Armband Tattoos

Armband tattoos have been around for ages and were very popular among different cultures. Current use of the armband tattoos seems to have started gaining popularity sometime in the late seventies or early eighties and has continued on through to today when the armband tattoos are catching on rapidly and becoming a very popular form of tattoo expression. Unlike the lower back tattoos or the chest tattoos, the armband tattoos are generally very small and relatively easy for even the most squeamish person to handle. For this reason, they make exceptional choices for your first tattoo.

Most of tattoo artists draw the armband tattoos design with scrolls, Celtic knots or other smaller designs that can be latticed and drawn into an actual tattoo chain that can go around the arm without losing its shape as the arms grow or shrink around them. The armband tattoos have a long history throughout Asian cultures where they represented the warrior class. The Japanese armband tattoos are an excellent example of this. Additionally, many of the Scottish warriors of old wore similar celtic tattoos, those these were generally more decorative and less intricate than the Japanese armband tattoos design. One relatively uncommon (though not unheard of) use for the armband tattoos is to “frame” other tattoos. Pictures and smaller tattoos are strategically placed in between two of the armband tattoos forming something similar to a tattoo frame around the tattooed picture in the middle.

Being placed on the upper arms that are constantly exposed to the weather, to the elements and to countless repetitious motions throughout the day, the armband tattoos are generally much easier and much less painful than some tattoos in other, more sensitive areas of the body so they do make an excellent choice for your first tattoo. They may seem to be overly sore for the first few hours after you get them but generally what little pain your new tattoo may cause will go away very quickly. When you do get tattoos in more sensitive regions, the pain can last a little longer and that is one reason those tattoos’ designs are not armband tattoos recommended as a choice for a first tattoo.

One thing to keep in mind about many of the armband tattoos is that they are generally very complex so they can be a little difficult to draw. Relatively simple tattoos like the cross tattoos are comparatively easy to draw and do not take so much time but the majority of armband tattoos are like the dragonfly tattoos that are small and often painfully intricate. While it is important not to move during the application of any of these tattoo designs, it can be exceptionally costly when doing the intricate lattice work on an armband tattoo so it helps to be a little relaxed before you go in to get inked.