jcarmack

As a last resort, once a container is filled with needles fill it up with bleach and let it sit for a day or two. Afterwards you can pour the bleach down the drain. If you can’t dispose of them at your local hospital you need to look at getting a setup with a waste disposal company and have them pick up your hazardous waste once it reaches a…[Read more]

Got on tonight and was reading your setup. You need to do a setup based upon the hot, cold zone theory. I’m sure that you’re aware that when you tattoo microscopic bits of body fluids are released and spread all over your workspace. I’ve been in professional tattoo studios where the artist has their ink on the desk right in front of them and…[Read more]

This is used to clean skin and as an antibacterial in healthcare to scrub up and sterilize yourself before a procedure. It’s meant to be washed off after application. It’s not good to use this on a tattoo. You can use this as a prep to kill MRSA, bacteria, etc., that is on the skin before you tattoo a client but do not spray this on a tattoo…[Read more]

I’ll give you some constructive advice. First, you need to learn machine tuning and the aspects of lining and shading. Your shading on your tribal didn’t take because of a few factors, i.e., setup of machine, speed, needles used, ink used, etc. I can’t really tell because I wasn’t there to observe. You definitely need to get some pig skin or…[Read more]

Green soap in your grey wash or any other application using color is a big no no. Green Soap is an irritant and can cause your clients skin to become sensitive, red, inflamed and make it a lot harder to heal over time. Even when using green soap to wipe down the tattoo you need to ensure that it’s properly diluted so that it won’t irritate the…[Read more]

I don’t want to be critical and I know everyone has to start somewhere but you really need to work on your outlining. Your lines are all over the place. Start from the lower left and work your way up your tattoo stencil. When you start a line continue through it from start to finish without interruption. Make sure that you are stretching the…[Read more]

Either way you need to be careful when cleaning your machine. Some of the viruscides and other chemicals used in sterilizing your product can damage your tattoo machine. It’s always best to be careful until you know a chemical is safe to use and that it won’t break down your equipment.

The most important issue whether you bag or not is to…[Read more]

There are many good machines out there. The best thing that you can do is learn the parts of the machine, how they interact with each other, how the machine is set up for each application. As a tattoo artist the tattoo machine is an extension of you and you need a quality machine and an understanding of how it functions and how to tune it to…[Read more]

Learn what styles of frames make the most dependable and tunable tattoo machine. Then you can go to some of the machine builders websites as well as the tattoo suppliers and find quality springs, coils, etc., and be able to rebuild a machine for really not that much money at all and then you’ll have a decent to great machine to work with. The…[Read more]

The tattoo machines that you’re going to get in those kits are crap. Save up your money and get yourself a good machine. You can go to the tattoo suppliers online and get a decent machine that doesn’t cost much or you can buy a high end machine that will cost you up to or more than $300. For the price you pay for a kit you can buy the supplies…[Read more]

Another reason your wife can be experiencing redness, irritation and swelling is that you might have your green soap solution mixed too strong. Green soap can and will cause irritation if not mixed properly. It’s better to be to weak than to strong. I would mix just a little bit of green soap and use the witch hazel instead of water to be the…[Read more]

When steel tubes and tips are used you have to be careful in their cleaning. After use they need to be disassembled and placed in a cool or warm container with a cleaning agent. Keeping them wet doesn’t allow the body fluids and inks to dry out and harden. Also, never use hot water as it will cause the contaminates to bond even more with the…[Read more]

Here’s a rule of thumb that I use. You’re in it to make money and also be able to tattoo the next client. As a base I charge the cost of the materials to tattoo the client x3 (times 3) that way you’re paying for the supplies used and buying essentially the supplies to do two more clients. This will help you build up your tattoo supplies. Next…[Read more]

It’s just different marketing wordage. All tattoo inks are formulated from pigments. Some are natural pigments, some are metal oxides, etc., and some are formulated using plastic particles. It all just depends upon the manufacturer of the ink and the brand. All of the big name brands in tattoo inks all have their own “SECRET” formula. It’s…[Read more]

UV light in general is bad for anything. Also, some of the brands of inks use plastic polymers in their inks and these can clump together in heat and also break down in UV light. As a rule of thumb you need to keep all or your inks and supplies away from windows and sunlight.

Sounds like they might be using inks with oxides, metals or an unstable dry pigment that might have been mixed with something that it reacted with.

I’ve been doing my own homework and have been coming up with my own proprietary blends of ink. You’ll end up saving a whole lot of money in the long run when you get your blends down and find a good…[Read more]

While inks aren’t regulated by the FDA they are required to be sterile or you can be assured that there would be a recall and a ban on the products. Even the majority of the so-called quality inks are made in China due to the cost effectiveness of it. There are numerous companies that will sell you good quality ink no matter if you’re a…[Read more]

I saw the same techniques you described on a Youtube video of Mario Barth doing some of his portrait work and I’ve seen a few others do it as well. When you don’t clean your needles and transition from one complimentary color to the next you get a smooth transition in your composition and you also get custom colors that clearly differentiate your…[Read more]

This wasn’t touched on in this discussion but instead of thinking black do the exact opposite like photo negatives. The black is already there. Why not use a white or lighter colors to create the pattern. Also, have you explored using black light inks? The tattoos would not show up much under regular light but when your client goes to a night…[Read more]

Witch Hazel is the best way to reduce any ink in that it’s sterile and also an astringent so it will help reduce inflammation, redness and swelling and also helps control the bleeding.

A good rule of thumb is to use pharmaceutical grade glycerin to thicken up an ink and witch hazel to thin your ink or to revive a dried up or drying up ink.

I…[Read more]