Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The first fully comprehensive, illustrated guide to body art in all its forms. This unique reference source explores every step of the process, making it the definitive guide for choosing the style, placement and the right artist; how to ensure safety and proper care; how to correct or remove unwanted body art; alternative body modification; and much, much more.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Booklist Review

"People have been getting tattooed for thousands of years with no ill effects," body art authority Miller says, and dispensing straightforward advice on selecting and caring for body piercings and tattoos, he intends to keep it that way. He sketches body art history, explains tattoo traditions and the traditional meanings of certain tattoo forms (e.g., the three-leaf clover may symbolize the Christian Trinity or the Triple Goddess), and distinguishes different techniques of piercing, such as ampallang and apadravya, varieties of penile piercing. (Miller states that "the real purpose of [nipple, tongue, and genital piercings] is to increase sexual stimulation." Oh.) Whatever the motivation for acquiring body art, Miller supplies clear, concise, easily followed procedures for keeping the decorated area healthy. Brief descriptions of lesser-known body modifications, such as mehndi (Indian hand dyeing), scarification, and aesthetic dentistry, as well as the appended "International Directory of Body Art," also help make quite a package of so slim a volume. --Mike Tribby