Learning how to tattoo is a very expensive craft to learn. Tattoo apprenticeships take a lot of money, and often you won’t even be paid to do them! Then there is the need to buy your own supplies so that you can at least practice the craft because let’s face it, if you don’t practice you will never be able to become a tattoo artist. Thankfully, there are some wonderful brands like Wormhole Tattoo that provide such full tattoo kits without the need to break the bank. However, you can only go so far practicing on the fake skin from a Wormhole Tattoo kit!
So is Wormhole tattoo ink safe for skin? Wormhole tattoo ink is exclusively to be used on fake skin for practice only! They are not meant for actual skin and there are many reasons why this is the case as well. So let’s dive into one of the popular tattoo kits from Dragonhawk and Wormhole Tattoo, give it a thorough review, and explain why the ink is meant for fake skin only!
Key Takeaways
- Wormhole Tattoo was founded in 2016 by Jian Wu and quickly rose to fame due to its affordability and targeting of beginners.
- From my review of a Wormhole Tattoo Kit, I have found that their ink is not good or safe for the skin.
- There are many dangers to tattoo ink from tattoo kits that you should be aware of and it is important to know them before you use them on real skin.
Wormhole Tattoo: A Brief Look at Their History
Founded in 2016, Wormhole Tattoo was founded by Jian Wu. He is not a tattoo artist himself but is a tattoo product designer with over 10 years of experience before he founded the company. Their innovation particularly in wireless pen tattoo machines is what helped them gain in popularity that was only increased during the pandemic. With little to no access to premium tattoo guns, Wormhole Tattoo helped fill the gap while maintaining quality, safety, hygiene, and precision.
Particularly for safety and hygiene, founder Jian Wu focused on that more than anything else, making sure that the tattoo machines that Wormhole Tattoo makes are safe to use while you are in the comfort of your home! Their affordable prices are probably the best reason why they are so popular. They allow tattoo artists who are just starting out with great prices for a whole tattoo kit!
I will to reviewing one of Wormhole Tattoo kits in a bit but let’s make one thing clear, other than the machine itself the rest of the tattoo kits are for practice purposes only. Wormhole Tattoo has never hidden that fact from their customers and I can appreciate the care they put into their kits to make it the best tattoo kit for beginners!
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Reviewing Wormhole Tattoo: Wormhole Tattoo Kit for Beginners Model TK096
Wormhole tattoo kits are probably some of the best for beginners who just want to try their hand at tattooing! So let’s get to a review of some of the components of the tattoo kit itself and at the end, I will give a final verdict on the whole experience.
What’s Inside?
Here is what you get inside the tattoo kit:
- 1 x Shader and Liner Tattoo machine; 1 x Power supply; 1 x American standard power cord
- 1 x Clip cord; 1 x Tattoo foot pedal
- 1 x Tattoo grip
- 20 x Assorted tattoo needles
- 20 x Assorted disposable tattoo tips
- 1 x 10 colors 5ml tattoo ink; 1 oz. true black tattoo ink
- 20 x 8mm ink cups (No ink cup holders are needed.); 20 x 12mm ink cups (No ink cup holders are needed.)
- 1 x Blank tattoo practice skin
- 2 x Transfer paper
- 10 x O-ring; 10 x Rubber bands; 10 x Grommets; 1 x A set of Allen keys (3 different sizes)
- 1 x Pair of gloves
- 1 x Free tattoo kit user manual
For the specific components, I will be reviewing the tattoo machine, needles and ink, the practice skin, and the power supply and foot pedal.
Tattoo Machine Model TK096: Two-In-One Liner and Shader – 8/10
I don’t have much expectation with tattoo machines from a tattoo kit but I must say that the Wormhole Tattoo Machine Model TK096 is surprisingly good! First off, it has a really cool design to it which I can appreciate since most coil tattoo machines don’t necessarily have that. It is an iron frame and 10-wrap copper coils that work perfectly for shading and lining. It has low vibration and noise for a coil tattoo machine but what impressed me the most is that it still packed a punch, making it very easy to penetrate skin and pack ink effectively. You can customize it with the grip and so much more and I really think the machine itself is good enough for the price! I liked the shader more than the liner but since you can switch between the two, you don’t need an extra machine setup!
Needles and ink – 1/10
Here is where I have never been happy with any tattoo kit and the same goes for the Wormhole Tattoo kit as well. The ink is just not good. They move around a lot in the machine which makes even using it on the practice skin hard to bear with as well. The needles need to take double, even triple dips before it picks up the ink and you need to use force to actually pack it into the practice skin itself! The ink itself is no good as well. It felt really lackluster, especially the color inks. The black ink was the only one that was good but it is meant only for practice skin so you should not use it on real skin anyways. A pretty terrible experience with them.
Power supply and foot pedal – 7/10
I liked the power supply a lot! It gave a consistent voltage and was very easy to operate without much of a hassle. The reading never felt off either and you can easily switch between lining and shading from the power supply itself. The foot pedal was okay, but not great. It was a bit too sensitive to the touch so it was hard to gauge how much pressure I needed to put on it but I think with practice one can get used to it. But the consistent voltage made for an easy time while tattooing and I can’t complain about that.
Practice skin and other supplies – 6.5/10
I wish that there was more practice skin available in the kit because this practice skin was a breath of fresh air from other tattoo skin silicone fake skin! It was really good, had a nice thickness, packed ink easily, and was very visible on it as well. I can’t stress enough that having only one practice skin was the only downside to it! The other supplies like the ink cups, transfer paper, and O-rings were okay, not the best but does the job. I was a bit disappointed with the rubber bands so they tore on me but I might have placed it on too tightly. But what I was probably the saddest about was that there was only one pair of gloves and no plastic wrap. They are very important to make sure that you are practicing hygiene from early in your tattooing. You could always buy more nitrile gloves and plastic wrap but I wished it was included in the kit.
Final Verdict – 7/10 (without the needle and ink)
I want to rate this tattoo kit based on everything other than the needle and ink included. These are not meant for the real skin making Wormhole Tattoo Ink NOT safe for skin, as well as the needles included. Everything else was really wonderful and worked very well and I have very little complaints about the. But the ink and needles were not good, worse on the practice skin even! So I would suggest getting different needles and ink for your practice so you can actually get good practice out of the tattoo machine.
5 Dangers of Tattoo Ink from Tattoo Kits on Real Skin
Most people buy tattoo kits and immediately think that they are meant to be used for the real skin. But the main problem with most if not all tattoo kits is that they aren’t meant for human skin! Here are some dangers that you need to be aware of tattoo inks from tattoo kits from brands like Wormhole Tattoo.
- Allergic reaction: It’s because these inks are not formulated specifically to be non-irritating to the skin. This might lead to an allergic reaction that could lead to compromising your health in the process!
- Quality: quality of the tattoo ink provided in tattoo kits is not necessarily that good either. Since they are for practice purposes, manufacturers can cut corners and sacrifice the quality since these aren’t used for real tattoos.
- Contamination: as the FDA states, tattoo inks can be contaminated before they are even closed and sealed. These contaminations can cause infections and other bloodborne diseases as well.
- Lack of experience: most tattoo artists do not buy tattoo kits since they are marketed for beginners. So if an amateur is tattooing with the ink on real skin, it will not be packed properly and cause a tattoo blowout. Even if an experienced tattoo artist were to use the ink, they can tell that it is not for real skin as well.
- No mentorship: Tattoos kits are marketed in a way that tattoo artists would be able to buy one, practice on fake skin, and become tattoo artists, but that is not the case at all! The value of tattoo apprenticeships and mentorship is lost and an upcoming tattoo artist might not have the know-how of working in a hygienic environment and making a mess of the ink itself.
Even if the manufacturer tells you that the ink in tattoo kits is safe to use on real skin, under no circumstances should you use it! They are not meant for human skin. Wormhole Tattoo has a discretion for this to ensure that people who buy their products know that the tattoo ink in the kit is only meant for practice.
FAQs
What tattoo ink is the safest?
A reputable brand and seller will be able to give you the safest tattoo ink that is safe for the skin and without contamination.
Is fake skin good for tattoo practice?
Tattooing on fake skin is good for practice because you get the feel of the machine while tattooing which you do not get with just drawing on the skin with a pen.
What speed should I use for a wormhole tattoo pen?
You should be using it at a voltage of around 5.5V to 8V to ensure you get a steady speed of 8,000 to 10,000rpm without overheating the tattoo pen.
Final Thoughts
So ultimately, Wormhole tattoo ink is not safe for skin. The ones from tattoo kits especially are not meant to be used on real skin because they have a lot of dangers attached to them. In my review of one such tattoo kit from Wormhole Tattoo, I have found that claim to be quite true but I have to say everything other than the needle and tattoo ink was really good! Wormhole Tattoo is a trusted brand and trust them when they themselves say that their tattoo ink is for practice only, even the ones they sell separately! Wormhole Tattoo brand is a good practice but you should definitely get better needles and tattoo ink if you want to tattoo with their machines.
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