# stick n' poke advice



## soquel (Dec 11, 2013)

eff it. i'm broke but still want another tat. any tips? like tattoo needle sizes, how not to get infected, how to have the ink not fade, etc.


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## paranoid (Dec 12, 2013)

Personally after a lot if years of getting tattooed(some by my own hand and needle) I would not recommend getting yourself permanently marked by anyone that isn't a pro at it. The best case scenario is they spell some shit wrong on you... Worse case a fucked up infection and skin graphs...


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## Tude (Dec 12, 2013)

paranoid said:


> Personally after a lot if years of getting tattooed(some by my own hand and needle) I would not recommend getting yourself permanently marked by anyone that isn't a pro at it. The best case scenario is they spell some shit wrong on you... Worse case a fucked up infection and skin graphs...



That would just suck if stuff was mis spelled!


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## soquel (Dec 12, 2013)

Oh I wouldn't tattoo anything with words in it; my own hand writing is far too poor to do that. Rather, I was thinking of something small—maybe 1 inch or 2 inches diameter max—a stick tree or something. I understand that there is always the risk of infection. But that's true with any medical procedure as well.


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## iamwhatiam (Dec 12, 2013)

i have my knuckles done, back of both hands, a couple of my forearms, a small shitty one on my toe and another on my ankle all stick n pokes i did myself. and one on my upper arm i let a complete stranger do that came out pretty good i think, but it's a little faded now. i always sterilize the sewing needle before in a flame till it's red hot. i know infection is a risk, but i've never had one yet


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## soquel (Dec 12, 2013)

I guess the main question I have is about how deep I should put the needle into my skin. I've heard people say that it needs to go into, but not through, the second layer of skin. What do you think?


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## iamwhatiam (Dec 12, 2013)

Hmm..I don't know how you tell how many layers you've gone thru. I just poke it in deep enuff where it starts to bleed a little. You can always retrace back over the orginal design if you don't go deep enuff the frst time


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## SparrowW (Jul 1, 2014)

I have two snp I did on myself. I got a pack of tattoo needles and some ink off amazon pretty cheap. I def recommend getting tat needles. They come sterile and in individual packages and a lot come with little grips and you can get away with good india ink. Draw up what you want to get and practice on an orange or banana or something then you don't fuck it up put you can get a feel for how deep

after that try to make a few dots on your toe or something so you can figure how deep. you need a good bit of pressure to get past the first layer of skin it should hurt but not horribly and you should feel a little tug as you pull the needle out. i used a 5rl I think


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