When it comes to quarantine trends, we've seen it all — whipped coffee, TikTok dances, and even DIY tattoos! That's right, people have moved on from giving themselves haircuts and manicures and are now giving themselves stick-and-poke tattoos.
The trend might seem really cool — even celebrities like Kaia Gerber and Paris Jackson have given themselves "QuaranTattoos" — but it can be very dangerous.
Paris Jackson, Michael Jackson's daughter, gave herself a stick-and-poke tattoo on May 12. On Instagram, she's wearing gloves and using a real device, so it looks like she tried to take proper precautions before tattooing herself.
Kaia Gerber, Cindy Crawford's daughter, also gave herself an at-home tattoo. In an interview with Glamour, Kaia said, "I've been struggling because one of my favorite pastimes was going and getting tattoos, and nobody's been able to do that. So, in the meantime, I gave myself a stick and poke, which I do not recommend… I gave myself a dot, just so I could be like, 'All right, I got a tattoo this month, I'm cool.'"
Of course, celebrities aren't the only ones giving themselves tattoos. A lot of people are trying their hand at tattoos! Many tattoo artists are giving themselves and their family members/roommates tattoos during this time — and the tattoos are turning out beautifully. Others' aren't turning out quite as well.
These two created their own little tattoo studio, trying to take whatever safety precautions they could at home.
This woman has been giving herself tattoos throughout her time at home, and she included the hashtag, "#icantwaittotatsomeonethatisntme."
This woman decided to use this time to update an old stick-and-poke tattoo. The smiley and frowny faces on her toes used to look faded, but now they're much more vibrant.
This hand-poke tattoo artist gave herself a little red tattoo on her ear — but apparently it was harder than she thought it would be!
Although giving yourself a stick-and-poke tattoo at home might seem like a fun way to spend some time during quarantine, you should think twice before grabbing a needle. Not only is it a painful experience, it's also very dangerous.
"There’s really no safe way to do it at home,” Dr. Arash Akhavan, a dermatologist in New York City, told The New York Times. “There’s probably a 25 to 50 percent chance you’re going to have some sort of complication."
These complications can include bacterial and viral infections — and now is the last time you want to get an infection that could force you to go to a hospital. So even if you're desperate for a tattoo, just wait until tattoo parlors reopen and you can visit a professional!
