[6] Among the various Cordilleran (Igorot) peoples of the northern Philippines, facial tattoos indicated that a warrior belonged to the highest rank.
[8] Among the Kalinga people, pregnant women were also tattooed with small x-shaped marks on the forehead, cheeks, and the tip of the nose to protect them and the unborn child from the vengeful spirits of slain enemies.
[citation needed] Among the Māori people, men traditionally received tattoos on the entire face, while in women it was mostly restricted to the lips (kauwae) and chins.
In the Levant, facial tattoos are primarily adorned by the women of the Bedouin tribes living throughout Jordan to symbolize beauty and social status.
In North Africa, face tattoos can be found among the indigenous Berbers that populated the region before the arrival of Arab armies from the East.
The tattoos throughout the Middle East and Africa share many similarities in the use and style of the geometric designs and glyphs that symbolize various animals, element signs, and physical attributes.
[21] Southern Chin women were also tattooed on their faces with closely set lines using blue pigments, ostensibly to discourage them from being kidnapped by invaders.
[27] In Ancient Rome, slaves who fled or attempted escape from their masters would frequently be branded on their foreheads or tattooed against their will.
[28] As the Roman world entered late antiquity, extreme Christian sects began to use former-slave forehead tattoos as religious symbols and signs of strength.
Many gangs and criminal organizations mark members with tattoos, including visible areas such as the face, head, and neck.
[51] A 2013 study published in Psychology, Public Policy, and Law concluded that face tattoos often lead to bias in the jury and more frequent convictions.
[62] The influence of artists like Lil Wayne and Fredo Santana getting face tattoos was not fully realized until the mid-2010s with the resurgence of trap music and the "SoundCloud rap" scene.
[63] Artists such as Ghostemane,[64] Travis Scott,[65] 21 Savage[66] and Migos[67] all have facial tattoos and emerged between 2014 and 2016, soon entering the mainstream and the Billboard Hot 100.