Rihanna has inked more than 25 tattoos on her body over the years

Rihanna has quite the collection of body art.

The singer has added more than two dozen tattoos over the years, and her inkings have become a signature part of her look.

Many of Rihanna’s tats come from her close collaboration and friendship with celebrity tattoo artist Keith Scott “Bang Bang” McCurdy, who first inked the Fenty founder when she was just 18 years old and has been behind some of her most iconic tattoos yet.

From her tiny finger tats to her larger inkings, here’s a complete guide to Rihanna’s growing tattoo collection.

Pisces Symbol

Rihanna got one of her first tattoos in 2006. In honor of her astrological sign, the singer has the Pisces symbol right below her right ear.

Music Notes

Later that year, Rihanna got another tattoo: two music notes on her inner right foot. The notes, a treble clef and sixteenth note, have since been covered.

Star

Another one of the singer’s earliest tattoos was the small outline of a star inside her left ear. The tiny ink has faded over the years.

Sanskrit Prayer

Not long into her body art journey, Rihanna connected with future celebrity tattoo artist Keith Scott “Bang Bang” McCurdy. The singer was Bang Bang’s first celeb client, and though the two would go on to collaborate on several more inkings over the years, her first tattoo by the artist features a prayer in Sanskrit inked vertically down her right hip.

The prayer was meant to read “forgiveness, honesty, suppression and control” but was misspelled and translated to “long suffering, truthfulness, self-restraint, inward calm, fear and fearlessness.”

“Shhh”

One of Rihanna’s tiniest but most memorable tattoos is the “Shhh…” she got inked on her forefinger in 2008.

A Trail of Stars

The Grammy-winning singer has a thing or two for stars. The constellation of tiny stars trailing from the nape of her neck to midway down her back was inked by her go-to artist, Bang Bang.

Henna-Style Dragon Claw

Though it was later covered up, one of the earliest inkings on Rihanna’s right hand featured a Henna-like design resembling a dragon claw with hibiscus flower detailing.

Camo Shark

In 2016, the singer and her then-boyfriend Drake got a camo shark tattoo penned by Bang Bang. Rihanna placed her ink on her left ankle, while Drake had his tatted on his forearm.

Crown

In 2021, fans noticed that the camo shark had seemingly been covered up by an elaborate crown wrapping around Rihanna’s left ankle.

“1988“

In honor of her birth year, Rihanna inked “1988” across the front side of her right ankle with the help of Bang Bang.

Maori-Inspired Art

While on the Diamonds tour in 2013, the singer made a pit stop in New Zealand and got a traditional Polynesian design on her hand. Instead of using a needle, the tattoo artist used a mallet and chisel to apply the pigment.

Henna-Inspired Ink

To build on the Maori-inspired design, Bang Bang worked on Rihanna’s hand for 11 hours, resulting in an intricate Henna-like tattoo covering most of her right hand.

Large Cross

On the underside of Rihanna’s wrist, Bang Bang penned an elaborate, large cross design to symbolize the singer’s faith.