A behind-the-ear tattoo seems to be an increasingly popular placement for ink. Whether you’re on the hunt for an unexpected, cool, and creative spot or you want to be able to hide your tattoo when you’re visiting your grandparents, a butterfly tattoo behind the ear might be the right place to start.
Why a butterfly, though? Butterfly tattoos are all the rage these days, with celebrities such as Shawn Mendes, Demi Lovato, and Harry Styles sporting them with pride. Butterflies are everything but boring, too – these ethereal winged wonders are powerful symbols of transformation and freedom.
What’s even better about butterfly tattoos happens to be the fact that you’re free to experiment with them. Whether you’re on the hunt for a simple and sweet butterfly tattoo behind the ear or a statement piece that’s going to take more than one butterfly – we’ve got your back.
We’re bringing you a bunch of butterfly tattoos that guarantee to snatch your heart – whether they’re simple or super detailed, bold and brightly colored, or delicate and monochromatic. Check them out!
1. A tiny butterfly tattoo behind the ear
When you’re going through a season of change, you might want to get a tiny butterfly tattoo behind the ear. Butterflies represent transformation and change, and what better way to honor that than to get a beautiful butterfly tattoo somewhere on your body?
2. A tattoo of two red butterflies
Butterflies don’t need to be super minimal or super maximal – you can opt for a red butterfly tattoo and play with the placement or the design of the butterflies. We’re obsessed with how these two butterflies complement one another. What do you think?
3. A tattoo of two blue butterflies
Butterflies come in a variety of color combinations and designs, and they can easily match any aesthetic. Blue butterflies might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but they’re a great way for you to showcase your creativity – throw a couple of sparkles in there, too, and you’re good to go.
4. A tattoo of two butterflies on a man
Men can get butterfly tattoos, too! Whether you’re a Harry Styles enthusiast or someone who prefers “feminine” tattoos to the ones that represent everything that’s wrong with toxic masculinity, we suggest you keep an open mind and get yourself a butterfly tattoo behind the ear.
5. A blue butterfly tattoo embellished with sparkles
A cute little butterfly behind the ears feels very chic and delicate because of the placement of the design and the movement of the head. When you shake your head to play with your hair, you might even get a sense that your butterfly is trying to fly away.
6. A tattoo of three butterflies behind the ear
Placed behind the ear, butterfly tattoos gain a sense of playfulness – especially when you decide to get three butterflies rather than one. When you put your hair up in a bun, you’re going to be able to see how they’re playing with one another.
7. A butterfly tattoo behind the ear with a mantra
Getting a tattoo of a word or a phrase that means something to you might not be all the rage these days, but word tattoos are always on-trend. When you want to spice things up a bit, opt for a butterfly tattoo complemented by a word of choice – “acceptance” sounds great, doesn’t it?
8. A tattoo of butterflies scattered across the neck
Behind-the-ear tattoos don’t need to be delicate and dainty, and you certainly don’t need to opt for a single small butterfly to get the point across. Whether you’re a maximalist or a minimalist, you’re going to adore the look of a statement butterfly tattoo with all the elements stretching down your neck.
9. A butterfly tattoo embellished with flowers
When you can’t decide between getting a flowy, floral tattoo or a whimsical butterfly tattoo, you might want to get both. With a bold design and a bunch of bright colors, feel free to add some addicting personality to the popular design choice.
10. A tattoo of black-and-white butterflies
Black-and-white tattoos are almost always the right way to go. Whether you’re a first-timer or someone who changes their mind quite often, you might be more comfortable with a black-and-white tattoo that doesn’t draw too much attention. Black-and-white butterflies are cute, too.
11. A simple and sleek butterfly tattoo
We can say the same thing about a more minuscule black-and-white butterfly tattoo, too. When you’re getting a behind-the-ear tattoo, you might feel like you need to get a single-line tattoo or a simple hand-poked tattoo, but you don’t. Two butterflies flying away are an equally awesome choice!
12. A tattoo of a butterfly and a Zodiac sign
We’re aware that Zodiac tattoos gain more and more popularity every year, and we’re here for that. Rather than getting a simple sign behind the ear, why don’t you embellish your tattoo with a colorful, creative butterfly? Butterflies can add even more meaning to your Zodiac tattoo.
13. A delicate and dainty butterfly tattoo
We’ve got another fine-line tattoo for you! When you want to get something small and simple to show off to all the girls at the office, go for something like this. You can put your hair up to reveal it or put your hair down to conceal it – it’s completely up to you. You can do whatever you want.
14. A tattoo of a swarm of butterflies
What makes a swarm of butterflies? We’re hoping that four butterflies are enough, but that’s up to you to decide. When you’re on the hunt for some good-old butterfly tattoo inspiration, don’t shy away from checking out the tattoo in the picture – it’s quite enchanting.
15. A single-line butterfly tattoo
Because butterflies can be easily spotted when broken down into their basic shapes, they look really good in a line art style. Before you go all out because you’re afraid of getting a butterfly tattoo that doesn’t look like a butterfly – don’t. We suggest going for a single-line butterfly tattoo.
16. Another tattoo of three black-and-white butterflies
What can we say, black-and-white butterflies seem to have taken the world by storm. When you take a closer look at what celebrities are getting tattooed these days, you might notice that most of their tattoos are black and white, too. So, what are you waiting for?
17. A tattoo of butterfly knots and tassels
We couldn’t pass on the opportunity to throw you for a loop. With a creative butterfly knots and tassels tattoo, you’re guaranteed to attract attention and turn heads. Butterflies might be dear to you, but that doesn’t mean that you need to get a tattoo of a monotonous butterfly, right?
18. A tattoo of a butterfly and a semicolon
We’re huge fans of combining two or three different elements for the sake of getting the perfect tattoo. A butterfly and a semicolon might not have much in common at first glance, but that’s not the case – these two make for the perfect match. A semicolon is a symbol of hope and a butterfly is a symbol of change.
19. Another tattoo of two black-and-white butterflies
We love how the white ink makes the rest of the tattoo stand out and that’s why we wanted to include this tattoo on the list, too. Whether you’re looking for a behind-the-ear tattoo or planning on placing the tattoo wherever you see fit, you can’t go wrong with a butterfly tattoo like this one.
20. A fine-line tattoo of butterflies flying away
When you want to play up the movement that comes naturally to a butterfly tattoo, you can go for a design featuring a series of butterflies. We already gave you a few ideas featuring two, three, and even four butterflies, but this one takes the cake – it’s incredibly intricate and interesting!
21. A floral butterfly tattoo behind the ear
Butterflies are a perfect complement to a floral tattoo, and that’s why you can’t go wrong with combining the two. Both represent life, nature, and change, and both carry a beautiful energy that promises to transfer onto you when you get the tattoo.
22. A single butterfly tattoo behind the ear
When you want to add some intricate detailing without adding a lot of color or excess lines, you can opt for light shading to add depth to the wings. A single butterfly tattoo might not seem like a lot, but all good things come in small packages.
23. A tattoo of a whispering butterfly
Oh, the placement behind the ear of two small butterflies in flight is perfect. On one hand, they look like they’re flying away. On the other, they look like they’re whispering sweet nothings to each other – or to you. Whatever the case might be, they’re too adorable not to get.
24. A red ink butterfly tattoo behind the ear
We’re ending the article with another red butterfly tattoo. Going for a red rather than a black-and-white tattoo adds a little something to the tattoo. Feel free to play around with elements to find your perfect design, but stick with the red color. Good luck!
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