by Katie Parkinson, photos by Maria Donnelly
Juniors Arinna Hoffine, Willa Knight and their friends have (almost) permanent souvenirs of their time at last year’s MGMT concert. After the show, Hoffine took out a bottle of India ink, wiped a needle with hydrogen peroxide, burned it with a lighter, then wiped it with hydrogen peroxide one more time. She dipped the needle in the ink and proceeded to tattoo the first girl in the group.
These kind of homemade tattoos are known as stick and pokes, and they are becoming increasingly popular at STA.
According to a poll given to 100 STA students, 12 percent of students had one or more stick and poke tattoos, while last school year only 4 percent of students had them.
Why the increase in popularity?
According to senior Katy Wonder, who has two professionally done tattoos and attempted multiple stick and pokes in the past, tattoos in general are rising in popularity.
“I think people are starting to regard tattoos a little less harshly,” Wonder said. “They’re becoming more mainstream.”
According to Hoffine, who has three stick and pokes, she and her friends were inspired to tattoo themselves after seeing others do it.
“We looked up how to tattoo, and we were like, ‘That’s easy enough,’” Hoffine said. “We weren’t the first [to tattoo ourselves], but after we did ours, a lot of people tried. I think they wanted a tattoo and after they saw [from us] how easy it is, it was like, ‘They can do it. We’re fine.’”
However, despite the growing trend of stick and pokes, professional tattoo artist Devan Sisemore of Inkubus Tattoo advised against doing them.
“Stick and pokes are absolutely more dangerous [than tattoos done professionally], especially if teens aren’t using proper sterilization,” Sisemore said. “You also have to be very careful of what ink you’re using. Even India ink has a lot of lead in it, which can be dangerous.”
Fellow tattoo artist Justin Brown recommended teens wait until they turn 18 to get a professionally done tattoo.
“[Stick and poke tattoos] aren’t sanitary,” Brown said. “All it takes is one poke [to get an infection].”
According to Knight, who has two stick and pokes, when her friends tattoo each other, they take precautions such as sterilizing the needle and the skin and not sharing needles or ink.
“I think you’re less likely to get an infection if you take all the safety precautions,” Knight said.
However, Wonder agreed that trusting an unprofessional sterilization procedure can be risky.
“The sterilization for [stick and pokes] is just really sketchy,” Wonder said. “I attempted a couple stick and pokes before I turned 18, on myself and somebody else, and they were all complete failures. A lot of blood was involved, and I don’t know if I just did it wrong, but I think I’m over [stick and pokes].”
Although none of the tattoos on Hoffine’s friends have gotten infected, Hoffine said one of hers took an abnormally long time to heal.
“I was scared,” Hoffine said. “It scabbed over, and it hurt more than it should have, and I jokingly got mad at my friend who did it, and I was like, ‘Oh, God, I’m gonna die.’”
But according to Sisemore, health risks aren’t the only drawbacks to stick and pokes. The quality is also more likely to be uneven, and the tattoo can eventually fade if the ink is not reaching the right layer of the dermis.
“With professionals, we know exactly how far down to go, where stick and pokes are guess work,” Sisemore said. “They’re never at a constant level of the dermis, so there’s blowouts and shallows.”
Blowouts occur when the ink goes too far through the dermis and travels through the limbo space between muscle and skin, which causes what tattoo artists call an underbruise because it looks like a bruise, but never goes away. On the opposite end, shallows occur when the ink doesn’t go in far enough.
According to Knight, you can feel when the needle breaks the right layer of skin, and it is sometimes accompanied by a popping sound.
An anonymous junior said that while stick and pokes clearly have a different look than professional tattoos, she said she considers this a positive thing.
“I think that’s cool that they look different because it shows how much you put into it and how sentimental it is to you,” she said.
A second anonymous junior agreed, saying, “I just like how stick and pokes look better.”
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According to Hoffine, stick and pokes are more personal and also serve as a “small form of rebellion.”
“You know when you’re this young, you’re trying to do thing that make you excited, and I don’t think that’s a big deal,” Hoffine said. “You’re not putting anyone in danger.”
Wonder agreed, saying she thinks it’s fine that stick and pokes are becoming popular.
“It’s just one of those phases you go through, but on the other hand, you don’t want a phase tattooed on yourself for the rest of your life, so I think [potential regrets are] something that needs to be regarded more highly,” Wonder said.
However, Knight said one of the aspects she likes best about stick and pokes is that they represent certain events and times and bring back memories.
“I’m going to be 18 soon, and I would get a professional tattoo, but with something like the stick and poke, you remember something like the fun concert and then [tattooing each other] afterwards,” Knight said. “There’s a story behind it.”
Knight’s friends agreed, however, that one of the more negative sides to stick and pokes is that they are more painful than professional tattoos.
“I would say the pain is a three or four [out of ten], unless you hit a nerve, then I’d say it’s a nine,” Knight said.
Overall, though, Hoffine and Knight’s friends agreed the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to stick and pokes, but they realize not everyone is accepting of the tattoos.
“My mom has tattoos, but she thinks stick and pokes are stupid, and that I should wait,” the second anonymous junior said.
Similarly, the first anonymous junior said her parents outright disapprove and she hides her tattoos with socks.
“I don’t think I would ever regret [getting a stick and poke] though,” she said.
