A Natural

Brenda D.

Period 1

May 11, 2012

A Natural 

My uncle was an experienced tattoo and piercing expert. He passed away a year and a half ago at the age of 35 on October 2, 2010. He owned his own shop in Los Angeles. He was a father of four, his children are under 13 years of age. His wife also worked with him in his shop, where she also did the same profession. Tattooing has been a Eurasian practice at least since Neolithic times, dating from the fourth to fifth millennium BC. Tattoos have also been used for identification in other ways. My uncle has given facial tattoos to both men and women. “When used as a form of cosmetics, tattooing includes permanent makeup and hiding or neutralizing skin discolorations. Permanent Makeup is the use of tattoos to enhance eyebrows, lips (liner and/or lipstick), eyes (liner), and even moles, usually with natural colors, as the designs are intended to resemble makeup” (wikipedia.org). This quote reflects that many people have gone to the shop to get similar designs in order to be satisfied with how they look. Many times, my uncle has had teenage customers in line to get pierced. “Some find body jewelry particularly attractive in its own right. Others use piercings’…to make a statement about themselves and their attitude towards society’s conservative rules, or to indicate membership in a particular group.” (expert.mnsi.net). This quote describes how teenagers will do what they can in order to fit in, look cool, or express themselves.

Works Cited 

“Gang Tattoos.” 2012. The History Channel website. Apr 12 2012, 2:02 http://www.history.com/videos/gang-tattoos.

“Expedition Africa: Explorer Body Art.” 2012. The History Channel website. Apr 12 2012, 1:58 http://www.history.com/videos/expedition-africa-explorer-body-art.