration to maintain the desired first result.
There’s also that weird relationship between the sun and our skin in general that relates to white ink tattoos. The sun gives us Vitamin D, but at the same time, it can cause skin cancer if we use nothing to reduce the negative effects of sunbeams.
That same destructive effect from sun exposure has the worst effect on white ink tattoos in general. Therefore if you are determined on getting one, be prepared to always take good care of it while under the sun.
Summary
Another thing that people should have in mind before even thinking about getting a tattoo in white is that not all tattoo artists are experienced in designing them. This doesn’t mean that tattoo artists will always come forward of their inexperience.
They might even consider this a shot for their personal training since white ink is so rarely requested. So before you even visit tattoo studios to make a choice, consider making a thorough research of who the best white tattoo artist are and check out their references.
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