Zayn Malik
Zayn Malik has had a mixed reaction to his new tattoo Zayn Malik/Instagram

Tattooist Kevin Paul has said Zayn Malik will regret his shocking new face tattoo. The Like I Would singer revealed the bold design in a photo posted on Instagram last night (11 March). The tattoo features an elaborate bird design and the initials M.O.M. on the side of his face.

While it might be a reference to his mother Trisha, it is also an acronym for the title of his first solo record, Mind of Mine.

Celebrity artist Kevin, who has previously inked the likes of Ed Sheeran and Harry Styles, said he was stunned when he first saw Zayn's new inking on his temple.

Kevin told Mirror Celeb: "It doesn't look good if its real. The placement is really bad, considering he doesn't have any other tattoos on his head. I think he'll end up regretting it and it would be hard to cover up without making the new design a lot bigger and darker. It would be best to have it lasered off and would probably cost more than £600," he added.

The tattooist said he feels Zayn is not setting a good example to his young fanbase with the oversized face tattoo. "It's really not a good tattoo and this is the problem with celebrities, they rush off and let anybody ink them," Kevin explained. "Out of everyone in One Direction, Zayn had the best tattoos, but this is not one of them."

Zayn, who has more than 40 tattoos, has reportedly been planning the new body art for months. He originally wanted a huge 'T' in honour of his mum Trisha, along with a tattoo on the back of his head like his idol, Chris Brown.

The photo left many of his fans shocked and in disbelief, with several questioning if the tattoo was real. "I hope by some miracle this is fake," one follower wrote.

"Why your beautiful face?? @zaynmalik WHYYY???? DONT RUIN IT " said another.

The 23-year-old has been changing up his style since he sensationally quit the British boy band in March 2015. Known for expressing himself in his body art and hairstyle, he has previously dyed his hair bleach blonde, grey and green, and most recently, bold pink ahead of Valentines day.

And while he is said to be proud of his body art, the latest design is his most daring transformation yet.

On Thursday (10 March) Malik unexpectedly debuted his third solo track, Like I Would. The electro pop number produced by XYZ follows the release of debut single Pillow Talk and It's You, with his first single debuting at number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and the U.K. singles sales charts.

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