Celebrate Your Ink In Cedar City

September 16th is National Tattoo Story Day. It’s a day created for people with tattoos to talk about the stories behind those tattoos.  

In this piece, I’ll give you a brief history of tattoos with links attached for you to dig deeper into the history and then I’ll let you know about a few places in Cedar City where you can go to get tattooed if you’re ready to have a story on your skin. 

Humans have tattooed their bodies for thousands of years. According to Smithsonian Magazine.com, “The earliest tattoos go back to the discovery of the Iceman named "Otzi" in the area of the Italian-Austrian border in 1991 whose body dates back 5,200 years.” Before that, the earliest tattoos were dated back to Egyptians and to female mummies that date back to 2,000 B.C.E. 

Otzi's tattoos may have been therapeutic since they were applied in areas of strain-induced degeneration like the lower spine and right knee and ankle joints to alleviate joint pain.  

Tattoos used for therapy are just one of the many ways tattoos have been used all around the world and throughout history. According to Smithsonian Magazine.com, “Tattoos have served as amulets, status symbols, declarations of love, signs of religious belief, adornments, and even as forms of punishment.” 

Fun fact, the word “tattoo” comes from Tahiti. Following James Cook’s British expedition to Tahiti in 1769, the islanders’ term “tatatau” or “tattau”, meaning to hit or strike, gave the West the modern term “tattoo”. 

There are many different styles of tattoos ranging from traditional to realism. I’ll leave a link here for you to check out the many styles of tattoos. 

If you’re ready to get a tattoo, there are a few places here in Cedar City to get one. Before you get your tattoo, you’ll want to research the style of tattoo you’d like to get and who is the best artist for the style of tattoo you want. 

Bright Future Tattoos: Located at 28 North 100 West 

Macks Tattoo Shop: Located at 146 North 100 West. 

Cedar Tattoo Co.: Located at 491 South Main Street