The History of the Tattoo

Beautiful and permanent, there's always a story behind every tattoo. Humans have been turning their bodies into walking and breathing canvases for thousands of years now. These indelible designs, diverse as they are, have been found in nearly all major cultures. Tattoos have served as status symbols, signs of religious beliefs, parts of cultural rituals, and even as a form of punishment.

The earliest evidence of tattoos goes back 5,200 years on a mummy found in the Italian-Austrian border. Prior to the discovery of the Iceman mummy in 1991, the earliest known tattoos were on female Egyptian mummies which dates back to 2000 B.C.

During the Upper Paleolithic period, tattoos were believed to cure different bodily aches and pains. The Iceman mummy is a perfect example of this as the tiny dots and small crosses found on his body were located on areas commonly associated with strain due to aging.

Tattooing in ancient Egypt, meanwhile, seem to be exclusive to females. The designs were mainly found on the abdomen and thighs of the mummies of the female mummies. Anthropologists suggest that the tattoos were used as amulets to protect and guide the women into childbirth.

Tattoos were also used to signify the social rank of a person in a tribe. Warriors typically had tattoos on their hands whenever they win an enemy's head. In some cultures, tattoos marked the passage of an individual into maturity. In Greece, Rome and China, however, tattoos were used to brand slaves and criminals. The inscriptions on the body of a slave or a criminal typically serves as a way to ridicule and degrade them.

Modern day tattooing is still similar to that of the ancient times. Tattoos are always personal. There are instance, however, when a person would want to remove a certain design from their body. Reasons for removing a tattoo, just like reasons for getting one, also vary.

Much like laser hair removal, laser tattoo removal is the most common way, but it could prove to be expensive and painful. Tattoo removal creams are available as well. There are many sites dedicated to tattoo removal cream reviews. These sites serve as great guides so that people can pick the best tattoo removal cream for themselves.

Using a tattoo removal cream to get rid of a design does not guarantee anything though. The ink used on tattoos are deeply embedded into the skin making them permanent. Probably the best that these tattoo removal creams could do is make the design fade away until it is no longer noticeable.