Also known as hand-poked or machine-free tattoos, stick-and-poke tattoos have mostly been associated with the underground culture and tattoo community for a long time. These tattoos have always been straightforward, with simple and minimal designs.

Even nowadays, the stick-and-poke tattoo tends to be simplistic and minimal. However, some tattoo artists do range their tattoos from detailed to complex. There is simply something for everyone in the stick-and-poke tattoo world.

However, stick-and-poke tattoos have also been associated with a DIY technique of getting a tattoo. Because the stick-and-poke technique doesn’t require a tattoo machine and is done in simple dots, many have been brave enough to do these tattoos themselves.

One of the most common methods of DIY stick-and-poke tattoo is done using pen ink. But, can and should you be using pen ink for a tattoo? Let’s find out in the following paragraphs!

Stick-and-Poke Tattoos: Explained

What Is a Stick-and-Poke Tattoo?

When you think of tattoos, the first thing you imagine is the tattoo machine and needle. However, some tattoos aren’t done with the tattoo machine. Stick-and-poke tattoos are a form of, as we mentioned, machine-free, non-electric tattooing. The ink is simply applied to the skin using a needle only.

The needle is attached to a contraption (imagine a pencil and a thread), creating an analog tattoo machine. The needle is dipped into the ink and then the tattooist pokes your skin, creating the design dot by dot.

Why Is the Stick-and-Poke Method Used?

The Stick-and-poke tattooing method originates far back in ancient cultures, like ancient Egypt for example. Because the method only requires a form of needle and some pigment or ink, it was one of the easiest ways to do intricate designs and detailed thousands of years ago.