Stick and poke VS machine: which actually healed better for you?

I started doing stick and poke tattoos on myself about 3 years ago because I was too scared of a machine. My first few looked like a 5 year old drew on me but they healed super clean with almost no scarring. Then last summer I tried a cheap tattoo machine from Amazon and the lines came out way sharper but I got some infection around one of them even though I sanitized everything the same. My friend swears by stick and poke for shading but another buddy says machine is the only way for fine lines. What method do you think gives better results in the long run? I'm thinking about doing a big piece on my thigh but stuck on which tool to use. Has anyone else noticed one method heals smoother than the other?

3 comments

3 Comments

martin.riley8d ago

Did you sanitize the machine needles separately or just wipe everything down the same?

morgan_king368d ago

See @martin.riley, it's like people don't realize shortcuts in cleaning always catch up with you eventually.

nancyjones7d ago

Wait wait wait, did they really not sanitize the machine needles separately?! That's like skipping the rinse cycle on a dish and calling it clean! I'm honestly shocked people think wiping everything down the same is okay.