Spent $80 on a DIY tattoo kit and the ink gave me a rash that looked like a strawberry

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?

3 comments

3 Comments

susansingh1mo ago

Oh come on, you can't blame the kit for user error. $80 is actually decent for a starter setup, most people buy cheap ink and don't test it first. You're supposed to do a small dot on your skin and wait a day before you start poking holes. Also that "artist" you went to sounds like a snob who just wanted to upsell you on their overpriced supplies. I've used discount ink for years and never had a problem because I actually read the instructions. Maybe the real lesson here is to patch test instead of blaming the whole industry.

jamie_adams1mo ago

80 bucks for a kit that doesn't include something as basic as a test ink is a ripoff, not a deal. If you have to read a manual to not mess up your skin, maybe the kit is the problem.

gray8751mo ago

Well, Susan's not totally wrong about patch testing, but $80 for a starter kit is on the cheap side, not decent. Most decent kits that won't ruin your skin start around $100-150. The problem is a lot of those cheap kits use mystery ink from China that literally has heavy metals in it. I've seen people end up with permanent scars from that stuff, not just a rash. Patch test or not, bad ink is bad ink.