Tattooing Trends of 2022 – Part I

It’s that time of the year again. Christmas parties have been held (with varying degrees of mortification the next day), gifts have been wrapped (more or less successfully), stockings have been hung, trees have been decorated (or you escaped it all to recently reopened warmer climes after planning your next destination tattoo), and resolutions are being planned. The last few weeks of one year invariably, after any holiday-related stress begins to dissipate, lead us to consider the next one. 

The world of tattooing is no different. We begin thinking about our next project, how to save up for a full sleeve, or maybe plan to laser an older piece to make some prime skin real-estate available for something different, more resonating with who we are today – and who we want to be in the future.

Moreover, this is the time we try to look into our crystal balls, predicting what is to come over the coming 12 months. This includes what kind of tattoos we are bound to see more of as we head into 2022.  

A couple of the most prominent tattooing trends heading our way are 90s revivals of a sort. Others are evolutions of techniques and textures that would have been unimaginable a short while ago, whereas others still signify a return to simplicity and the origins of the tattooing tradition. Our first instalment in the trend forecast for 2022 takes a closer look at two of them. 

Sound wave tattoos

Sound wave tattoos were first created in 2017 and are growing in popularity. While they might not be the height of artistic endeavour as far as tattooing is concerned, they are a great example of how body art and modern technology will continue to enhance one another as the years progress. They work like this: a snippet of a song or other audio file is turned into a sound wave through specially designed software and turned into a tattoo template. 

This is then inked onto the skin, and the picture of the sound wave is uploaded to the internet. People can then use an app to scan the sound wave and listen to the matching recording. It has been used for favourite songs or clips from a film, the giggle of a child, but also the voice messages of loved ones, including those who have passed on since the recording was made. 

Bio-organic tattoos

More personalisation and unique pieces are set to arrive with the proliferation of bio-organic tattooing designs. These are reminiscent of the bio-mechanical style of tattooing, where body parts are made to resemble machines or steampunk-inspired enhancements. When tattoos in the same spirit are made to look as they are sprung from natural materials rather than metal and man-made objects, they are called bio-organic. 

Often, they cover larger parts of the body, such as full leg sleeves or chest pieces. The aesthetic is based on natural elements such as leaves, roots and bones, but also horror-derivatives such as talons, tentacles, and other more gore-related motives. The style is closely related to BioArt, which works with live tissues and organic materials such as bacteria to create artwork.

It is hard to fit an entire list of trend predictions in one blog post. There are many more tattooing styles and motives to look out for in 2022. Come back for the next instalment and continue looking forwards to the upcoming year with us.