There has been a huge increase in popularity of hair tattoo in recent years. They are becoming more and more common during the summer months, but the use is not just for aesthetics – some people tattoo their hair with messages or emblems to show their pride, identify themselves as an individual, or even purchase it as memorabilia. The most impactful reason is to make them stand out from Justin Bieber-types who are too concerned about appearances to do anything else interesting with their bodies. Hair tattoos are also becoming increasingly hyped, as evidenced by an influx of hair tattoos on platforms like Instagram and Tumblr.
I wanted to go out to the field and see for myself what kind of people really tattoo their hair. The first thing I noticed was that women are much more likely to have hair tattoos than men, even though both genders exhibit them. It is also much more common to see ones that are nearly invisible by straightening out the hair, rather than performing actual tats with the length of the actual hairstyle. People who have made it known will often show off by straightening their locks or curling them up or both.
The most common of hair tattoos is of the heart on top of the head. It has become popular enough to be considered cliché, but it is certainly an effective way to tell people you love them. The tattoo artist said that this is not a permanent heart – if the relationship ends, it will still be possible to remove it without any negative repercussions.
Another common one I saw was a drawing of the state of Texas, in addition to having “Texas” written in script along with a declaration in English and Japanese: “Don’t mess with me. I’m from Texas.” I assume this is a reference to the fact that the state is so large and difficult to navigate that people often have trouble telling how far they have gone.
The third common one was a cross on the head, but this one was a recent addition rather than something that had been there for a while. I asked the artist what brought about the change. He said that last year, he had tattooed everyone he saw with an upside-down cross on their hair. He said it was popular with Satanists, but not many people actually wanted it done as such (he estimated 10% would actually do such a thing). He said that last year, there were far more of them than there are now.
I asked him if any of them were actually real crosses on people’s heads, and he said that most were not. Many people feel that the upside-down cross is more representative of Satanists, and thus more offensive than a cross on its right side. However, some use the upside-down cross in a different way: instead of representing Satan, they think this represent their belief in God and what they believe the Christian religion to be.
Why is it so important for people to show their pride by having a tattoo? It is typically used in place of signs or symbols with which you might be identified by others.
