All face guides
186 face guides so far, best known first. 24 more are on the list to be written.
🇯🇵 JapanHikimayu
A pre-modern Japanese practice of removing natural eyebrows and painting new ones on the forehead.Makeup
🇲🇲 MyanmarTattooing in Myanmar
Traditional body art of Myanmar's ethnic groups, marking strength and identity.Marking
WorldFace tattoo
Ink designs on the face or head from traditional customsMarking
🇳🇿 New ZealandTā moko
Traditional permanent facial and body markings of the Māori people of New Zealand.Marking
🇮🇳 IndiaKesh
Uncut hair kept as a religious symbol in Sikhism, part of the Five Ks.Marking · 1699
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreYoruba tribal marks
Scarification patterns used by the Yoruba people for identity and beauty.Marking
🇨🇦 CanadaKakiniit
Traditional facial and body tattoos of Inuit women in the North American Arctic.Marking
🇩🇿 Algeria and 4 moreAfrican scarification
Traditional skin marking practices across Africa for identity and status.Marking
🇳🇬 NigeriaIchi
Ritual facial scarification of the Igbo people marking nobility.Marking
🇨🇳 ChinaJing
A Chinese opera role for mighty men, defined by heavy face painting.Makeup
🇺🇸 United StatesTavlugun
A traditional chin tattoo worn by Indigenous Iñupiaq women.Marking
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreYidiiltoo
Traditional face tattoos of Hän Gwich’in women from Alaska and Canada.Marking
WorldMicroblading
A semi-permanent technique for enhancing eyebrow shape and colour using fine hand-drawn strokes.Makeup · 2007
🇯🇵 Japan and 4 moreTeeth blackening
A traditional custom of dyeing teeth black to signify adulthood and beauty.Makeup
🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreDeq
Traditional permanent tattooing among Kurds and YazidisMarking
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreGodna
Traditional tribal face and body tattooing from IndiaMarking
WorldScarification
Permanent skin markings created by cutting or burning for cultural identity.Marking
🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreKohl
A traditional eye cosmetic made from crushed minerals or soot, used across Africa and Asia for thousands of years.Makeup
WorldUrna
A spiral mark on the forehead in Buddhist art.Adornment
🇮🇳 IndiaIndigenous Tattoos of the Indian Subcontinent
Traditional body marking for identity and protection in South Asia.Marking
WorldPrayer callus
A forehead mark from repeated ritual prostration in prayer.Marking
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 morePayot
Sidelocks worn by Orthodox Jewish men as a religious observance.Beard
🇲🇲 MyanmarChin facial tattoos
Traditional facial ink patterns worn by Chin women in Myanmar.Marking
🇹🇼 TaiwanAtayal facial tattoos
Traditional markings of the Atayal people in Taiwan, signifying skill and spiritual passage.Marking
🇯🇵 JapanAinu lip tattoos
Traditional facial markings worn by Ainu women to mark maturity and protect the spirit.Marking
🇩🇿 Algeria and 3 moreAmazigh facial tattoos
Traditional geometric skin markings of North African Amazigh women.Marking
🇮🇳 IndiaApatani facial tattoos
Facial tattoos and nose plugs of Apatani women in IndiaMarking
🇲🇽 MexicoDía de los Muertos face paint
Skull-style makeup worn during Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations to honour ancestors.Makeup · Most faces · 1913
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Hikimayu: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Tattooing in Myanmar: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Face tattoo: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
- Tā moko: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
- Kesh: Carl W. Damman, Public domain, source
- Yoruba tribal marks: User:FA2010, Public domain, source
- Kakiniit: Henry Busse, Public domain, source
- African scarification: Kathy Gerber (kathleen.gerber), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Jing: G41rn8, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yidiiltoo: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, source
- Teeth blackening: momo, CC BY 2.0, source
- Deq: Dûrzan cîrano, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Godna: Shivangi Lokras, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Scarification: John Atherton, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kohl: Camila Zanon., CC BY 2.0, source
- Urna: Iudexvivorum, CC0, source
- Prayer callus: Mohammed Tawsif Salam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Payot: Mark Neyman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source