WHAT IS A SINGLE-NEEDLE TATTOO?
A single-needle tattoo is the finest possible tattoo you can get from a tattoo artist. To design and ink them you’ll need a one round liner needle, specially designed for this purpose, and a very competent artist.
They are the finest of fine-line tattoos on the spectrum of fineness.
Because we are talking about super fine lines here, there is little margin for error in these tattoo designs and mistakes cannot be covered up easily. So best to get every single intricate line correct.
These are intentional tattoo designs, where every detailed line contributes to the overall effect.
They also use incredibly small amounts of ink, so if you did ever decide to remove a single-needle tattoo with laser tattoo removal, the process would likely be a breeze.
Read on for the best single-needle tattoo designs and artists.
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BEFORE AND AFTER
Washed away with the LightSense™ laser
Famous single-needle tattoo designs
London based fine-line tattoo artist Pablo, aka Certified Letter Boy, has been quietly putting together a portfolio of work with London’s notables since moving to the capital from Peru. He’s worked with Beckhams (times two) and jewellers, specialising in single-needle script.
The one time we would recommend getting a partner’s name tatted, perhaps, is if it’s inked by Pablo. At least if the relationship ends the artwork still has some street cred.
Pablo explained the rules of single-needle tattoos to Vogue in a recent editorial.
“The needle configuration and the way it’s soldered are so important to how you tattoo – you can’t do a fine line without a single needle. A lot of artists are using three and claiming it’s a single needle – even though it might look good on the day, 10 years down the line [...] not so much.”
The best single-needle tattoo artists
Alessandro Melas, or Tiny tattoos_single needle on Instagram, is known for tattooing intricate script and botanicals, as well as nature imagery. Miniscule ankle penguin, anyone?
Alessandro’s books opened 15 May and, by the looks of it, they fill up pretty quickly.
Sponsored by Killer Ink, the tattoo equipment suppliers, Alessandro is a well-known name in the single-needle tattoo community.
Do single-needle tattoos hurt?
When we spoke to Marisa Jimenez, co-owner of the Casa Dolores Tattoo Studio in Bristol, about fine-line tattoos, the line that stuck out most to us was that, “the lower the number of needles the lower the power of the machine - which also means less pain.”
Single-needle tattoos hurt less to get done because the artist uses a machine with lower power and one needle is better than many when it comes to pain.
If you’re taking your first tentative steps into the world of tattoos and pain is putting you off, a single-needle tattoo could be the perfect first tattoo.
Can I remove a single-needle tattoo?
The 0.4mm spot size of the accurate LightSense™ laser means that our expert consultants can target even the sharpest of tattoo lines.
As there is less ink deposited into the dermis of the skin when you get a single-needle tattoo, the process should be a lot swifter than with a tattoo made up of heavy, dense ink pigment.
You can remove a single-needle tattoo as soon as it has healed. Many of our clients remove tattoos in the months just after getting one.
This is precisely why it is worth doing your tattoo research and finding an artist, and safe ink, that you feel comfortable and happy with. Using the best ink will keep your skin safe and make laser tattoo removal much easier. If you do change your mind there’s always safe and fast tattoo removal.
