For many thousands of years, people around the world have used body art for religious meaning or personal expression, and this goes right up to the modern day. Tattoos are a popular means of body expression, and body art takes all kinds of forms. Some people around the world are known for their huge collections of tattoos from head to toe, and some culture around the world use tattoos in particular ways. Tribal warriors sometimes use tattoos to mark themselves, and the members of the Japanese Yakuza are known for their chest and arm tattoos. Group tattoos can be fun, when a group of friends all get matching tattoos to celebrate an event or idea. Meanwhile, piercings are another popular form of body art. It’s typical for the ears to get pierced for earrings, and cartilage piercing is the norm. But there is more than cartilage piercing, and some people may have piercings all over their bodies. If someone today wants a tattoo, a cartilage piercing, or other body art forms, what might they consider?

Pierce It

Piercings are a mainstream form of body modification, and most women and some men of all classes and taste get their ears pierced for earrings. Everyone from modern royalty to the common folk get their ears pierced, and this means cartilage piercing. But some piercing customers are feeling a little more creative. It’s not uncommon for someone to get other body parts pierced too, anything from their eyebrows to their navel (popular among women) and even the tongue or genitalia (men and women). Piercings in these unusual body parts are often a part of countercultures such as punk, but these piercings can also be done simply as personal expression and not necessarily rebellion. It depends on the person, in short. Some people pierce their own ears, while others might visit piercing shops to get this professionally done, especially for body parts that might get hurt if the piercing is done wrong. As of 2015, for example, around 14% of Americans reported having a piercing somewhere on their body aside from their earlobes, and 33% of women with piercings reported having a pierced navel.

A Tattoo

Tattoos are another common form of personal expression, from “sleeves” of tattoos to a Bible passage marked on someone’s back or thigh to a single image on the chest. Tattoos can be put nearly anywhere on the body and take a number of forms, and there are plenty of tattoo parlors across the United States. A tattoo parlor is a professional place, more so than some skeptics may realize, and a tattoo parlor will sterilize all of their tools between customers. An autoclave, for example, is a device that uses heated, pressurized steam to sanitize any item placed inside it, and not only do hospitals use them (for surgical equipment), but tattoo parlors do, too. Tattoo needles come into contact with blood and other tissues during use, so of course they should be, and usually are, sanitized properly.

Who has tattoo? Statistics are kept to find out how many Americans have tattoos, and how they treat them. For example, tattoo owners tend to skew younger, and a 2015 Harris Poll showed that 47% of Millennials nd 36% of Gen Xers have at least one. Overall, around 14% of all Americans of all ages have at least one tattoo, and nearly 5% of the American population has covered an older tattoo with a newer one. Sometimes, a person may no longer like the tattoo that they have and choose to cover it with a different one, or they may even opt for laser tattoo removal if so desired.

Tattoos sting as a person receives them, due to the use of ink-dispensing needles at the parlor. But those who fear intense pain from tattoo artistry really have nothing to be afraid about. The same can be said for piercings. In fact, it has been suggested that a person terrified of pain may psyche themselves into feeling more pain than they should, and this can cause migraines. A tattoo or piercing customer can rest assured that they are being treated with professional hands, and they will soon get the body art that they want.