The Ultimate Guide to PMU Needles
The PMU industry has revolutionised the beauty industry, offering clients a long-lasting way to enhance and improve their natural beauty!
But nothing good happens without a solid understanding of the tools you need to create these incredible looks, and perhaps the most understated of them all is the needle cartridge.
Here’s everything you need to know about PMU cartridges, as well as how to choose the right one for your client and their treatment!
Understanding PMU Needle Configurations
While tattoo cartridges can be used for PMU purposes, many artists prefer to work with specifically designed PMU cartridges which cater more to the delicate facial skin.
However, in terms of understanding configuration, needle size, diameter and taper lengths, we can take a lot of knowledge from the tattoo supplies side of things!
These are the major needle configurations that you’ll use in PMU - but bear in mind that new styles are being invented all the time!
The most common kind of cartridge, these are one needle or multiple needles arranged in a circle. These are fantastic for creating precise lines, making them perfect for fine hair strokes in eyebrow treatments, defining the edges of the lip in lip blush treatments, and to create perfect fine line flicks in eyeliner.
These needles are very similar to a round liner, but spread slightly further apart, with more of a gap in the middle. This gap allows you to take in more pigment and distribute it smoothly to create soft gradients and transitions. Round Shaders are ideal for powder brow effects, lip blush, and softer eyeliner shading!
Flats
In Flat configurations, the needles are arranged in a single row, allowing you to fill in larger areas without potentially oversaturating. You can use Flat needles for techniques like eyebrow shading, powder brows, and 3D effects.
Magnum cartridges are made up of two rows of needles and can vary from just a few pins to dozens (only for use in tattoo treatments.) There are a few different varieties of Magnum cartridges -
Curved Magnum cartridges come in two lines, with the pins on each end shortened slightly to create a curve. These are perfect for following natural curves, and can be used to outline lip blush treatments.
Weaved Magnums are more common in tattoo than PMU. This configuration sees two lines of needles stacked on each other, with a gap in the middle when overlapped. Loose grouping makes them incredibly effective for colour packing in larger areas, and may only be needed for treatments like areola tattooing.
Stacked Magnums are similar to Weaved but with a tighter grouping for more controlled ink flow, and are also used for shading or packing pigment into smaller areas.
One of the newer types of cartridge, needles in a Slope configuration are positioned in an angled line, with gradually decreasing needle lengths.. These are very popular for lining, shading, and pixel effects!
Understanding PMU Needle Diameters
While the configuration of your needles is important, so is the size of the needles themselves - also known as diameter or gauge! The diameter of your needle defines the size of the hole you’re making.
In PMU, diameters typically range from 0.16mm up to 0.35mm, with the most common between 0.18 and 0.30. Finer diameters are best for ultra-precise detail work where crisp edges are necessary, such as hair stroke brows or eyeliner, while thicker diameters are more suited to shading, and areas that require saturation, such as lip blush and powder brows.
You’re likely to pick the right needle mostly dependent on the treatment at hand, but your client’s skin may affect your decision as well! Thinner and more mature skin often benefits from a smaller needle diameter as it causes less trauma - dense and oily skin may need a larger diameter to aid in pigment retention.
A smaller diameter needle will implant pigment more slowly, but offer greater control. You should weigh up the needs of the treatment and your client’s skin type before choosing the best PMU needle for your session!
Understanding Needle Count
This is one of the easier bits of the formula to understand, as it simply states the number of individual pins that have been brought together in this cartridge. You can get as small as 1 needle, and in tattooing they can go up to huge numbers - due to the smaller areas worked on in PMU, you’re likely to need fewer pins in your needle setup.
Understanding Taper Lengths
A needle’s taper is the length and angle of the needle’s pointed tip - essentially, how gradually it narrows to its sharpest point. A short taper (e.g., 1.5–2.0mm) deposits pigment more quickly and is ideal for procedures requiring bold colour saturation, such as lip blush or dense shading. In contrast, a long taper (often 3.5mm or more) allows for finer, more controlled pigment implantation, making it perfect for detailed work like hair stroke brows or fine eyeliner.
Longer tapers tend to cause less trauma to the skin, offering a gentler touch, especially on sensitive or mature skin. By understanding and selecting the appropriate taper length, PMU artists can better control pigment flow, reduce skin irritation, and tailor results to both the client’s skin type and the technique being used!
PMU Cartridge Compatibility
The permanent makeup machine you’ve chosen will only work with compatible cartridges, and nine times out of ten that will mean using what we call “universal connection” cartridges (in the tattoo world, they’re sometimes known as Cheyenne-type, after the brand that patented them).
However, some machines use alternative cartridge systems, such as the Magic Dermo which has an interchangeable grip which allows you to use standard universal cartridges, Twist cartridges and Clip cartridges.
Choosing the Right Needle
When selecting the best PMU cartridge, you’ll need to consider the treatment type and location, as well as your client’s skin type. Then you can use your knowledge of configurations, tapers and diameters to select the right tool for the job!
Safety and Hygiene Considerations
Ensuring client safety is paramount! You should always use needles with a built-in membrane to prevent backflow of pigments and bodily fluids into the machine, which reduces the risk of damaging your machine and causing cross-contamination. All of your cartridges should arrive individually blister packaged!