Tattooing yourself

[Araillac]

Understanding the risks of using a homemade tattooing kit/gun/whatever and doing it yourself, would you risk giving yourself a tiny tattoo, assuming you want a tattoo in the first place? And I'm talking pretty tiny, like a real small bass clef or something.

[Disraeli Gears]

No. If nothing else, I'd probably mess it up somehow and it's not like I can just break out my eraser and start over.

[capnsandwich]

If I knew that what I was using would be completely safe and I was a half way decent artist..............maybe.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Most apprentice tattooists have to start off doing that before they tattoo other people.

[Big Joe]

Practice on potatoes first...

That said, it's really much cheaper, safer, and will get better results if you get it done by a pro. In reality, your chances of doing it safely and where it won't look scummy are practically nil.

Seriously, it will cost you maybe $60 or less for something small.

That's a lot less than the co-pay for the doctor's visits and antibiotics will be. Sepsis is no joke.

[Freddels]

My friend is a tattoo artist. His legs are all tattooed by himself. He had to practice on someone and until he was good enough to get volunteers for free tattoos, his own legs were what he had. The grapefruits, potatoes, etc. only do so much, he had to learn how to do skin. He did have all professional equipment and worked in a tattoo shop so he knew about sanitizing the equipment. He's now fully licensed.

[Mark Latimour]

A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.

I'd imagine the same applies to tattoo artists.

[Floyd Eye]

As a teenager I tattooed myself. It cost me no small amount of money to have them all covered up by a real artist later. Unless you are a skilled tattoo artist, I HIGHLY recommend having your tattoos done by a professional.

[ausf]

I think there's more to it than being able to draw well.

[Floyd Eye]

Originally Posted by ausf

I think there's more to it than being able to draw well.

An indisputable fact.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

See, it's a great idea.

Go get a bic, a lighter and some needles. And post up the results.

Good plan.

[ausf]

You could always go to prison, three squares and all the tats you want.

Free too.

Well, relatively speaking.

[Jim Nazium]

There are certain things that I absolutely will not do myself, because it's so easy to **** it up. Installing car stereos and building / truing bicycle wheels come to mind. It might look easy, but I've learned the hard way, it's much better to pay a pro.

I'd have to put tattooing in that category.

[machine gewehr]

If I did,I guess it'd end up something like this.

[ausf]

Originally Posted by machine gewehr

If I did,I guess it'd end up something like this.

Yikes.

Why not cut to the chase a get the whole back Jabba?

(nice username, a 42 or 43?)

[blendermassacre]

uh. bad Idea, unless you have an autoclave.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by blendermassacre

uh. bad Idea, unless you have an autoclave.

I don't know if that's entirely true.

I have an autoclave but tattooing myself would still be a bad idea

[MatticusMania]

I gave myself a tattoo of the all seeing eye when I was 18. I used a pushpin needle and the ink of a Bic pen.
It didnt hurt at them time, probably because I was loaded. It looked pretty good, was a little less than a centimeter in size on my wrist.
Because I didnt use pro-grade ink it ended up fading away after a few years, you can't even see it now.

[MakiSupaStar]

Man up and do it. It didn't happen without pics btw.

[Popsicle Pete]

Well, my guitarist in YoF (he also happens to be an apprentice tattoo artist and has done a couple of his own tats) put it to me like this: Never trust a tattoo artist who is unwilling to work on his own skin.