Ointment, Ink Saturation, and Vacuums!?

"If you can picture walking through a muddy field in boots and when you step, you're creating indentations or holes in the soft ground, you're not really pressing water down into that hole. Whenever you lift your foot out, you've left a hole. Then water rushes into the hole that you created."

-Jake Meeks

There are a few things that affect how well a tattoo needle will penetrate the skin, including the type of ointment used, the lubricant base, and the tattoo machine being used. Let's take a closer look at one of these factors to see how it can impact your tattoo healing.

The first thing to consider is the type of ointment.  Petroleum-based ointments, for example, have a lot of friction and can cause the needle to drag. Although products like vitamin A&D ointment or Vaseline have been an industry standard, they are probably not ideal for tattooing.

Watch the full Episode:

How Ink REALLY Gets Into Skin! Tattoo Physics Part 1 | Tattoo Overview | Episode 8