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Adding fresh ink to your body is a wild experience. Whether you plan your tattoos out or not, the artist penning them onto your skin defines what it will look like forever. Get more creative control over your tattoo collection by learning about stick-and-poke tattoos. They might become your new favorite way to add art to your body.
What Are Stick-and-Poke Tattoos?
Stick and poke tattoos are any kind of permanent ink applied by piercing the skin repeatedly without using electric machinery. There are two ways people do this art form.
You can use a sewing needle, wrap floss around the tip, dip the floss in ink and press it into your skin repeatedly until the ink is below the top layer. Many people also use a handheld, cordless tattoo gun that holds a long bar needle. It’s easier to maneuver and gets ink into the skin more efficiently.
Stick-and-poke tattoos are a popular form of body art among people who love how they draw or want a solitary tattoo experience. If you already have the equipment, you could get your future tattoos faster and for less money by skipping the appointment process at a shop.
Do They Require Professional Training?
You don’t need professional training to use stick-and-poke tattoo equipment. Some people provide professional hand poke tattoos, which are essentially the same thing. However, you won’t find the stick-and-poke method available at tattoo shops.
Artists generally tend to believe that the more old-school form of tattooing is riskier. Unlike electrical machinery, the sticking equipment may not be as easy to sanitize between appointments. It’s challenging to guarantee the sterilization of dental floss and needles.
It’s also more difficult to tell when the ink has reached the top layer of the dermis with a handheld needle. An electric tattoo machine pushes the ink through the needle’s tip with continual pressure, ensuring that all of the ink reaches the layer of the skin where it will permanently remain embedded.
Can You Take Stick-and-Poke Lessons?
You might be able to find stick-and-poke lessons at a tattoo shop if you live in a large city. If there aren’t any where you live, they’re available on sites like YouTube. It’s important to learn certain things before potentially trying the art form for yourself, like:
- How to prepare a stick and poke needle
- How to sterilize a stick and poke needle
- How to keep a stick and poke tattoo clean
Sanitization is the primary challenge for this form of body art. If you keep your equipment clean and sanitize your tattooed skin for the first few days of its healing process, you might be among the many people who regularly tattoo themselves.
What Art Styles Can You Recreate With Stick-and-Poke Tattoo Equipment?
Whether you want to memorialize a personal slogan or tattoo a quick doodle, art styles are among the first things people choose when imagining a tattoo. Browse the most popular styles to see what’s possible, such as:
- Realism
- Watercolor
- Traditional
- Tribal
- Blackwork
There are many more tattoo styles to explore, but these are a good starting point. If you love a specific idea like a watercolor flower, stick and poke might not be the best option for your future ink. If you want a written word or an outline of something, stick-and-poke equipment can manage those types of projects. Just be sure you’re okay with lines that aren’t perfectly straight, as the needle is harder to keep steady and the ink doesn’t flow as easily.
Supplies You’ll Need for Stick-and-Poke Tattoos
When you’re ready for the sharp prick of your needle and feel confident in your tattoo abilities, rely on foundational tools to make stick-and-poke ideas come to life. You’ll have everything you need to explore this art style right at home.
1. Tattoo Bar Needles and Gun
You’ll get more effective ink placement by investing in a tattoo gun that uses bar needs. The needles hook around the top of the gun and remain firmly in place by sliding through the tip. They’re easier for beginners and control the ink more efficiently.
2. Tattoo Ink
You’ll need plenty of tattoo ink to practice your stick-and-poke skills before you ever ink your own skin. Get a jar that can handle outlining, shading and mixing with other colors thanks to its water-based formula.
3. Nitrile Medical Gloves
Your hands might get a bit sweaty while you take your time creating tattoos. Nitrile gloves don’t have powder that bulks up against your skin. They also have textured fingertips to help you maintain your grip on your tattoo gun.
4. Latex Practice Skin
People love the freestyle vibe of stick-and-poke tattoos, but that doesn’t mean you can’t practice. Get some practice skin that absorbs ink much like human skin. You can practice art styles, new ink and different tattoo guns to sharpen your skills before giving yourself another tattoo.
5. Alcohol Pads
Remember, infections and stick-and-poke tattoos are often inseparable. Sanitizing your needle and not sharing it with anyone is vital. You should also wipe your tattoo area as you work on it to swipe bacteria away. Alcohol pads make sanitization easy, so stock up before you get to work.
6. Green Tattoo Soap
Green soap is great for tattoos because it hydrates your skin while washing bacteria away. Use it to clean the area you’ll tattoo before you start and after you finish. Dilute it with water before washing the area with a squeeze bottle featuring a nozzle for more accurate sanitization.
Optional: Saniderm
People often wrap or cover their new tattoos in Saniderm when they finish their art pieces. It locks the ink into your skin to minimize ink loss while shielding your open wound from bacteria. It’s waterproof and lasts for days, but it’s also optional.
You could wash your tattoo area and use Saniderm to cover it in the week after finishing your ink if you’ll be sweating, swimming or otherwise making contact with the area frequently. If you don’t want to cover your tattoo, wash it once or twice a day and sanitize it using a bacteria-killing wipe.
Prepare for Your Future Ink
Stick and poke tattoos are a personalized way to decorate your body in art without relying on an expert’s schedule. If you understand the risk of infection and practice on latex skin, you could end up with freestyled art you love. Just sanitize the area as you go, wash it while it heals and get antibiotics from your doctor if you notice swelling or redness.
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