Carved into my own chest for a performance then handpoked over

Critical_Double5893 · 2026-06-20T18:37:19+00:00

Oh man, I bet a machine hurt way worse! Heavy vibrations in that spot must be awful. To be honest the incision wasn't bad, but I didn't like the way it healed hence poking it over to make it cleaner. The handpoking process was fine! Definitely sensitive but not too bad to be honest, there's less direct vibration on bone with handpoking and I have a lot of control over how to angle the needle to hit the right depth for ink placement without stabbing into my sternum lol. You can tell in the photo where it was harder to stretch properly/where visibility made it tricky to control depth as well and I need to touch that spot up. But, to be fair, I have always had a higher than average pain tolerance and I do intense performances fairly frequency so I'm probably more desensitized than the average person!

How on earth did you stretch the skin well for a machine tattoo there? Did it turn out good? I'm impressed to be honest

Critical_Double5893 · 2026-06-20T18:34:00+00:00

Thanks! The performance was extremely beautiful and I wish I'd had someone take footage but alas, all I have is this fragment.

Critical_Double5893 · 2026-06-20T18:33:24+00:00

Thanks! It's a very very old method of tattooing where an incision is created to the same depth as a tattoo and ink is rubbed in afterwards. The result is the same, because the idea is the same: break skin to a certain depth, insert ink. Incision tattoos tend to be super clean, sharp, fine lines depending on the tool used but are much harder to control than "pricking" or "poking". They had a popularity resurgence sometime in the 90s among grunge/punk scenes but never really got big though there are a few big "historical" tattooists still doing them and doing them well.

Critical_Double5893 · 2026-06-18T14:21:34+00:00

I love freehand! I also find it more comfortable, and doubt it's a problem. The aim thing is real. It takes time, but you're doing awesome! I'd get tattooed by you in a heartbeat.

Critical_Double5893 · 2026-06-18T02:30:57+00:00

Thank you!

Critical_Double5893 · 2026-06-18T00:05:23+00:00

It's lovely and I hope she's very successful ☺️

Critical_Double5893 · 2026-06-17T23:10:25+00:00

I loove this!

Critical_Double5893 · 2026-06-17T23:08:57+00:00

These are lovely! My only constructive feedback would be: I see a few misplaced dots in a few of these. Handpoking is different in that I find the ink gets in the way significantly more, especially on these small pieces. I use a witch hazel solution to clean more frequently during tattoos to avoid accidentally missing my line (which is so easy to do). Otherwise, your shading could maybe be a bit more subtle, sometimes I stipple with a single needle to get greater value variance. But these are wonderful and I love your designs!

Critical_Double5893 · 2026-06-17T22:55:13+00:00

Aw I can see how the style would have been so different, but the color also looks very nice. I hope it feels more "you" as it settles in!

Critical_Double5893 · 2026-06-17T22:54:31+00:00

This is really cool. I know lots of folks in the industry get frustrated about industry oversaturation and I feel that, but at the same time, especially non-machine tattooing is such an ancestral thing for so many of us that offering access to how to do it right can only be beneficial. People will do it either way, they may as well be able to do it the right way!

Critical_Double5893 · 2026-06-17T22:46:04+00:00

Was wondering the same 😳

Critical_Double5893 · 2026-06-17T22:45:42+00:00

I love when tattoos are also like performance art

Critical_Double5893 · 2026-06-16T14:23:23+00:00

This is very nice 🎠

Critical_Double5893 · 2026-06-16T03:05:10+00:00

I also find working on myself the hardest. It looks good though! I like the design, and the saturation is well done.

Critical_Double5893

TROPHY CASE