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if your askn that then you shouldnt be tattooing . it sounds like a reaction to the pigment. jus stop

You know, I figured that was coming. I just asked the question because I didn't want to continue to make the mistake. I tattooed myself even so I could make sure that I was doing everything decent so no one else would be harmed. I see tattooing as another medium. I have always loved art, and have always been interested in tattooing. So this summer I am going to apprentice at a shop in Angola Indiana. No, I will not stop. The question was for advice for a just for know type thing. I'm not saying I'm going to sit in my living room infecting my friends for the rest of my life.

Go to a local meat packing plant and ask them to cut you lengths of pig skin. Use that as your canvas for quite a while. It's much better than practice skin and behaves much more like human skin than practice skin or fruit. You can also get it for dirt cheap. I did this for several months before attempting to do a piece on myself, and being patient was the best thing I could have done.

The questions you're asking you should already know the answers to before even considering touching human skin, which includes your own. There is plenty of information available on the internet about the basics of tattooing, the basics of sterilization and cross-contamination, proper aftercare and hygiene and general fundamentals of the craft. An apprenticeship by a good mentor is still far superior, but there is enough of a knowledge base out there that you can at least educate yourself sufficiently so that you aren't a danger to yourself or your clients. In my opinion, you can never do enough research. And getting over-anxious to put ink into human skin is really a terrible idea.

If you are serious about tattooing, and can't find a good apprenticeship, at least spend several months doing the research, and practicing on pig skin using all of the same techniques and procedures you would be following if you were tattooing a human client. If, after doing all of that, you are still as passionate about the idea then you can consider taking it to the next level.

Again, just my $0.02 but I really believe that real patience and proper protocol is the most important fundamental that you can learn.

Thank you very much for your information. I was informed from a friend to use pig skin. His family has been tattooing at their own shop for 10 years. I have been reading about tattooing for about a year now and I waited till I knew a little bit about it before I even bought the kit. The only real problem I'm having is the tattoo color bleeding " " a little bit, under the skin. However I didn't use petroleum jelly on the tattoo and I heard that helps keep the ink in. So maybe its that or maybe you have some more information?

The ointment is the key. If you use plenty of Vaseline while you tattoo you will never get ink bleeding under the skin, all your stuff will look awesome. The best needle for packing in solid color is a 4 flat. And I line everything with a textured 14round.

I agree, Friedrich. The more the better with Vaseline! I glob that shit on, and have won 3 awards at conventions this year. But, don't you find the 14r textured a tad wimpy? I always use mags to line, 23 and up... Everyone is different though, so whatever works for u! To the OP, Also, remember to spray the tattoo with a bleach/water solution afterwards, to fully sterilize and kill any possible infection. About 50/50 bleach and water is best. Good luck in your tattin .

Hey lookitsajacob, if the ink is really bleeding out under the skin, chances are you're going too deep. As for the milky ooze, it could be a reaction to the ink as stated in another post, or it could be overworked or worked too deep resulting in infection or just a real hard heal. If it has red lines protruding from it you should probably go to the doctor. As far as reaction to the ink goes, red ink seems to have more reactions than other inks. Do you have red ink in other tattoos that were done by professionals? Have you had any reactions before? Neither of these occurrances has likely got anything to do with ointment, although I have seen some reactions to bacitracin. Next, I'd like to tell you what the problem with tattooing is these days. Everybody thinks they can do this while very few are actually willing to put in the time or money that it really takes to master the art, and in fact most have little to no artistic ability, and many of them couldn't make it as a fast food worker, let alone permanently mark peoples bodies. I don't know you so I can't say this about you, but this is why you are getting some negative response, and people fucking with you like saying to use bleach on a tattoo. NEVER USE BLEACH ON A TATTOO!!! Oh yeah, these videos on u-tube teaching tattooing are also full of alot of misinformation whether intentionally or unintentionally. Since you said you landed an apprenticeship in a shop I would wait to tattoo until you are instructed to do so by you're mentor. Another bit of advice would be to ask your mentor what equipment to buy. I once knew a tattoo apprentice that lost his apprenticeship for buying machines without consulting his teacher first. One last thing is to make sure the guy you're learning from does really good work himself, or you'll have to unlearn his bad habits as was the case in many artists I have known including my own.

Thank you for the information, and yes, the guy talking about using bleach is an idiot. I wouldn't believed no matter who told me. Also I believe it was bleeding out under the skin because I didn't have vaseline which I found out from my instructor. Yes I know a lot of people out there are just doing this to do it, but I do have a serious passion for this art form and I plan to stick with this. I really appreciate what you have said. Thanks