How Deep Should a Tattoo Needle Go?

So, Where Should The Needle Go?

The tattoo needle should go into the dermis layer of the skin. This layer lies in the middle, and is the perfect spot for ensuring the ink will stay in the skin, and not ‘bleed out’ as the tattoo heals.

The epidermis is not a good ink location since it is too exposed and too outward, while the hypodermis is too deep into the skin, which means the ink won’t be as visible and the pain during tattooing would be twice as intense. Also, if the needle penetrates the hypodermis, the client will most certainly experience an infection.

So, how deep, to be exact, should a needle go into the skin?

The answer is – approximately 1/16th inch deep into the skin. This means that the ink will be placed exactly between the 2mm of the dermis layer.

If you’re wondering how a tattoo artist knows where the dermis layer is in the skin, we’ve got you covered with that as well.

Before the tattooing process begins, the tattoo artist adjusts the tattoo machine and the needle in regards to the parameter of the dermis layer location. So, the dermis layer is approximately 1/16th inch deep into the skin.

With that knowledge, the tip of the tattoo needle is adjusted to only enter the skin at such depth, not a millimeter shallower or deeper. This means that the tattoo needle should not stick out the tattoo machine more than 2mm, or less than 1mm.

What If The Needle Goes Too Shallow/Deep?

If the needle only enters the epidermis or the outer layer of the skin, the ink will transfer but won’t stay in the skin.

As the needle leaves the skin and the bleeding occurs, it will push out the ink out of the skin as well. By the time the tattoo heals, the majority of the ink will have left the skin and one would end up with a partial, messed up, and faded-looking tattoo (in the best case).