Stick and Poke (SnP) tattoos get a bad rep. They're generally associated with 15 year olds who can't get a legal tattoo, or prison inmates, or idiots with infections. They're the LOVE/HATE knuckles and the teardrop in the corner of your eye or the gang signs.
I disagree.
I am in love with SnP tattoos. I like the meaning, I like the fact I can do them myself, To me, they seem more real and raw and personal. There are plenty of reasons to do get an SnP or to not, but this post is not about the pros and cons, this is about how I went about giving myself one.
How to give yourself an SnP:
First of all, choose a design. I'd recommend something small, simple, and without any perfect lines or curves that you'd might not getting perfect. It's not going to turn out exactly how you plan it - if you can't cope with that, don't get one.
Personally, I chose the empty set symbol (it's an algebra thing). The more research I did into it, the more I loved it. It's got a lot of meanings and reasons I want it on my body, but my favourite is that it's the answer to questions that don't have answers - the number of triangles with four sides, the group of people who can fly unassisted, the ways to win chess in a single move.
Next up, you'll need some equipment. Namely: ink and a needle are the biggies, but also rubbing alcohol/alcohol wipes, a lighter, a dish, paper towels (damp works best), optional pencil, optional (cotton) thread, and aftercare lotion and antibacterial soap (this post does not cover the aftercare - a quick google search for tattoo aftercare will, however).
A word on needles and ink: get a new, unused, sharp sewing needle if you can't get an actual tattoo needle. Do not use a piercing needle or a safety pin (it gets too thick too quickly). Ink: tattoo ink is ideal, India ink works, pen ink is a no go.
Now you need to make up your rig. To keep the needle steady, I recommend digging the eye end unto the gap between the eraser and its metal case on a pencil (see photo). The other optional part to this is wrapping the needle/pencil in cotton thread - this keeps the needle in place and acts an ink reservoir so you don't have to dip the needle as often. If you are going to wrap the needle, only have a single layer of thread wrapped round it where possible.
Next, prep the area you're going to be tattooing. Shave off any hair that may get in the way, and rub the area down with rubbing alcohol. Draw your design on in non-permanent pen (e.g. biro).
Hold the exposed part of the needle in the lighter flame to make it sterile (in the part closest to the actual lighter, the blue bit, otherwise the flame may be dirty and create residue on your needle). Wait for it to cool down.
Pour a little ink into the dish (do not dip straight into the bottle. Seriously).
Get the mood going. Put on some music. Relax.
Dip the needle into the ink, then poke it straight (not at an angle) into your skin. You should feel a little sort of pop when it gets under the top layer - don't push any further. It shouldn't bleed, but it might. This is why I'd recommend doing these on yourself before you do it on anyone else - it's easiest to judge when you can actually feel what's going on.
Keep going, dip, poke, till you have a rough design, then go back and add more dots to make more solid lines if you want. Use the paper towels to wipe off ink/blood so you can see the actual design. You can also touch up in a week or two when it's more healed.
If you're tattoing over scars or stretchmarks, as I found out the hard way, there's sort of two layers of skin to get through instead of one, the scar tissue and your actual skin.
Once you're all done, discard any spare ink, don't use it again. Follow the same procedure you would for aftercare for a professional tattoo. Et voila, done.
Live it
ReplyDelete