The Secrets of Tattoo Needles

The Secrets of Tattoo Needles

Needle Depth (Tattoo Needles)

Generally, the needle depth is about 1.5mm when outlining. However, it should be 2-3mm when shading. Since tattoo tips are against the skin, according to the principle of physics, the smaller the area, the bigger the pressure, so it is easy for tattoo needles to pierce the skin, and the whole needles can pierce the skin. On the contrary, the situation is different. The bigger the area, the smaller the pressure, it is not easy for tattoo needles to pierce the skin. Tattoo artists need to do it with different tattoo skills and strengths. It also provides chances for the tattoo artist to produce different effects. So the length of the stroke is longer when shading. Although the length of the stroke is long, not the whole needle will pierce the skin, instead, the needle will “sweep” the skin like a brush, meanwhile, needle flexibility will be better also. The tattoo artist can produce an ever-changing effect if his skill is used properly. It depends on your habits to shade by circles or pushing. Both of them are fine, but the effects are different because the skin texture will be different. 

How to avoid scars?

Many people will have scars after getting a tattoo, which is called epidermal hyperplasia. It is annoying. Many reasons can cause scars, such as tattoo needles piercing skin too heavily or too powerfully, which hurts the skin, and then a scar will appear. The tattoo ink that contains allergic ingredients or toxic substances will also cause scars. If you don’t take care of the wound properly, there will be a chance to have a scar. What is more, it is easier for people whose skin is keloid-prone skin to have a scar. Except for personal physique, tattoo ink materials, and improper maintenance, the methods and the power of tattooing are the key factors. Generally speaking, the needles had better reach the dermis when tattooing, so that tattoo ink particles can be deposited in the skin better without being absorbed by the body, as a result, the color will look the best. If the needles only reach the epidermis, the color will disappear when the epidermis falls off. But the structure of the skin may be damaged as the needles reach the dermis, which may cause skin hyperplasia and scarring. If the needles reach deeper, the damage to the skin is more and the scar is more likely to occur. The epidermis layer skin is generally between 0.06 and 0.1 mm. The dermis lies beneath the epidermis. Everyone will know how deep the needle should penetrate according to the data. Besides, the skin may be smashed if tattoo needles reach the skin iterative or vigorously, which may cause skin damage to be serious and form scars. Therefore, in terms of the method of the tattoo, the technique and strength are the keys. Almost all questions about technique are answered above. All you need to do is to remember it and then master it during practice. Well, there are inconsistencies in the data and experience. The reasons I have already answered at the beginning. It is impossible to master tattoo skills in a short period. Even a talented tattoo artist takes 1-3 years to perfect his tattoo ability. It doesn’t mean you are successful even if you master these skills. A true master has a super aesthetic ability, and his design is outstanding. And he is taking the attitude toward learning, and always challenging himself. 

The relationship between tattoo needles and skin

 Good tools are a prerequisite to the successful execution of a job. Many people think that there is no difference in tattoo needles, just use the sharpness of the needle to pierce the skin and let the tattoo ink penetrate the skin. Although the "needle" itself indeed has a lot of knowledge that needs to study. The sharpness of the needle affects the presentation of the colors. In the case of the same tattoo inks, the sharper needles and smaller needle points will infiltrate fewer inks, and the color will show lighter. With a slight force, it can penetrate the skin or scratch the skin, so the control in the process of light shading must be very careful. When the strength is not working well, the depth will be different, various shades will show spotted. On the contrary, the blunt needle has a larger needlepoint and more inks penetration, and the color of the tattoo pattern will be heavier. The blunt needle must have a certain degree of force to penetrate, and will not easily scratch the skin. However there is a big concern about the oversized needlepoint when you are shading, and if the control is not good, there will be a phenomenon of uneven spots. We know that the sharpness of the needle has this effect, and we can speculate on the method used. As” light shading”, a sharper needle has the advantage of a small needlepoint, as long as we avoid the shortcomings that it is easy to make, we can naturally tattoo the beautiful shade. A slight force can penetrate the skin deeply, so we can find a way to make it difficult to penetrate too deeply. In the case of a blunt needle, there is an advantage that it is not easy to penetrate, and we have to avoid the disadvantages of a large needlepoint. In this way, starting associate from the sharpness of the needle, it can be inferred that the thickness, number, and arrangement of the needle are different, and the effect of the tattoo will be different. Next, we will analyze the effects of different types of needles in the existing tattoo technique.  1.1RL: Usually used for exquisite tattoo patterns, the advantage is easy to control. The sharpness easily pierces the skin and does not require heavy effort. Therefore, the speed of the tattoo machine does not need to be adjusted too fast, too sharp and too fast will damage the skin too Slow speed can be better controlled, and you can slowly tattoo a very exquisite pattern. The disadvantage is that there is very little tattoo ink that penetrates the skin. The large color pattern is not suitable for a tattoo with 1RL tattoo needles, the penetration of the inks will not be thick enough, and the work will take a long time to complete. When you use 1RL tattoo needles to line at a fast speed, you must pay attention to the cooperation between the movement of the hand and the tattoo machine. Because the 1RL tattoo needles are too fast, it is easy to cut many microvessels, if the depth is too deep or the pause is too long, it will infiltrate into the microvessels and cause the blooming phenomenon.  2. Round Line (RL): The round line tattoo needles combine multiple needles into a cylindrical needle, it will dip more inks between the needle and the needle, and multiple needles form a needled surface. In the case of 5RL tattoo, needles used at a fast speed can tattoo the thicker lines, slow down the speed can also shade the light and dark colors of details. More than 10RL tattoo needles can quickly tattoo large areas of colored patterns. But there is one thing to note, when a multi-needle forms a needled surface, the force area of the entire surface is large, and it is difficult to penetrate the skin, it will puncture on a shallower layer of skin, so it is very suitable for use in light, however, if you deliberately want to puncture deeply, it will wear off the surface of the skin and make the color effect poor. Therefore, it is not suitable for deep skin tattooing.  3. Flat (F): The flat tattoo needles combine multiple needles into a single row of needles, mostly four to six needles. The flat tattoo needles combine the advantages of single tattoo needles and round liner tattoo needles, it is easy to pierce the skin and the number of tattoo inks of the pigment is enough. In the case of the same "prick number", the amount of ink tattooed by flat tattoo needles will be more than round link tattoo needles. However, the flat tattoo needles are too sharp to make them not suitable for tattooing the entire skin's colored pattern.  4、Magnum (M1): The magnum tattoo needles combine multiple needles into a double row of needles. Like 5M1 tattoo needles, it fixes the second and fourth needles in two rows. The magnum tattoo needles with more than five needles, and so forth. Magnum tattoo needles have the disadvantage of reinforcing Flat tattoo needles. Because the needles are opened into discrete needle points, compared with the flat tattoo needles, the magnum tattoo needles will shade more. This is the most commonly used tattoo needle type. But you must be noticed, it will be affected by the force surface above 13 needles. When it is pierced to the skin, the skin will be pressed to form a concave shape. A magnum needle that is too wide will only be used on both sides of the needle, which may tattoo uneven colors. Therefore, some of the 13 or more needles will be glued into a circular arc shape to fit the concave shape formed by the compression of the skin. If it is not glued in a circular arc shape, you can flatten the skin as much as possible.  5. Triple Magnum or more: Generally it is used for a large-area color pattern. As far as I know, fewer tattoo artists are using this kind of needle and most are Japanese tattooists. The effect can tattoo a very dense color layer, which has a better effect than a round needle.  6. The thickness of the needle and the length at the tip of the needle: In the commonly used tattoo needles from 0.25mm to 0.4mm in diameter, In addition to the difference in thickness, the distance between the gaps of each needle and each needle of the multi-needle will be different. The fine tattoo needles are denser than the thick tattoo needles, and the effect of the tattoo will be different. The dense tattoo needles are not easily piercing the skin, the tattoo pattern will be lighter. The length at the tip of the needle is the same as the thickness. It is very important about this, its influence covers all kinds of needles, and many new types of needles use the relationship between the needle and the skin as the direction of thinking. This principle needs to be well understood. For more detailed tutorials on tattoo needles, please visit: Tattoo Needle Guide

Tattoo ideas 

Leave a comment

This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.