No matter what you are looking for in a tattoo, there are plenty of ideas to choose from. Talk to your tattoo artist about your options, and be sure to look online and in magazines for inspiration. With a little bit of planning, you can get the perfect tattoos for men.

Tattoos are a type of body modification where a design is made by inserting ink, dyes, and pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. The art of making tattoos is tattooing. Tattoos fall into three broad categories: purely decorative (with no specific meaning); symbolic (with a specific meaning pertinent to the wearer); and pictorial (a depiction of a specific person or item). Tattoos are sometimes used by forensic pathologists to help them identify burned, putrefied, or mutilated bodies.

The word tattoo, or tattow in the 18th century, is a loanword from the Samoan word tatau, meaning "to strike". The Oxford English Dictionary gives the etymology of tattoo as "In 18th c. tattaow, tattow. From Polynesian (Samoan, Tahitian, Marquesan, etc.) tatau. In Marquesan, tatu." Before the importation of the Polynesian word, the practice of tattooing had been described in the West as painting, scarring, or staining.

Tattooing has been practiced across the globe since at least Neolithic times. Ötzi the Iceman, dating to the late fourth millennium BC, was found in the Ötztal Alps with 57 carbon tattoos consisting of simple dots and lines on his lower spine, behind his left knee, and on his right ankle. In Polynesia, Louis-Antoine de Bougainville described in 1768 receiving a turtle tattoo on his left hand.

Tattooing is regulated in many countries because of the associated health risks to client and practitioner, specifically local infections and virus transmission. Disposable plastic aprons and eye protection can be worn depending on the risk of blood or other secretions splashing into the eyes or clothing of the tattooist. Hand hygiene, assessment of risks and appropriate disposal of all sharp objects and materials contaminated with blood are crucial areas.

The tattoo artist must wash his or her hands and must also wash the area that will be tattooed. Gloves should be worn at all times and the wound must be wiped frequently with a wet disposable towel of some kind. All equipment must be sterilized in a certified autoclave before and after every use. It is good practice to provide clients with a printed consent form that outlines risks and complications as well as instructions for after care.

Tattoos are created by injecting ink into the skin. The first recorded professional tattoo artist in the United States was a German immigrant, Martin Hildebrandt. He opened a shop in New York City in 1846 and quickly became popular during the American Civil War among soldiers and sailors of both Union and Confederate militaries.

 Tattooing spread among sailors and was often used as a method of identification, particularly in the case of deserters. Tattoos were also popular among slaves and convicts.

The Japanese word irezumi means "insertion of ink" and can mean tattoos using tebori, the traditional Japanese hand method, a Western-style machine or any method of tattooing using insertion of ink. The most common word used for traditional Japanese tattoo designs is horimono. Japanese may use the word tattoo to mean non-Japanese styles of tattooing.

Certain areas of the body are associated with particular meanings in traditional Japanese tattooing. For example, a tattoo on the stomach is said to protect the wearer from illness and disease.