Ed Sheeran winces in pain as he adds to his extensive ink collection with a traditional Sak Yant tattoo in Thailand to give protection

Ed Sheeran has made another addition to his already extensive collection of tattoos, by getting a Sak Yant inking while in Thailand.

The singer-songwriter, 32, took to his Instagram on Sunday to share a video of him getting the traditional Thai tattoo.

Sak Yant, meaning translates to ‘magic tattoo’ or ‘blessed tattoo’ in Thai, is a specific type of tattooing that is linked to spirituality as well as Hinduism and Buddhism.

It involves sacred geometrical designs, with special meanings, and are inked using traditional instruments like a metal rod, in a hand poked style instead of the usual tattoo gun.

The inkings have a deep cultural significance in Thailand, believed to bring bring good luck, health and protection, and are often accompanied by special prayers and blessings.

Ed Sheeran has made another addition to his already extensive collection of tattoos, by getting a Sak Yant inking while in Thailand

The singer-songwriter, 32, took to his Instagram on Sunday to share a video of him getting the traditional Thai tattoo

Sak Yant, meaning translates to ‘magic tattoo’ or ‘blessed tattoo’ in Thai, is a specific type of tattooing that is linked to spirituality as well as Hinduism and Buddhism

In the video, Ed can be seen meeting with the artist and explaining: ‘I have no room on my body, I was going to get it on my leg. Is that okay?’

Getting tattoos below the waist of religious icons can be seen as offensive, but the man assures Ed that there are several designs that he can do on the leg.

The Photograph hitmaker chooses an intricate design, which the expert explains is for protection, saying: ‘The piece goes to the eight directions, to protect you from all sides and you’re in the middle, being calm.’

The duo then go outside to pray together ahead of the ritualistic procedure, and then get ready to start, as Ed admits to the camera: ‘I‘m kinda nervous.’

He can’t help but wince as two artists work on his leg and confesses: ‘It’s not pleasant. I wouldn’t want it all day long, everyday.’

He continues: ‘Having two people stretch your skin whilst it’s just been tattooed, that’s the main difference [from a regular tattoo].

However, when he sees the final result in the mirror he proudly declares that it’s ‘pretty’.

The artist then thanks Ed for getting the inking because it will raise awareness of the sacred practice.

It involves sacred geometrical designs, with special meanings, and are inked using traditional instruments like a metal rod, in a hand poked style instead of the usual tattoo gun

The inkings have a deep cultural significance in Thailand, believed to bring bring good luck, health and protection, and are often accompanied by special prayers and blessings

The duo then go outside to pray together ahead of the ritualistic procedure, and then get ready to start, as Ed admits to the camera: ‘I ‘m kinda nervous’

He can’t help but wince as two artists work on his leg and confesses: ‘It’s not pleasant. I wouldn’t want it all day long, everyday’

The artist then thanks Ed for getting the inking because it will raise awareness of the sacred practice

Captioning the clip, Ed wrote: ‘Got a traditional Sak Yant tattoo in Thailand today…’

He says: ‘Because you travel around the world with a Sak Yant Tattoo, obviously people are going to be wondering why and through that people can educate themselves. So thank you very much for the awareness.’

Captioning the clip, Ed wrote: ‘Got a traditional Sak Yant tattoo in Thailand today…’

The chart-topper has already amassed a whopping 60 inkings across his body, including cartoon penguin Pingu, a huge lion, a Heinz Ketchup label, a teddy bear, the Rolling Stones lips and a gingerbread man.

His tattoo artist recently revealed he has lost clients as a result of his work on the popstar and branded his inkings ‘s**t’.

Kevin Paul has spent more than 40 hours tattooing Ed, and opening up to The Mirror, he said: ‘I agree with most of it, his tattoos aren’t very good. And I take the p**s out of Ed all the time, when I’m with him, that they are s**t.’

However, he also revealed that all of Ed’s tattoos have special personal meaning to him and are connected to his friends, family, career achievements and memories.

Ed has had his daughter’s footprints inked on his back, his dad’s favourite painting A Starry Night on his arm, a flower tribute for his gran who died of cancer, a Grammy trophy for his first win and the word ‘Red’ from when he opened Taylor Swift’s Red tour in 2013.

Sak Yant tattoos have become more popular with celebrities in recent years, with Angelina Jolie famously getting a yantra tattoo of a Bengal tiger in 2004 to celebrate acquiring Cambodian citizenship.

The chart-topper has already amassed a whopping 60 inkings across his body, including cartoon penguin Pingu, a huge lion, a Heinz Ketchup label, a teddy bear, the Rolling Stones lips and a gingerbread man

His tattoo artist recently revealed that all of Ed’s tattoos have special personal meaning to him and are connected to his friends, family, career achievements and memories