Losing a partner, friend or family member is never easy and many of us resort to novel ways to remember those who are no longer with us.
Many grieving relatives are now opting to have their loved one’s ashes permanently inked into their skin with a tribute tattoo.
Emma West, 42, decided to get a tribute tattoo for her partner Neal Edmonds, also 42, after he tragically died in an accident on a navy ship.
She told The Mirror: “Neal loved tattoos and I thought it would just be a really amazing thing to do.
"I'd already had a couple done before then and he loved my tattoos. He'd always be with me, but I decided to do this anyway.
"People did think I was a bit strange at the time."
And Emma is not the only one by a long stretch.
Pat Cordon from Cheltenham was left grief-stricken when her son Jason Hutchison passed away from heart disease in December 2012.
He was just 39-years-old.
Pat told the Gloucestershire Echo that she chose to have a tattoo using her son’s ashes so that he would be ‘part of her’ again.
The 60-year-old explained: “I still miss Jason every day. I wanted to have this done to keep part of him with me.
“I gave birth to him so he came from me. Now part of him is with me again.”
Tattoo lovers can ask for artists to add a small amount of ashes into the tattoo ink before the tattooing process starts.
With all tattoos there is always risk of infection, but artists who create such commemorative tattoos for clients insist that ashes are made sterile.
Ohio based tattooist Bob Johnson told MSNBC that he has been using ashes in his work for 30 years and insists that he has ‘never had any complications’.
Celebrities such as X Factor's Katie Waissel have admitted to using ashes in their ink. This trend certainly won't be going away any time soon!
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