After getting a tattoo on one of your body parts, such as your chest, that requires you to remove thick hair to make the tattoo visible, you may consider using a hair removal cream. Also called depilatories, these creams are safe to use on your tattoos, if you follow the manufacturer's instructions.

Navel piercings, often referred to as belly button piercings, take six months to a year to heal. Parents considering allowing their teenager to receive this piercing need to assess that maturity level of the individual.

If you develop a bump at the site of a body piercing, draining it should never be a "do-it-yourself" endeavor. A bump, especially if the site turns red, swollen or painful, or drains pus, could indicate a staphylococcus infection or other bacteria.

Nose rings, which have symbolic meaning in Indian, African and some Muslim cultures, are gaining popularity in other areas of the world as well. In fact, in the United States, nose piercing may be seen as an act of rebellion against conservative values.

While currently gaining popularity, tongue piercing is not a new practice. The Aztecs pierced their tongues and other body parts as a potentially dangerous form of ritual sacrifice.

Keloids are a type of scar that form a growth of fleshy tissue that protrudes from the skin. According to the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology, they form when connective tissues called fibroblasts and skin cells over-multiply, creating extra tissue.

After years of thought, you finally figured out what tattoo you want. You found a tattoo artist you felt comfortable with, set the big day and endured thousands of needle sticks. When the tattoo artist was finished, you got one long look at your new tattoo in the mirror.

Earlobes and other piercings can be gradually stretched to accommodate thicker jewelry. The word "gauge" refers to the thickness of the jewelry, measured by diameter. The smaller the number is, the larger the gauge is; for example, an 18 gauge is smaller than a 2 gauge.

Navel piercings may be the most commonly performed body piercing below the neck -- in fact, they're possibly only second to earlobe piercings in popularity. As it happens, they are also one of the trickiest to place and hardest to heal.

Eyebrow tattoos are a common body alteration procedure, especially for people who have either over-plucked their eyebrows or lost them due to health problems. Commonly referred to as "permanent makeup," these tattoos are applied to achieve a look similar to real eyebrows.

A tattoo artist creates a stencil of the tattoo design before he takes a needle to the skin. The artist draws the stencil with a special ink that transfers to the skin. This provides an outline of the tattoo design, which allows the artist to work quickly and accurately.