Zayn Malik’s Tattoo Collection Is Filled With Sentimental Ink

Malik has a few mandala tattoos, including one on his arm that extends down to his hand. While he hasn’t specifically revealed a meaning behind his, they’re typically spiritual symbols. He also has several finger tattoos, like what appears to be a star on his thumb. He’s never revealed the meanings behind those designs.

On his right hand, there’s a distinct “MSG 3-12-12” tattoo. It signifies the date that One Direction played their first show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The band sold out the arena on Dec. 3, 2012.

He also has a small bird and the script word “love.” According to Teen Vogue, there was speculation when he got the “love” tattoo in 2017 that it was for Hadid and a possible engagement. He also has a pair of lips with smoke coming out of them on his hand as well.

Lastly, Malik also has a lightsaber tattooed on the inside of his middle finger. It’s also done with UV ink, according to tattoo artist JonBoy, which means it even glows.

On the back of Malik’s head and neck are a few tattoos. First, he has a rose at the base of his skull with the stem extending down into his neck. He also has his dad’s name, Yaser, tattooed behind his right ear. Then, he has a large wing tattooed right below that and what looks to be the word “athames” on the back of his neck, which has roots in Wicca. On the left side of his head, he also has another mandala design.

Malik hasn’t said anything much about any of these tattoos and what they mean, though he did get the large rose in 2018, immediately following one of his breakups with Hadid.

Malik’s left forearm has a checkered flag and a lotus flower design. Again, he has never mentioned the meaning behind them, but he did get the checkered flag right around when he left One Direction. As the symbol of finishing a race, it’s very possible that the flag was symbolic of his departure from the band.

Malik’s yin-yang symbol tattoo on his left arm was one of his earlier designs. Since then, he’s added a large tiger tattoo, as well as the scattered letters spelling out the name of his debut solo album, “Mind of Mine,” on his left bicep.

Under the signer’s mandala design on his head is the number 25, which he got tattooed when he was around that age.

The singer’s right arm has a bevy of designs. On his right arm, there is a bandana design wrapped around the top of his arm, near his elbow. Below that, he has the word “chillin” with a little palm tree. In the middle of his arm, he has a hand with its fingers crossed. Beneath that one, you can see a number, and it’s part of his “X Factor” audition number, 165,616, which he has scattered around the arm. Besides the one in honor of the talent show, he’s never explained the meanings behind these designs.

Malik’s chest is covered designs that he’s amassed over the years. He has a skull on each side, wings across his chest, Arabic lettering, and Hadid’s eyes at the base of it all. He has two different pieces of Arabic on his chest, one that says, “Be true to who you are,” according to a Twitter post, and another that is his grandfather’s name, Walter.

The singer’s right arm has a bevy of designs. On his right arm, there is a bandana design wrapped around the top of his arm, near his elbow. Below that, he has the word “chillin” with a little palm tree. In the middle of his arm, he has a hand with its fingers crossed. Beneath that one, you can see a number, and it’s part of his “X Factor” audition number, 165,616, which he has scattered around the arm. Besides the one in honor of the talent show, he’s never explained the meanings behind these designs.
‘s eyes is another mandala tattoo that juts out from what was once a simple design of wings and a skull in the middle of his chest that has been expanded into a larger colored piece. He also used to have a set of lips tattooed on his chest that he’s since covered.

On his torso, he has a filled-in black heart to cover a previous tattoo that said, “born lucky,” in Chinese, as well as a holstered gun on his side. On his ribs, he has a playing card that says, “a pirate’s life for me,” underneath it. He also has “DON’T THINK I WON’T” tattooed on his lower abdomen. While that is a line from the song “Don’t Think I Won’t” by Mark Wills, Malik hasn’t made any public mention of getting the tattoo for that reason.

One of Malik’s earliest tattoos is the giant “ZAP!” inside a splat on his right arm. The splat was originally filled in with red, but he had it colored over with black later. Back in 2012, he told Nova.fm in an interview that he and former bandmate Louis Tomlinson were captains in a secret society called “Club Zappers,” and the rest of the group were just on the board of directors.

On his right shoulder and bicep, he has a large snake tattoo. Below it is a space monkey and a UFO. The UFO covers up a previous tattoo he had of a cartoon figure of his former fiancée, Perrie Edwards.

Near the checkered flag on Malik’s left arm, he has each of his sister’s names tattooed in Arabic. You’ll see each of Safaa, Waliyha, and Doniya’s names in small font inside his arm.

On Malik’s left leg, he has a collection of comic book characters, including Deadpool and the Joker, as well as a wolf and feathers. He also has the name Rodger scrolled on his leg, which he has joked is the name of his evil twin, via Twitter.

We’ve only scratched the surface of Malik’s tattoos, but here are a few others that have been spotted in the star’s collection over the years.

• Castle: Malik has a huge castle piece on his back that we very rarely get to see since we don’t often catch a shirtless glimpse.
• Fantail: Also on Malik’s back is a New Zealand fantail bird that he reportedly got while in New Zealand. It’s at the top of his back, so it sometimes peeks out of the back of his shirt.
• Stereo: On the inside of Malik’s right arm, he has a stereo tattooed.
• Ink splatter: On that same arm is an ink splatter near his wrist. Malik very much enjoys art, so this feels like a fitting nod to his hobby.
• Microphone: While still in One Direction, Malik got a microphone on his right arm as well, near the stereo.
• Lightning bolt and shapes: Hidden among the rest of the ink on Malik’s right arm are a lightning bolt outline and some other geometric shapes. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to these other than that they add to his sleeve design.
• Skull: There’s yet another skull on Malik’s right arm, making for three human skull tattoos on his body.
• Pink Floyd logo: On the inside of Malik’s upper right arm he has the Pink Floyd “Dark Side of the Moon” logo.
• Friday: On Malik’s right collarbone, he has the word “Friday?” tattooed. It’s supposedly because he used to always ask the boys in One Direction if it was Friday.
• Crisscross: There is a sketch of a crisscross on Malik’s right leg.
• Screws: On the inside of each of Malik’s ankles, he has small Xs to look like the heads of screws. Each of the members of One Direction, minus Niall Horan, got this tattoo for unity and to help each other stay grounded, according to a Twitter post from Tomlinson.
• SGT: Malik’s left arm has “SGT” tattooed for his single “Still Got Time.”
• Kahlil Gibran poem: In 2020, Malik debuted the text from the Kahlil Gibran poem “On Love and Marriage” on his left arm. Though he hasn’t said anything about it, fans were quick to assume it was a nod to Hadid.
• Bus 1: A fan-favorite tattoo of Malik’s is the “Bus 1” that he has on his left hand. He and fellow One Direction member Louis Tomlinson got these matching tattoos while in the band because Bus 1 was the One Direction bus they considered their home away from home.

Additional reporting byline:

– Additional reporting by Ariel Baker

Hedy Phillips is a PS contributor.

Ariel Baker is the associate editor for PS Beauty. Her areas of expertise include celebrity news, beauty trends, and product reviews. She has additional bylines with Essence and Forbes Vetted.