Here’s where the story fell apart… nowhere were we told whether she actually freaked there and then or only did a post-dad-freaking-out freak. Do you see what I mean? Did she only actually begin to panic and think perhaps she had made a terrible mistake when she saw her father’s reaction? We were told her father reacted rather volubly, after all.

The real problem is that she told one story and the artist told another. Tattoo artist Rouslan Toumaniantz denied she fell asleep. “She was awake the whole time, I don’t use hypnosis or drugs. She agreed to it. The problems started when her father and his friend saw the tattoos”.

The police investigated the matter and decided there was nothing to prosecute the artist for. The artist has decided that from here on in, he will be asking people to sign a consent form before being inked, which is not a bad idea, all things considered.. Said teenager, who is actually 18 and a housewife, we were told, then decided to sue the artist for the removal fees and all the while we were expected to believe she slept through the tattoo being inked onto her face? Errr. Nah. It took her a week, but she finally came clean. It was her dad that saw stars, after all…

The Rock’s first tattoo, the bull head tattoo on his right arm represents zodiac sign, Taurus. The tattoo is of a Longhorn steer and is a simple outline where the eyes of the bull are red. The tattooing on his left arm and shoulder, however, is another story altogether. Literally.

The Rock’s large tattoo is a traditional Samoan tattoo, done by an artist in Hawaii. It incorporates traditional tribal patterns and symbols representing Johnson’s life history, his family and their spirit guides. This extensive half sleeve wraps all the way around the upper arm, over the shoulder and onto the chest. It was at a later stage that he had the tattoo design extended forward, adding a warrior visage over his heart.
Traditionally, Samoan tattooing is done by an artist attended by several assistants who handle the tools, hold the person down and stretch the skin taut. The tools were a bone-tipped rake and a striking stick. The rake would be dipped in ink, placed over the skin then struck with the other tool to puncture the skin.

Johnson has never said whether his tattoo was done using these traditional tools, but he spoke in a Playboy interview of the three sessions and sixty hours it took to execute the freestyle tattoo. No stencils or prior skin markings were used, the artist created this image totally freehand. He did, however, take the time to explain the tattoo in his own words in another interview and these are reproduced below:

In Dwayne Johnson’s own words:

”A) These are coconut leaves, or niu, which denote a Samoan chief-warrior.
B) This is the sun which brings good fortune.
C) This isa/ga fa’atasi (three people in one). That’s me with my arms open. As it continues on my chest, it connects to my o lo’u to’a/ua (my wife, Dany) and my o lo’u afafine (my daughter, Simone Alexandra).
D) These descending swirls represent past, present and future, with the future becoming ever bigger. The pattern continues under my arm, where its meaning is written: “It changes in the place where it is found to be gone.”
E) These two eyes, called o mata e lua, represent my ancestors watching over my path.
F) This is the Great Eye, It’s an intimidating symbol that allows its user to possess the spirit of his enemy. The eye is used to distract the enemy in a confrontation.
G) This broken face, marked by shark teeth—a symbol of strength—is my spirit protector and a symbol of my struggle.
H) This is the priest and spiritual guide, who raises a warrior to enlightenment and supernatural power under the eyes of the warrior’s ancestors.
I ) These are stones of achievement and abundance. They’re the foundation of my life and symbols of my dedication. They bring the right to stand and speak with honor as a Tula Fale—a high talking chief—and they maintain mana, or supernatural power.
J) This is a tortoise shell, to deflect evil spirits. Warriors used shells as shields.”

As meaningful tattoos go, I cannot think of a single one to top this. Not at the moment, anyway.

Some of the work done was truly gut-churning in its poignancy. There was the young man who has a gravestone-style memoriam announcement inked onto his upper arm, the myriads of people who had his initials or the words ‘King of Pop’ or his sparkly gloves or black shod feet up on points marked on their bodies. One young woman had his ‘Thriller’ eyes put on her hip while another had a full facial of him as that gorgeous young man he was before all the plastic surgery (ooops, skin condition, sorry) kicked in.

Not all the work done was tasteful by any means. I am not sure when these two got their tattoos, and I am not entirely certain the timing in any way changes the tastelessness of them. I will only mention two, although there are many more. These ones stood out for me. One was a full facial of the now deceased Michael Jackson on her right buttock cheek. Why?! The other was a grotesque depiction of a visibly startled young Macaulay Caulkin on a rather smug looking MJ’s lap… and all this on a man’s calf. Forget ‘why?!’. It’s pure vile.

A huge and beautifully ornate Maori tribal tattoo swirls and contours his left arm like a half sleeve. It is said to symbolise the twists and turns of fate and how his life has spiralled and developed. Robbie is said to have taken great care to ensure it is authentic.

A pair of swallows stand guard over his belly button. These are apparently an old school design but have also some naval (pun intended) significance. Sailors at sea know they are near land, and therefore safe, when they see swallows. These birds also mate for life and are a symbol of love and loyalty.
All You Need Is Love, a Beatles song adorns his lower back as a musical bar, complete with notations and lyrics. Across his upper chest are emblazoned the French words meaning: each to his own.

Under his right arm nestles the tattoo that Robbie calls the Christian. It show Jesus on a cross, with Mary and angels in attendance. Meanwhile, on the nape of his neck, Robbie has an eye of Horus. This is the ancient Egyptian falcon god, the son of Isis and Osiris and the all-seeing eye which protects its followers from malignant spirits.

On his right shoulder, Robbie has an image of a powerful lion’s face. Under it are the words: Born to be mild, and above it are the words: Elvis, grant me serenity…

Robbie has several other tattoos, from the crest of a town he lived in to the l.o.v.e on his knuckles and the initials of his grandmother or the name of his grandfather and the numerical representation of his best friend’s name. Not least are the testament of his love for his mother with the word ‘Mother’ down one arm and ‘I love u’ down the other. Lovely.

There may be more, but according to the confirmed list so far, P!nk’s tattoos, from top down, read something like this:

A tribal musical note behind her left ear
A bar code reading “1 9879-11299-1 3″ on the the nape of her neck
A guardian angel on her left shoulder,
A portrait of her dead dog Elvis on her left arm, the words “Sir Corky Moore” with a date, a broken heart on the inside of her left elbow
A razor blade inside her left wrist
A red star on her left hand
The words “What Goes Around Comes Around” wrapped around her left wrist, and the words “True Love”
A symbol for love and a red heart on her lower stomach
A dragon on her left thigh, the words “Mr. Pink” on her inner thigh, and a Japanese symbol for good luck on her ankle
A Japanese symbol for happiness, a frog, and two other  symbols on her left foot
Her big toes sport a red heart each
Her right ankle has a pair of dog tags representing her brother and her father.
She has a Chinese symbol representing infinity above her right ankle

There is one tattoo she has no plans for though, and that is one of her husband, Carey Hart. He is multi-tattooed as well and his repertoire includes many of her name but P!nk feels that getting a tattoo of her husband’s name is not something she would contemplate. I wonder how he feels about that!

Lenny Kravitz has one astoundingly stunning tattoo. It is not his only one but it is the one you will remember him by. There is an exquisite multicoloured Japanese dragon draped over his shoulder, coming to rest on his right chest. As we know, the dragon is a symbol of the supernatural, representing otherworldly power. This tattoo finds a way to incorporate the rest of the tattoos further down Lenny’s arm. It is mainly done in black and grey but the occasional deep red has an amazing effect of almost making the creature jump out of the swirls of wind, smoke and water surrounding it. The sheer audacity of the design and its size make an everlasting impression that competes with its otherworldliness.
Actually, I must confess that the tattoo that Lenny is currently most famous for is the one on his left butt cheek – yes, as in the pic he uploaded to his Twitter account last month, yes, in the shower, yes, it caused an absolute uproar in his fan base and yes, we all loved him just that little bit more for it…

The ‘24′ star has several pieces of body art to date and will add to them every time something memorable happens to him.

As he explains it: “Every few years something happens in my life that will make me want to write it down. The tattoos have always represented that to me. No one would have to speak at my funeral they could just read the tattoos and know what happened.”
Kiefer Sutherland has certainly had an eventful life. At one time, you could not pick up a paper and avoid his name mentioned in tandem with some trouble somewhere. He is also credited with having the longest name in showbiz: Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland. Couple that with famous parents who were constantly in the media eye lens, and I think we can forgive him for his lapses… especially as he now credits his stepgrandson Hamish with being the calming influence in his life.

Kiefer Sutherland does not usually discuss his tattoos in interviews, but it is possible to make an attempt at interpreting them. His tattoos are meaningful and somewhat mysterious – always a good combination. It all began when he left home at 16. Scared and insecure, he and his friends had their first tattoos inked. He still feels the urge to mark important moments in his life in the same way. Here are some of his tattoos explained:

1. A black Icelandic Runic sentence meaning “I Trust You to Kill Me” is etched on his inside arm.

2. A barbed wire band was inked on his left bicep but has been modified to look like ivy thistle.

3. Our Lady of Guadeloupe, a Mexican representation of Mary, is tattooed on his inner left forearm.

4. A Celtic band is on his right bicep. This is made up of Scottish heather and a crest. It started out as a Maori tribal band tattoo and is said to now represent the Sutherland clan.

5. His first tattoo, as a teenager, is the Chinese symbol for strength. It is on his right shoulder.

6. Below the Chinese symbol is a sword pointing downwards.

People are constantly trying to interpret the meaning and significance of the tattoos. For example, many will say he is a closet Catholic because of the Madonna tattoo. Others exclaim that it is reminiscent of his days living in a Hispanic neighbourhood in California. His tattoos also seem to evolve and adapt over time. His tribal bands have been modified and reinvented. It seems to me that it does not matter that we don’t know what his tattoos mean to him.

It all nearly never happened, however. When Sutherland was planning his first tattoo in his teens, he eventually decided on an image of Mickey Mouse with a space helmet on his head. Good thing he changed his mind. That may well have been the end of the matter!

Gok Wan started life as a fat kid. A very fat kid. What a perfect target for the bullies. It took him a while to realise he was AngloChinese and longer to work out what his sexual preferences were but his passion for fashion was evident from the age of 4.

Odd though it may seem, Gok Wan has become the man most women would leave their partner for. This is only odd if you realise that, as Gok said himself: the ‘girlfriends’ would look gorgeous everyday but may eventually leave feeling a little unfulfilled…

Gok came from relative obscurity, clothing famous people behind the scenes and burst onto our screens, giving us slightly frumpy, plumpy wallflower ladies the wherewithal to shine out and blaze forth.  Among his most fervent and adoring fans are the unlikely combination of Dame Judi Dench, Victoria Wood and Ruby Wax.
His program ran for three years, encouraging women to learn to love their bodies to the extent that they would appear naked in public. Maverick TV is now looking for men to learn to love themselves as well… Hmm. All very well, but when trying to work out a bit about what makes Gok tick, and deciding to have a look at his tattoos, it was a shock to realise that there are no clear images of his tatts anywhere to be found.
Gok has three tattoos. The one on his left arm seems to be a ‘meh’ attempt at a tribal, leaving most of us singularly unimpressed. The one inside his right wrist is a series of stick men representing the members of his family. Very sweet but nowhere can we find a picture of it so how can we judge it? The cuttest one though must be his barcode. It appears that it does work, and scans him into the soft sweets department. N’aww.

Another tattoo is a Chinese proverb that runs down the left side of his torso from armpit to waist. It is said to mean: “Death and life have determined appointments. Riches and honour depend upon heaven.” A source said about this that it: “uses a completely different technique to all the others. It appears on his skin as if it has been brushed on. It is a really intricate process and unique to Hong Kong.

It also is said that David Beckham’s hero is the heavily tattooed character Michael Scofield in US TV drama Prison Break.

Beckham has many other tattoos including an angel across his back, a cross on his neck and the name Victoria written in Hindi on his left arm. Unfortunately, it seems this one was misspelled, adding an ‘h’ into the name where there should not be one.
Posh and Becks have matching Hebrew tattoos which translate as: “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”
He has been criticised by his friend and old tattooist, London-based Louis Malloy. It seems Malloy reckons he ought to receive a percentage from Beckham’s modeling fees for ad campaigns that have featured the tattoos prominently. The current concensus is that copyright and ownership of tattooing is a new battleground in the art world and only time will tell how this case will play out.

Asia grew up on a diet of her director father’s horror films. She is herself a director, writer, actress and a DJ.

It is rumoured that Asia is planning to have the tattoos she had done as an adult removed but for the moment, she has 8 tattoos:
An eye on her shoulder was done in Amsterdam when she was 14.

Arising from her backside are two snakes and a sun. The snakes were inked in Minneapolis while she was filming Trauma at the age of 16 and the sun was done in Amsterdam a year later.

Round the front now, and you see an angel emerging. This is taken from a painting by Delvaux. “But she’s not an angel, I added the wings” says Asia.  It took her 3 years to show this one to her father – the reason she placed it so low on her belly was to hide it from him.

On her ribs is a jail style name tattoo. Anna was Asia’s sister, but she died.
Inside her left wrist, over the pulse and near a tattoo of a cross, is another name, Panos. In her own words, “It’s this person that I met briefly that had a very strong impact on my life. I met him, like, for a day, and I had this name tattooed. It’s really crazy, this tattoo, I think it’s the craziest one I’ve ever made.”

Asia’s lucky number is 23. She has it tattooed on the nape of her neck, above a bar piercing. Apparently, it was only later that she found out its relevance to the Illuminati Theory.
The double Anarchy M stands for Asia, Anna and Morgan. Morgan has the same tattoo on his arm.