Photo Credit: shimmertje Tattoos are common around the world. For Maori women in New Zealand, the tattoos are placed on their lips and chins. The ultimate beauty is to have full blue lips.

Photo Credit: witoldosko Scars are considered ugly in the west, but for Karo girls in southern Ethiopia it will help them get a husband. As young girls, the skin on their stomach is cut to create scars, and when they have enough they are considered ready for marriage.

Photo Credit: Ferdinand Reus This Central African tribe prize hold beauty contests – but this time, it’s the men on display! During festivals, the men compete to attract a wife, and are judged on their beauty and singing and dancing skills. As you can see from the picture, the guys go to a lot of effort!

Photo Credit: Eric Lafforgue We like to accentuate our lips with lipstick, but some African and Amazonian tribes consider that beauty is achieved by stretching the lip. They make a hole, which is gradually increased by inserting larger plates. As if that wasn’t painful enough, they may need some teeth removed to accommodate the plate. Ouch.

Photo Credit: rowteight Most of us will avoid going near a dentist unless we really have to, but Balinese people willingly submit to a rather extreme treatment. They have some of their teeth filed, which is meant to remove vices like arrogance. It was also practiced among the Upoto tribe in Africa, and among Aborigines.

Photo Credit: Okinawa Soba (In Asia and Africa until August) While respecting other cultures is good, this is one ‘beauty feature’ that we can be glad has died out. In China, to achieve the effect of tiny feet, the bones were broken before binding, thus causing the woman lifelong pain and making it difficult for her to walk. So, beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder! Some of these practices may seem strange, even unattractive to us, but I wonder what the people who do them would think of our ideas of beauty. Would we seem ugly to them? Top Photo Credit: La Mariposa