Marked
Tattoos, piercings and other lasting marks. 21 face guides on EveryFaceShape so far.
Marked features are lasting: tattoos, piercings and scars that stay on the face for life. They include tā moko, kakiniit and other face tattoos, nose and lip piercings, and scarification such as the Yoruba facial marks. Most traditional marks record belonging, to a family, a people or a stage of life, and many were given in childhood or youth.
Tattoo and scar
Face tattoos have been made by carving (tā moko), stitching with sooty thread (kakiniit), pricking with thorns (Apatani tippei) and modern machines. Scarification cuts patterns that heal as raised or lasting marks, as in Yoruba ila and Igbo ichi. Semi-permanent cosmetic tattoos, such as microbladed brows, fade over a few years.
Piercing
Nose piercing is common across South Asia and the Middle East, and lip ornaments, labrets, have a long history in the Americas and the Arctic. Mursi women in Ethiopia stretch the lower lip to hold a plate. Modern piercing of the brow, lip and septum spread in Western fashion from the 1990s. A healed piercing may close if left empty.
Famous marked face guides
Further reading
🇲🇲 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
🇳🇬 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
🇺🇸 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
🇹🇷 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
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
🇮🇱 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
🇮🇳 IndiaApatani facial tattoos
Facial tattoos and nose plugs of Apatani women in IndiaMarking
🇩🇿 Algeria and 3 moreAmazigh facial tattoos
Traditional geometric skin markings of North African Amazigh women.Marking
🇯🇵 JapanAinu lip tattoos
Traditional facial markings worn by Ainu women to mark maturity and protect the spirit.Marking
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Tattooing in Myanmar: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Face tattoo: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
- Nose piercing: Marie Richie, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tā moko: Gottfried Lindauer, 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
- Yidiiltoo: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, 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
- Urna: Iudexvivorum, CC0, source
- Payot: Mark Neyman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source