I used to just soak my homemade piercing tools in rubbing alcohol for 10 minutes before poking. Lost count of how many infections I got from that method, probably 4 or 5 over two years. Then a buddy in nursing school told me about using a pressure cooker at 15 PSI for 20 minutes to kill everything. I started doing that six months ago and have had zero problems since. The setup cost me $40 for a used cooker at a thrift store. Has anyone else tried this or do you still stick with the chemical soak approach?
I used some india ink from an art store on my knuckles and by morning my hand was swollen like a balloon. Spent $150 at urgent care for antibiotics has anyone else made this mistake with cheap supplies?
I used a sewing needle and india ink like all the tutorials said, and the dot spread into this ugly blue blob after a week. Now 14 years later it's still there, faded but definitely not going anywhere. Any tips on covering up old DIY tattoos that went wrong?
I went over to my buddy Mark's apartment in Portland to check out his latest stick and poke work. He was using a sewing needle he'd wrapped in thread, dipping it in India ink he bought from a craft store. The whole scene was on his kitchen counter next to a pile of dirty dishes. I tried to stay chill, but the lack of any sterilization or gloves really got to me. He said he's done 15 tattoos this way and never had an infection, but that just seems like luck to me. Has anyone else walked into a friend's setup and had to bite their tongue about the safety issues?
Turned 18 and wanted something proper on my arm. Tried the homemade stick and poke thing with india ink for months but the lines always came out fuzzy. Switched to a tattoo machine from a friend's cousin in Atlanta for 40 bucks. First real line was shaky but way cleaner than anything I did by hand. Any of you make the jump from hand poking to a machine and regret it?
I always thought freeze-dried ink was just a gimmick for people who wanted to feel fancy, but a friend brought over a vial of it for a stick-and-poke session and the color saturation was way better than my usual bottled stuff. No extra powder or mixing weirdness either. Has anyone else had a brand switch that changed their mind on something?
I did a stick and poke on my thigh about 3 months ago and it looked GOOD for maybe 2 weeks. Then it just turned into this blurry mess. I thought I was going deep enough but turns out I was barely scratching the surface. I watched a bunch of videos and realized I needed to go a tiny bit deeper and also use a REAL stencil instead of drawing freehand. Total time wasted trying to fix it: about 6 hours of redoing the same design over 4 sessions. Has anyone else had trouble getting their ink to stay put?
I was in my bathroom last Saturday night, thought I was being careful with a sterile needle and India ink. Halfway through the second line, I sneezed and the needle dragged a good inch across my skin, making this ugly jagged scar. I panicked, wiped it clean with alcohol, and now I've got this weird pink mark that looks like a lightning bolt. Anyone else ever mess up a DIY tattoo and have to figure out how to let it heal without it looking terrible?
My buddy looked at the anchor I did on my ankle and said it just looks like a bruise. That stung. But he was right, I was using a 5RL needle and not going deep enough. I switched to a 7RL and started doing 3 passes instead of 1, now the lines actually hold. Anyone else have a friend save them from a bad tattoo before you went too far?
I went over to a buddy's place in Brooklyn last month to help him do a surface anchor on his collarbone. Everything seemed fine until I saw him use a regular kitchen pot to boil his tools, not even a dedicated autoclave bag. He said he'd been piercing like that for 2 years with no issues, but I watched him touch the needle with his bare finger after boiling. I packed up my gear and left right then, told him I wasn't risking an infection. Has anyone else walked out of a friend's DIY session because their hygiene was sketchy?
I did a small star on my ankle using India ink and a sewing needle back in June. Followed all the sterilization steps I read about online. Three months later it's barely visible, like a faint gray shadow. After reading up more I realized my ink was too shallow and my needle too small. But honestly I think fading away is safer than some of the deep scarring I see posted here. Anybody else have a DIY tattoo that didn't stick around long term?
I used to roll my eyes at all those homemade tattoos on Instagram, figured they'd all fade or get infected. But a friend convinced me to try one on my ankle with proper sterile needles and ink from a shop in Portland, cost me like $15 total. It actually healed clean and looks way better than I expected, still holding up after 6 weeks. Has anyone else changed their mind about a DIY method they thought was garbage?
I was cleaning my helix piercings the other day and took off the butterfly backs for the first time in like 3 months. The gross buildup was insane, I could scrape it off with my fingernail. Looked it up and apparently those backs collect dead skin, oil, and bacteria way worse than flat backs. Ended up switching all my jewelry to labret studs last week. Has anyone else found a hidden gross surprise from their old piercings?
I tried doing a little star on my ankle with a sterilized sewing needle because I didn't want to wait for shipping on real tattoo needles. The ink barely took and I had to poke like 50 times deeper than normal. Ended up with a raised scar that's still pink 3 months later and the star looks all blown out. Has anyone else tried using random household stuff for tattoos and totally regretted it?
I bought this starter kit from a sketchy website thinking I'd save money, but after one line on my arm I broke out in red bumps all over. The artist I went to fix it laughed and said the ink was probably meant for stamp pads. Anyone else buy junk gear and regret it immediately?
I was doing a second lobe piercing on myself around 11pm, using one of those $5 kits from Amazon with the hollow needles. About halfway through the push, the needle just broke right at the hub. The tip stayed stuck in my ear. I had to dig it out with tweezers and a flashlight, lots of blood. Sterilized everything after but now it's swollen and red. Anyone else have a needle fail like this on them? What did you do?
I did my first two ear piercings with a sterilized sewing needle and safety pin method cause I was broke and impatient. That second one got this nasty red bump that took like 3 weeks to calm down with salt soaks. Then a friend who used to apprentice at a shop told me I could order single use piercing needles online for like 8 bucks each. Now I always use those for anything new and I tape them to a cork so I can push straight through. Has anyone else switched tools mid project and noticed a huge difference in healing time?
I was talking to my buddy Dave last night at his garage shop. He said mixing your own ink from printer toner and alcohol is fine if you know what you're doing. But I've seen a lot of folks end up with nasty infections from homemade stuff. My first stick-and-poke used India ink from an art store and it's held up great for 5 years. What's your take on where the line is for DIY ink safety?
I started piercing my own ears back in high school with sewing needles like everyone else. About 3 months ago I bought a proper piercing kit with hollow needles from a shop in Portland. The difference was insane, the hollow one actually removes a tiny core of skin instead of just pushing it aside. That explains why my old piercings always took forever to heal and got irritated so easy. I was basically just shoving a solid spike through my flesh and wondering why it fought me. Has anyone else switched from solid to hollow and noticed the healing time cut in half?
I did a small geometric pattern on my forearm back in February with a buddy in his garage. We used a scalpel and some ink, nothing too crazy. But man, the healing was a nightmare for the first 6 weeks, it got crusty and infected looking around week 3. I almost gave up and covered it with a tattoo but I stuck with the dry healing method my friend recommended. Now the raised lines are super clean and even, I can finally run my fingers over it without any bumpy spots. It's cool to see the white scar tissue pop against my tan skin after this summer. Anyone else have a body mod that took forever to look good but was worth the wait?
Had a convo with my buddy Jake from Austin last night who swore by using a sterilized sewing needle for his earlobes. He said it's cheaper and he's done it 12 times without infection. But I've always used proper hollow piercing needles from a shop and I feel like that jagged edge on a pin causes more scarring. What's your take on the whole safety vs. cost debate for home piercings?
I see everyone on here always saying to save up and go to a shop for coverups, but my experience was totally different. I had this ugly stick-and-poke on my forearm from when I was 16, so I scraped together $300 to get it covered by a guy in Austin who had good reviews. He charged me $150 an hour and took two hours, and honestly the result is just a bigger, darker mess that still shows the old lines through it. I could have spent that money on better ink and needles and taken my time fixing it myself over a few weekends. Some of the best coverups I've seen on this sub were done at home with patience and a steady hand. Has anyone else had better luck with their own coverups than paying a pro?
I spent way too long getting the placement right on my helix piercing last week. Clamped it, marked it, unclamped, reclamped like 4 times before I gave up and just went for it. Ended up a little crooked but not too bad. How do you guys nail the angle on ear piercings without a second pair of hands?
Was stuck at 8g for like three months and nothing felt right. Tapers hurt too much, tape kept getting grody. Friend's girlfriend who does piercings at a shop told me to wrap some unwaxed floss around a smaller plug and gradually add layers. Cleaned it with alcohol every time. Took about two weeks to go from 8g to 6g with zero pain or blowouts. Has anyone else tried using weird household stuff for stretching that actually worked?