Blog

Articles on tattooing and micropigmentation — technique, aftercare, culture and equipment. Clear, and kept up to date.

Building your first tattoo kit: what to buy (and what to skip)

A sensible first shopping list — machine, power, needles, inks, stencil and hygiene supplies — with honest notes on where money matters and where it does not.

7 min read

Seven mistakes every beginner tattoo artist makes (and their fixes)

Overworking the skin, guessing at voltage, fighting the stencil, cheap needles — the classic early mistakes, why they happen and the concrete habit that fixes each one.

6 min read

Tattoo needle groupings: the cheat sheet

A quick-reference table of the needle groupings that matter — what each RL, RS, RM and M1 size is typically used for — plus diameters and taper in thirty seconds.

5 min read

How to store tattoo ink (and when to throw it away)

Shelf life, opened-bottle discipline, light and temperature, cap hygiene — the storage habits that keep ink safe and consistent, and the signs a bottle is done.

6 min read

UK tattoo licensing basics: registration, premises and the rules that matter

Who needs to register, how England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland differ, the under-18 law, and what inspectors look for — a plain-English orientation for new artists.

7 min read

What does "REACH compliant" tattoo ink actually mean?

The EU restriction that reshaped tattoo inks, what UK REACH means for artists in Great Britain, and how to read an ink label like someone who checks these things.

6 min read

Tattoo power supplies and voltage: the basics every artist should know

What voltage actually does, sensible starting ranges for lining and shading, why supply stability beats machine price, and how to diagnose a machine that spits or bogs down.

6 min read