So you know that you definitely want to get a tattoo, that's half the battle over with, now it's a case of which type do I get? There are so many different tattoo inks, let alone designs to choose from, how about choosing a white tattoo as an alternative tattoo idea?

You may already have regular tattoos and fancy something a bit different, or maybe it's your first time and you want something discreet and/or personal. I toyed with the idea of getting a white tattoo a few years back as I wanted just that, something personal that only I knew about, but that I could share with others if I chose to. In the end I didn't have it done due to my skin not being suitable for white ink, but if I could I would definitely opt for a white tattoo, I think there's something quite mysterious about them.

If you are very fair skinned like me then some words of warning; I was advised against having a white tattoo as the finished result can end up looking like scar tissue on very fair skin. I didn't feel like taking that risk, but of course, it's up to the individual.

If you've decided on getting a white tattoo here are some things to consider:

• Has your tattoo artist done white tattoos before? Talk with them and ask to see examples. A really high quality thick white ink must be used for these tattoos so make sure that your tattoo artist knows what they are talking about and using. Regular white ink that is used to mix with other colours is not suitable for a successful white tattoo.
  
• Because there is no outline to hold the colour in, white tattoos can be prone to blurring. It's best to keep to a small, simple design somewhere that won't be exposed to sun.
• Remember that a white tattoo is a subtle one, wait until it's fully healed before you decide that it isn't visible enough or doesn't look right.
  

From what I understand about white tattoos, it varies from person to person as to who can hold white ink in their body. I've heard reports of it working well on both fair skinned and olive skinned people and vice versa, fair skin and olive skin have rejected it too. Unfortunately, it seems to be trial and error, it all depends on your skin pigment. If the body does reject the ink the tattoo will become invisible during the healing process.

White tattoos aren't recommended for sun worshippers as the sun makes the white ink fade rapidly.

It's possible that over time, the tattoo will need to be re-done due to natural fading.

As mentioned earlier, white tattoos can look like scar tissue on very fair skin.

Lindsay Lohan is said to have a white tattoo of the word Breathe on the inside of her wrist and Kate Moss reportedly has little white hearts that go up one side of her body. Despite white tattoos apparently becoming a trend with celebrities, it doesn't appear that many currently have them. For someone in the spotlight, having a white tattoo is maybe a little too discreet to make those all important headlines. Or maybe they're just keeping them to themselves.