| self tattoo |
Question:
I would like to put a small tattoo of a very simple cross (just a single
horizontal line and a single vertical line) on my arm. I have had two
tattoo before, a rose on my lower back, but I wanted this tattoo to be
completely 'mine'.....I read a little about it and I bought some indian ink
and was planning on doing this sometime in 2 days. I figured I would
just outline the cross with the ink and poke holes in it....has anyone done
this before? I have no idea how to do it, how much ink to use, how deep to
puncture, etc... so any advice or recommend are appreciated
Answer:
- What you describe will surely work. It tends to get blurry though. So
... you should assume you are going to have a furry cross in time. The
needle should be deep enough to inject the ink, but not so deep as to cause
excessive bleeding. An array of more than one needle will hold the ink
better. A single needle simply dipped in the ink will not leave much of an
impression.
Perhaps a tattoo artist would consider letting you their equipment and
providing you with supervision. Would it then still be "yours". Or ... do
you need that night time with a candle thing? Many artists are pretty good
at creating this sense of ritual. Find one you like and see if it sounds
like what you want to do.
You should of course be concerned about infection though the possibility of
cross contamination is not as great when it is just you. Still, you could
start an infection and all precautions are advised.
- be aware that India Ink is not particularly stable and tends to
fade to an ugly greenish color fairly rapidly. Also note that sewing
needles are MUCH larger than professional tattoo needles, and not as
sharp. Last point: deeper is not better.
- well known erotic fiction writer and publisher, did just such a 'self
performed' tattoo several months ago. And she described it along with some
photos in an 'alternative magazine', can't remember the off hand. It was more
of an alt.gothic type magazine rather than a tattoo trade or fan magazine. She
did it with a needle and some ink, rather than a pro tattoo gun.
On the other hand we've spoken to a couple of tattoo artists who have done some
tattoo work on their own personal bods. That's -- got -- to require some
concentration. Spenser, with a little bit of color, purchased from others
- May I suggest that you don't do that way. The results are almost never what you
want or expect and there is far more danger to yourself than using a tattoo
machine. I myself has done a self tattoo, but I used a machine from the
tattooist I use and I was in his shop when I did it. I also was under his
supervision. I find that this tattoo I did very satisfying as I did do myself
from start to finish. If you want to do it, do it with some help and guidance.
The tattooist I used discussed the entire procedure with me and gave me reading
materials to study. It took a fair amount of time between the decision to do
it, prepping myself and when it was done. The watch word in my opinion is
safety and education. Think hard as to what want to you do.
- I did a tattoo on my left inner forearm, and it was certainly one of
the stranger experiences i've had! It's wierd when you are used to
tattooing *other* people, because you are accustomed to seeing the
procedure but you don't feel it. When i tattooed myself, it was like i
had this split-brain thing going on, with the left, logical side
saying "keep the lines straight, watch your depth" and the right side
saying "owww, this hurts!". Now, it seems to me that tattooing myself
hurts less than when other ppl do it for me... maybe because of the
concentration required.
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