Choosing the right needle size is NOT “optional.” It’s the difference between smooth pins and turning your leg into a pincushion.
Wrong needle, wrong depth, and suddenly you’re leaking oil, bruised, or sitting on an abscess.
Gauge vs Length: What It Actually Means??
• Gauge (G) = thickness of the needle. Higher number = thinner needle. A 25G is thinner than a 21G (PERIOD!!)
• Length (inches) = how deep it goes. Shorter for subq or delts, longer for glutes or deep IM. (easy… right?)
Simply think of it like tools: you don’t use a hammer when you need a screwdriver.
Same thing here!!!
So, let’s get down to business!
Subq (Subcutaneous)
You’re just going under the skin, into the fat (yes… FAT ONLY!) that is Perfect for peptides, HGH and or small oil shots.
• Insulin pins: 29–31G, ½ inch.
• Use around abs, love handles, thigh fat, triceps fat.
• Pin slow, rotate often.
IM (Intramuscular) This is where MOST PED use sits on.
You need enough length to hit the MUSCLE, but not so thick you feel like you’re jamming a nail in there.
1st spot: Glutes / Ventroglute
• 22–25G, 1.5 inch if you’re a big dude
• If lean, you can get away with 1 inch. Shark does not advice going less than that.
2nd spot: Delts
• 25G, 1 inch
• Easy, but don’t dump huge volumes here (even if you are a big dude, it will affect your training ability, so stay cool!)
3rd Spot: Quads
• 23–25G, 1 inch
• Go middle of the outer thigh, not too high, not too low
Shark’s note: I hate it hahaha
4th Spot: Lats
• 23–25G, 1 inch
• Go middle of the outer using your preferred angle. I have used straight and tangled. Does not mean any difference to me. (And love it!
)
IV (Intravenous)
Rare, advanced, and not for rookies. If you’re here, you know the risks.
• 25–27G, ½ to 1 inch
• Thin needle = less vein damage
• Always sterile, always single-use
NOT TO PLAY AROUND!
Draw vs Inject
Pro move: draw thick oil with a bigger needle, inject with a thinner one.
• Draw: 18–20G, saves time
• Inject: 23–25G, smoother and less trauma
Don’t be lazy!!!
swap the needle after drawing. That dull tip will chew up your muscle.
Volume Matters Too!!!
• Up to 1 ml: delts, subq, even triceps fat pad
• 1–2 ml: quads, ventroglutes
• 2–3 ml: glutes only, big muscle, big volume
If you’re trying to jam 3 ml into a delt with a tiny insulin pin, you deserve the lump you’re about to get hahaha
Shark’s Final Words!
The right needle size = smoother pins, less PIP, less scar tissue, less drama.
Subq = short and skinny
IM = match depth to the muscle
IV = thin, precise, sterile
Draw big, inject small. Rotate sites. Don’t cut corners… easy right?
Pin smart, grow hard, stay healthy!!
For Hygiene tips:
For PIP management:
For any other advise or to get an opinion from Driada’s Shark: Hit a COMMENT!!!
Keep rocking with the lab!!
Wrong needle, wrong depth, and suddenly you’re leaking oil, bruised, or sitting on an abscess.
Gauge vs Length: What It Actually Means??
• Gauge (G) = thickness of the needle. Higher number = thinner needle. A 25G is thinner than a 21G (PERIOD!!)
• Length (inches) = how deep it goes. Shorter for subq or delts, longer for glutes or deep IM. (easy… right?)
Simply think of it like tools: you don’t use a hammer when you need a screwdriver.
Same thing here!!!
So, let’s get down to business!
Subq (Subcutaneous)
You’re just going under the skin, into the fat (yes… FAT ONLY!) that is Perfect for peptides, HGH and or small oil shots.
• Insulin pins: 29–31G, ½ inch.
• Use around abs, love handles, thigh fat, triceps fat.
• Pin slow, rotate often.
IM (Intramuscular) This is where MOST PED use sits on.
You need enough length to hit the MUSCLE, but not so thick you feel like you’re jamming a nail in there.
1st spot: Glutes / Ventroglute
• 22–25G, 1.5 inch if you’re a big dude
• If lean, you can get away with 1 inch. Shark does not advice going less than that.
2nd spot: Delts
• 25G, 1 inch
• Easy, but don’t dump huge volumes here (even if you are a big dude, it will affect your training ability, so stay cool!)
3rd Spot: Quads
• 23–25G, 1 inch
• Go middle of the outer thigh, not too high, not too low
Shark’s note: I hate it hahaha
4th Spot: Lats
• 23–25G, 1 inch
• Go middle of the outer using your preferred angle. I have used straight and tangled. Does not mean any difference to me. (And love it!
)IV (Intravenous)
Rare, advanced, and not for rookies. If you’re here, you know the risks.
• 25–27G, ½ to 1 inch
• Thin needle = less vein damage
• Always sterile, always single-use
NOT TO PLAY AROUND!
Draw vs Inject
Pro move: draw thick oil with a bigger needle, inject with a thinner one.
• Draw: 18–20G, saves time
• Inject: 23–25G, smoother and less trauma
Don’t be lazy!!!
swap the needle after drawing. That dull tip will chew up your muscle.
Volume Matters Too!!!
• Up to 1 ml: delts, subq, even triceps fat pad
• 1–2 ml: quads, ventroglutes
• 2–3 ml: glutes only, big muscle, big volume
If you’re trying to jam 3 ml into a delt with a tiny insulin pin, you deserve the lump you’re about to get hahaha
Shark’s Final Words!
The right needle size = smoother pins, less PIP, less scar tissue, less drama.
Subq = short and skinny
IM = match depth to the muscle
IV = thin, precise, sterile
Draw big, inject small. Rotate sites. Don’t cut corners… easy right?
Pin smart, grow hard, stay healthy!!
For Hygiene tips:
For PIP management:
For any other advise or to get an opinion from Driada’s Shark: Hit a COMMENT!!!
Keep rocking with the lab!!
Any ideas/hints for those who want to do IVs safely?
One slip up and you’re not referring to about a sore quad PIP, but air embolism, collapsed vein, or how easy an infection is in your bloodstream.
So, be as Air is the enemy, Sterility is mandatory, choosing the right vein-needle size ratio, and have a increase respect to it.
All the rest is educating, performing and training the process.
Good contribution.
Totally agree with the measures...
Reactions: Donvitosharkone
Reactions: FalconThe plunger travels the full distance, and everything looked “full” before injection — so where exactly does this leftover volume come from?
This is what you can't really retrieve in the cannula of your needle and in the needle itself.
The only trick is to have a background of air like a small bubble (0,1ml is enough) that will push the oil from this dead zone into your muscle.
And there will still be some loss (But less so compared without the air bubble technique)
Test Summary / Conclusion:
I attached a detachable 25G needle to a 1 mL syringe, drew 0.20 mL of oil, and fully primed the needle and hub so no air remained. I then inserted the needle into a container and pushed the plunger completely — exactly as I would during a glute injection. After that, I used a 30G fixed-needle insulin syringe to draw out everything from the container.
It took quite a while because of the tiny 30G needle, but in the end, the volume was exactly 0.20 mL again.
Of course, you always lose a tiny bit that remains in the dead space, but if the dead space is already filled with oil when you draw up, the amount you pull is exactly the amount you inject. The only time you need to be careful is when you change needles — that’s when real loss can happen.
Since I do small daily injections, I always inject with the same needle I use to draw up, and of course it’s single-use only each time.
Reactions: Donvitosharkone
Reactions: Deleted member 1146