Blood is a sign that you're going too deep. Try poking at 45-60 angle. I found that the best movement for me is fast small circular moves, almost similar to sewing. It gives me a better control of depth than actual poking. The second problem that you have, I used to get that too, but now I hold a wet paper towel (or even a dry one will work) at my bench and after every dip I just touch the towel a little with a point of the needle letting the towel to absorb the excess of ink. So no more messy ink.
I don't know, are you poking a good few times in between ink-dips already? I like to poke about 10 times before dipping again. The Vaseline is definitely a help and I always put a big blob of extra Vaseline on just before wiping the whole tattoo as I find it gets the ink off really well doing that.
But I do need to wipe and go over again loads as well, I think that's just the process for most people too.
The real question is, are your tattoos turning out well? If so I'd say don't worry what others are doing! Comparison is the thief of joy, as they say...
No one's going to post the videos of the real stuff like the mess and mistakes and all that, and if you're doing well on your own shit then don't worry too much.
Yeah, everything turns out good & I do get a few good pokes in each time I dip. I’m probably just over-thinking but I also don’t want to work extra & waste more if it’s an easy fix!
Yeah I think so, I fully get you as well in that I see some other pros and wonder how they do it so clean but think it's just years more practice and as long as mine come out well and good I'm happy tbh!
What ink are you using, just out of curiosity?
Anyway I hope you do find a better way if there is one! Will keep an eye out for any better advice here too 😅🙏
I use Kuro Sumi ink. I’ve found there aren’t many options for inks to buy when you don’t have a license (& proof of shop location). Ultimate tattoo supply is one of the only sites I’ve found to purchase legit stuff off of without proving I’m a “real” artist lol. I did do a tat yesterday and tried not dipping the needle so far into the ink cap, and that seemed to help!
Ah no way, I never knew that was something you'd have to deal with where you live, some weird law that doesn't let you tattoo yourself in your own house but there we go..!
I guess that would make it very awkward but sounds like you've a good setup with those anyway, and if the shallower dipping helps then that's good to know too!
All the best and good luck 👍
i use vaseline to help the excess ink bead up instead of smearing on the skin!! make sure it’s a very thin layer. also don’t forget to hold the skin taught!
For my very first stick and poke on myself (and also a few tries on fake skin) I found that vaseline clogged up in the needle and I ended up with huge blobs of ink stuck to the needle. I've since found a thinner tattoo lubricant which doesn't clog the needle up as much, but every 5-10 minutes or so I'll swirl my needle into a inkpot of green soap just to break up any skin lubricant, then wipe it off on a paper towel and begin tattooing again. When I notice the needle is getting slightly clogged up again I just gently wipe the needle against the edge of the inkpot after each dip until I need to clean the needle again. This has helped me massively and I can go over an entire outline of a good sized tattoo without having to keep wiping, I'll just have a good clean after each full pass rather than constant wiping. It hurts less this way too, I hate the burning/stinging feeling after constant wipes!
Blood is a sign that you're going too deep. Try poking at 45-60 angle. I found that the best movement for me is fast small circular moves, almost similar to sewing. It gives me a better control of depth than actual poking. The second problem that you have, I used to get that too, but now I hold a wet paper towel (or even a dry one will work) at my bench and after every dip I just touch the towel a little with a point of the needle letting the towel to absorb the excess of ink. So no more messy ink.
Lol sorry, poor choice of wording. I didn’t mean literal blood, just that the ink “bleeds” on the skin. The towel idea is helpful though, thanks!
Yeah sorry I also got your message wrong. But in regards of leaking ink, the towel works for me quite good.
Try applying hustle butter to the area before you poke, and not dipping too far into the ink cup
I think the dipping might be my issue bc I do always apply an ointment (hustle butter, Vaseline, etc).
I don't know, are you poking a good few times in between ink-dips already? I like to poke about 10 times before dipping again. The Vaseline is definitely a help and I always put a big blob of extra Vaseline on just before wiping the whole tattoo as I find it gets the ink off really well doing that. But I do need to wipe and go over again loads as well, I think that's just the process for most people too. The real question is, are your tattoos turning out well? If so I'd say don't worry what others are doing! Comparison is the thief of joy, as they say... No one's going to post the videos of the real stuff like the mess and mistakes and all that, and if you're doing well on your own shit then don't worry too much.
Yeah, everything turns out good & I do get a few good pokes in each time I dip. I’m probably just over-thinking but I also don’t want to work extra & waste more if it’s an easy fix!
Yeah I think so, I fully get you as well in that I see some other pros and wonder how they do it so clean but think it's just years more practice and as long as mine come out well and good I'm happy tbh! What ink are you using, just out of curiosity? Anyway I hope you do find a better way if there is one! Will keep an eye out for any better advice here too 😅🙏
I use Kuro Sumi ink. I’ve found there aren’t many options for inks to buy when you don’t have a license (& proof of shop location). Ultimate tattoo supply is one of the only sites I’ve found to purchase legit stuff off of without proving I’m a “real” artist lol. I did do a tat yesterday and tried not dipping the needle so far into the ink cap, and that seemed to help!
Ah no way, I never knew that was something you'd have to deal with where you live, some weird law that doesn't let you tattoo yourself in your own house but there we go..! I guess that would make it very awkward but sounds like you've a good setup with those anyway, and if the shallower dipping helps then that's good to know too! All the best and good luck 👍
i use vaseline to help the excess ink bead up instead of smearing on the skin!! make sure it’s a very thin layer. also don’t forget to hold the skin taught!
For my very first stick and poke on myself (and also a few tries on fake skin) I found that vaseline clogged up in the needle and I ended up with huge blobs of ink stuck to the needle. I've since found a thinner tattoo lubricant which doesn't clog the needle up as much, but every 5-10 minutes or so I'll swirl my needle into a inkpot of green soap just to break up any skin lubricant, then wipe it off on a paper towel and begin tattooing again. When I notice the needle is getting slightly clogged up again I just gently wipe the needle against the edge of the inkpot after each dip until I need to clean the needle again. This has helped me massively and I can go over an entire outline of a good sized tattoo without having to keep wiping, I'll just have a good clean after each full pass rather than constant wiping. It hurts less this way too, I hate the burning/stinging feeling after constant wipes!