Very fine needles are firmly attached to the end of a thin piece of bamboo using cotton. Usually 5 needles are used in this process but this can vary according to tattoo type and size.

 

The needles are put in a line instead of a round bullet so that a very fine line can be achieved. This is then gently tapped into the skin.

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With bamboo tattooing, the skin is punctured but not torn, which results in a significant reduction in pain and bleeding. Consequently there is no scabbing as with most machine tattoos, resulting in a very quick healing process – usually around four days. The tattoo therefore doesn’t crack or go patchy meaning there is no need for touch ups. Furthermore as there is no blood to push the colour out of the skin, the ink settles quite deeply and no colour is lost.

 

Bamboo tattoos tend to maintain their colour extremely well, staying bright and strong. There is absolutely no problem going into the sun following the bamboo method of tattooing. Another major benefit with bamboo tattooing is that it is a lot less painful than machine tattooing.

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Bamboo tattoos are recommended for delicate areas to tattoo such as feet, which are not ideal areas for the machine to tattoo due to inevitable rubbing and fading caused by wearing socks and footwear.