09/05/2026
Let’s talk about fineline tattoos. A lot of people think that because a tattoo is small, it won’t take long, but actually it can take much longer than a traditional style tattoo.
In order to get those tiny crisp lines that are fully saturated, we have to do it “low and slow” like smoking a fine rack of ribs. If your machine voltage is too high, it will cause blowouts and too much trauma to the skin. If you go too fast, the lines won’t be saturated with ink. So keeping it low and slow keeps lines crisp and saturated.
I tell my clients to think about walking on grass in stilettos. Your heals sink right in. But if you walk on grass in a wide chunky heal, you stay on top of the grass. A tiny needle grouping takes careful precision not to go too deep. Because of this, it’s super important not to apply too much pressure when tattooing fine lines. You’ll sink right into the skin and cause a blowout. I always prefer to err on the side of caution, so once the design is tattooed on the skin, I wipe off all the stencil, and then look back over it, examining every detail, and fix any little spots that aren’t fully saturated. This is a time consuming process, but the results are worth it. Also, every person’s skin is different, so if you have fragile skin, I will be EXTRA careful, so that means more time spent making sure to get the tattoo saturated while minimizing skin damage. When getting a fine line tattoo, make sure you choose an artist who does this type of tattooing on a regular basis.