All About Needles

Depth, Diameter, Taper - there’s SO many terms and things to know when choosing the right permanent makeup procedure. We’re outlining our three most commonly asked questions below.

Needle Diameter

Needle diameter is the gauge or thickness of the individual needle in your configuration. The procedure type, preference, and client skin type should be taken into consideration when selecting the proper needle diameter.

⇒ Standard Diameters 0.25mm - 0.30mm: Narrower needles and more controlled pigment flow. Ideal for delicate strokes.

⇒ Larger Diameters 0.35mm+: Better pigment flow. Great for shading in or packing colors.

Fun Fact: All of our needle guides note the diameters!

Needle Taper

The needle taper is the length of the needle point towards the tip of the needle. It is measured from the widest (unsharpen) to thinnest point (sharpened) of the needle. Tapers can be short, medium, long or extra long. Artists choose the appropriate needles for different procedure types and their clients’ skin. Even cartridges with the same needle diameter can have different tapers. The standard taper is 

Short - Medium Taper 1.5-3.5mm: The shorter the taper means more pigment distribution but also larger puncture in the skin.

Long - Extra Long Taper 5.5+ mm: Fine and long. The smaller puncture size means more precision and less trauma to the skin. Ideal for clients with thinner skin.

Understanding and ultimately choosing the right taper is incredibly important as it can affect your results. 

Needle Depth

Needle depth is how far your needle “sticks out” of the cartridge. This is not controlled by the needle itself, but is adjustable from the machine or cartridge. 

➞ Too short can contribute to shallow depth which will create poor pigment retention. Too long can cause excessive trauma and scarring. 

➞ So what is your needle length sweet spot? It’s VERY dependent on your client as everyone’s skin type is different but we typically recommend between the needle depth to be 1.5mm - 2.5mm in its still position.

Shop our best selling ARIE needles, made exclusively for HIRA, our wireless device.