How to Create Prison Tattoo Ink

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Co-authored by Burak Moreno

Last Updated: November 4, 2024

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Preparing the Materials

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Making the Powder

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Mixing the Ink

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Video

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Q&A

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Warnings

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Things You'll Need

Whether you're tattooing in prison or just on a budget, you can create "prison-style" tattoo ink using baby oil, charcoal, and a bit of water. Be aware that this is neither a safe nor a certain substitute for actual tattoo ink. Do-it-yourself tattooing is illegal in most prisons, and it can open you up to the risk of serious blood infections. People do, however, use the following recipe to make a basic ink.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Preparing the Materials

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1
Find a can or metal container. It should be able to hold 4-6 ounces of baby oil, along with a bit of balled-up cotton. Try using a clean, empty boot polish can. If you don't have access to a pre-made container: use a sharp implement to shear a 12-ounce aluminum can in half, and use the bottom half as your container.
- You may be able to buy a boot polish can from the prison commissary.^{[1]
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  Research source} If you can't find boot polish, look for another suitable can that you can buy. It's important that you don't arouse suspicion from the guards, so don't buy a can of something that you would never normally use.
2
Put cotton inside the can. If you have access to cotton, ball it up inside the can as a "wick" to help ignite the baby oil. Make sure to leave at least a bit of the cotton dry and oil-free so that it will be easier to light. Use cotton balls, if you can, or tear a small strip of cotton from a shirt or pillowcase. If you don't have cotton, you can use paper or tissue paper in a pinch – anything flammable.
- Try cutting the sleeves off your shirt. This way, you can use the cotton without arousing suspicion or completely ruining the shirt.
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3
Douse the cotton with baby oil. You should be able to buy this oil from the prison commissary. Use enough baby oil to completely saturate the cotton, and make sure not to spill. You will burn this oil to create a black, sooty powder: the base ingredient of your tattoo ink.
- In the absence of baby oil, you may be able to use Vaseline or another petroleum-based substance. Do not melt poly fiber plastics, as these chemicals will irritate your skin.^{[2]
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Find a flat, clean piece of metal that will fit over the opening of the can without covering it completely. If you can't find anything else, try cutting a sheet from the top half of the aluminum can, then pressing it until it is flat. This piece will collect the sooty powder so that you can mix it into ink.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Making the Powder

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1
Make fire. Use a lighter or matches, if possible. If you are in prison, however, you may not have access to a traditional fire-starter. Find a way to make fire without a lighter. You will need fire both to make the ink and to disinfect the needle.
- Try "popping a socket". Open up an electrical socket, then hold a pencil tip and a wire up to the charged interior. This will create a spark. Hold a piece of paper or tissue against the spark until it catches flame.^{[3]
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- Be very careful when handling flame. On one hand, you might badly burn yourself or start a fire that you can't control. You also run the risk of attracting the attention of the guards.
2
Burn the baby oil and cotton. Use the cotton (or paper) as a wick: light a dry corner of the flammable material, and let it ignite the oil. Arrange the metal sheet or "soot collector" so that the smoke hits it. As the baby oil burns, the metal sheet will blacken with soot. Let the baby oil burn until it is spent, and let the metal cool before handling it directly.
- Be prepared to burn the baby oil several times. The burning process does not produce a lot of powder, so you may need to burn the oil several times until you have enough to harvest.
3
Save the black powder. Use a paper or plastic card to scrape the black powder from the metal sheet. Do not use a razor or another metal scraper to remove the soot – the metal might leave shards in the powder, which will then wind up in your skin. Start by scraping the powder onto a clean, smooth surface or a white piece of paper.
- Do not expose the powder to any moisture until you're ready to mix your ink.
- The metal sheet and canister will be hot from the flame. Do not handle the metal directly until you've given it time to cool. Avoid using a credit card to scrape soot from hot metal, as the edge of the card might melt into the powder.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Mixing the Ink

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Many prison tattooists use a clean toothpaste cap. Fill the cap about halfway with the sooty powder, and leave enough room in the container to mix in water. If you collected the soot on a sheet of paper, you can fold the paper and let the soot slide directly into the cap.
2
Add water. Mix the soot with a drop of clean water. Be very sparing with the liquid-to-soot ratio; a bit of water goes a long way. Start with a small dose, and mix the soot together with the water in the toothpaste cap. Consider adding a bit of clear, scentless baby oil to thicken the mixture.
- Remember: the soot is much harder to come by than water or baby oil. It is a limited resource. Be very careful with your mixing so that you don't need to make more soot.
Stir the soot-and-water mixture until it is about the consistency of a pen's ink. If anything, the ink should be slightly thicker. Adjust the portions of each ingredient until the texture is just right. To thin your ink, add a dash of water or baby oil. To thicken it up, add more soot.

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Question

Can I use normal pen ink?

Community Answer

No, you cannot use normal pen ink as it can poison you if it gets into your blood stream.

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Question

Is there a way to make a tattoo needle?

Community Answer

To make a tattoo needle, start with a pencil. Put a needle on the side of the pencil and wrap a thin string around it. (A lot of string.) Make sure that the string goes near the tip of the needle, but not too close. The string is used to hold extra ink so that you don't have to keep going back to the ink cup.

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Do I need baby oil and shampoo, or could I just use soot and water?

Community Answer

You don't necessarily need the shampoo, but the baby oil is required to turn the soot into ink.

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Warnings

This formula is neither a safe nor a certain substitute for real tattoo ink. If you are not in prison, consider saving up your money to pay a professional, or at least to buy proper ink. If you are in prison and you have no other option, be sure to use the cleanest materials possible, and be aware of the risk.

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Consider whether a tattoo is worth a serious infection. HIV, Hepatitis C, and other blood diseases have been linked to do-it-yourself tattooing, especially inside prisons. Consider waiting until you get out.^{[4]
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Know that prison tattooing is illegal in the United States. You may be able to get away with it, depending on the security level of your particular prison – but you still run the risk of increasing your sentence, losing your savings, or getting thrown into solitary confinement. This risk is why prison tattoo artists are able to make good money from other inmates.

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