Tell me the truth - how much does a tattoo hurt?

Been thinking about it for months.

Have heard everything from "feels like a safety pin hitting you over and over, not that bad" to "I will never do it again, ever, and I wanted to kill that bitch that was talking about safety pins!".

haha

It doesn't help to be waiting in line and have a DISSATISFIED customer come in to complain. He was PISSED. He had ordered a jaguar's head and it turned out looking like a possum! That triggered racing second thoughts for a couple of minutes. But since mine was going to be a couple of embossed-looking letters, there wasn't much the "artist" could do wrong, so I went ahead. Still, as he was supposed to be copying the font from my class ring, I had to point out, in the nick of time, things he missed.

The guy asked him to check over the trace. He was so worried about the spacing and placement, that he didn't noticed the M was an N (or vice versa) until after the tat was done. Apparently, the tatoo artist was more freaked than him. He was able to fix it.

I went into a couple tattoo studios before settling on the one I've gotten all my work done at.

Any good tattooist will be happy to show off photos of their work. If they're not, RUN!!! Run like the Mighty Buffalo! If it looks good, but you don't see anything in the style you want, find another artist. You don't have to run in that case though.

the stuff for chic portfolios. I'm dissatisfied with both of them and wouldn't do it today.

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Some people kind of get high on it. After while you don't feel the pain any more. But I did hear that getting one around the top of your arm really hurts when they work on the underside.

You want to be sure your tat isn't right over a bone - that hurts a lot more.

Right on my ankle where that little knob is-that was painful. But when they went just a half inch up it wasn't that bad.

Fleshy areas will sting, but not too badly. It is well within tolerable ranges. The filling in is the worst because the needle is hitting the same spots over and over again.

A tattoo right over bone is going to hurt A. Lot. Getting my ankle tattoo was hell. It took nearly two hours because I kept twitching and had to take a couple breaks so I wouldn't pass out. :P

You really have to be able to tolerate pain for a tattoo like that. I think I came close to my limits that day, but it was worth it — I love my tattoo.

It's buzzing, so the pain is never really concentrated in one spot.


How intense the pain is varies-- the thinner the skin, like around wrists, necks-- or the more sensitive areas-- like the spine-- can hurt a lot. I've gotten mine on my back, and it didn't hurt much at all :hi:

I would say that my armband, forearms, base of neck and lower back were like a light stinging buzzing kind of pain. The only issue with the neck and back was being sore the next day from sitting folded over for a couple hours.

Above my ankle really hurt, especially when the tattoo started to go over my skin bone.

But actually, inside your upperarm is the true "I will never do it again, ever, and I wanted to kill that bitch that was talking about safety pins!" type of pain. I'm talking about getting a solid black large Japanese character about an inch below your armpit. It's all nerves in there. Despite this, it didn't heal up right and I went back to get it touched up. She went over the whole thing again. It wasn't any easier. I'm still getting more tattoos done though.

Don't let the painfulness of the spot prevent you from doing it though. If it's something you want, it's worth it. You can always bring a friend for backup, although I always go alone to get tattooed. I've accompanied a bunch of friends though.

Oh and make sure to see the artist's portfolio. A good one will happily show it to you. Even if the art is good, make sure that they have examples of the style you want before deciding on that artist. If they don't want to show you a portfolio of work, get the hell out of there. Also, ask if they offer a free touch up. A good tattooist will offer a free touchup. They'll ask you to come back in a month or so and they'll check out the tattoo. If any spots didn't take the color or whatever, they'll redo that spot. When they do this tip them. Actually, it's good practice to tip your tattooist when they tattoo you the first time.

tattoo. I have one now about the size of a silver dollar (but not completely filled in):



"Out of Chaos, Brilliant Stars are Born"

I had tears squirting out of my eyes and I have a high pain threshold. I have two on my upper arm and they both hurt like hell to me. It's the pain coupled with the annoyance of the pin-prick sensation over and over and over and over and over....get the point!?

after the first 10 minutes or so, the area went sort of numb so what was painful at first, ended up feeling like a constant irritation. Does that make sense? If you can survive the first 5 minutes, then your endorphins kick in and it gets a little better from there.

So somewhere between those two values.... I'm in your same boat, I've been thinking a LONG time, but indecisive on a subject as well as a little worried about the pain...

Then it goes numb.

Think about this: if it hurt that bad, why would so many people want to go back for more?

IMO, childbirth hurt much more than getting a tat.

Anyone who says there is no pain at all is high. I have had a few and there was a bit of pain, but it mostly was irritating. The constant pulling of skin by a needle for an hour or longer is irritating. Also it all depends on where you get it, the more sensitive the area the more it will hurt obviously.

The outline hurts more than the color because it's done with a larger needle. The artist who worked on me stopped every few seconds to give me a bit of a rest. Let's put it this way: I was able to hold still. If the pain isn't tolerable, you couldn't hold still. It hurt less than the colonscopy I had to go through while wide awake because the Versed didn't work on me. It hurt much, MUCH less than the aftermath of re-opening my LASIK incisions. Once the procedure was over, no more pain.

If you really, really want the tattoo, sitting through a little pain isn't a big deal. :shrug:

On edit: I've never regretted getting my tattoo and plan to get another when I feel I've reached a certain goal in my life. If the pain was all that bad, would there be repeat customers? (Of course, the same could be said of having multiple children...hmmm.)

I think each person's pain threshold is different. Also, the closer to bone, the more the tattoo hurts, or so I've heard. Mine is below my left collarbone, just above my boob.

:thumbsup:

But only for a couple of days or a week. They get really gross for a week or two afterwards because they scab up.

But, I'd do it again. I've been thinking about another one for years.

Just be aware you'll need to stay out of the pool, etc., for a week or so.

PS - black ink hurts much worse than color. Black goes a little deeper. Remember that black will also "bleed" over time, so it has a tendency to look blob-ish.

It was sensitive if knocked for the first couple hours, but that's it.

About black ink, it doesn't go deeper in the skin than colored inks. Also, all tattoos "bleed" a bit over time, whether it's color or black. How much it bleeds will depend on the skill of the artist and how well you take care of your tattoo. If you baby it and the artist is good, you'll get little bleed out over time. If you don't cover it with sunscreen in the sun, you'll get more "bleed." Also, weight flucuations will cause the tattoo to become distorted.

I keep sunscreen on mine. The color is still excellent-better than many who have fresh tats.

It hurts a hell of alot more. Not much you can say to convince me otherwise because that is my personal experience.

Last year I had this:



tattooed onto my right bicep. (Well, not quite that; my art is better than Jeff Gammon's.) It's the unit crest for my Berlin unit, Field Station Berlin. You guys don't get to see it yet because we're going to put a lattice background behind it, some more ink into the teal "night" side of the globe and into the lightning bolt because it needs it, and some text around it--the name of the unit, its activation date and its deactivation date. Then you can see it.

The tattoo is four inches high and contains five colors: ochre, yellow, teal, orange and black.

The ochre and yellow were kinda painful after a while. The teal was definitely painful. The orange hurt like hell, but I could hardly feel the black at all.

My artist (http://www.chopshoptattoos.com/porkchop) says that almost everyone runs a higher needle frequency in his liner than in his shader so that more ink will go into the linework, and that's what makes lining hurt more than shading. But Pork Chop has a 13-needle shader and goes over the same spot seven or eight times, which is what makes his shading hurt more than his lining. (It also makes his work stay vivid longer than anyone else's in the area.)

Tattoos hurt, but the pain doesn't last very long.

My lining is black, so maybe that is why it sticks out so much in my mind!

I've got a piece on my left arm that's my and my wife's names intertwined, with our names drop-shadowed (her drop shadow is purple because it's her favorite color, mine is red because it's my birthstone color) and under that is our wedding date with the numbers in purple and dots between the month/day and day/year in red. I did that in two sittings--the black in one, the color in the second. The whole piece was done with a lining machine (the one that's supposed to be more painful) because it's not very big.

The black sitting (probably 45 minutes) didn't hurt. The color was slightly painful, but still not that bad.

Color, OTOH, hurts a lot. And I don't seem to have any endorphin response. Most people you talk to who've got tattoos are like "yeah, it hurt for a few minutes and then it went numb so it was no big deal." That's endorphin response. That doesn't happen to me.

Oh...put me down in the "I hate tattoos too" camp. Or most of 'em. In fact, most tattoo artists hate tattoos--flash tattoos, the ones from the predrawn art hanging on the wall of the shop. Most of the people who get flash tattoos walk into the shop with no idea whatsoever what they want and just pick something that looks okay, and half of them just get black outline, no fill, because it's less expensive and it's over quicker. Five years later the same people regret getting them and are trying to put the money together for laser treatments. Pork Chop, my artist, says if he never tattoos another set of jump wings again it will be too soon. I was shooting the shit with him one day and bet him a buck he could draw a perfect set of jump wings with his eyes closed. It's a good thing I didn't bet him two bucks. Around here the cliche pieces are crosses and jump wings; most places it's tattoos of the Tasmanian Devil.

I kept it covered the first 48 hours and then constantly kept it moist for two weeks (neosporin, Eucerin cream-anything without perfume).

My tat is 13 years old now and the color is still really good.

It took about 2.5 hours. It felt like a teeny, baby pinch. The inside of the arm felt like a little bigger pinch. Me personally? Didn't hurt at all. Just a pinching sensation. I even dozed off for a few minutes because I was bored. No, I'm serious. I really did.

Yes, it does break the skin but you're not going to bleed all over the place. And after everything is done there actually a sort of high your on for awhile after. I have one tattoo and am considering a second, just been having a hard time finding the right design.

Working over a bone is painful.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Joan_Alpern/307

is a lot less painful. :)

...return whatever you bought if you decided you didn't like it.

:eyes:

Tell you what.... when you turn 70, find me and tell me I was wrong.

"When your 70, your tattoos are going to be saggy and wrinkled," that's one of the lamest reasons to regret or not get a tattoo. Guess what? When I'm 70, my whole body will be wrinkled. It's not like I'm going to have a great body except for the tattooed areas, which will be inexplicably wrinkled. I have personal meanings for my tattoos and they're very well-done.

Statistically, only 17% of people end up regretting their tattoos and those are mostly name tattoos.

It has more to do with every other 20, 30, or 40 -something now who is going to look at his or her tattoo at the end of his/her life and say "What the hell was that supposed to mean, again? Oh, right... what the hell was I thinking with that?"


Statistically, only 90% of polls supporting tattoo "culture" are conducted and published by entities that somehow profit from the fad.

Yes, for most people, it is a fad. But unlike stupid, pre-faded and faux-urine-stained low-rider jeans, the participation is permanent.

Seriously? If I had the money, I would immediately start a chain of coffee bars which offered in-house laser tattoo removal. In five years it would blow Starbucks out of the water, and I'd be as rich as a celebrity mime!

My biggest tattoo amusement is people who get the highly-original Celtic knot on their upper arm(s), and can't even pronounce "Celtic" right.

I'm positive I'll forget the meaning behind my next tattoo by the time I'm 70. It's only going to be in memory of my father.

.... there are may ways to commemmorate someone's memory. So why a tattoo? I'm not trying to be a smart-ass; I'm genuinely curious.


Can it be a family heirloom you can pass down to your descendents?

Is it a permanent physical monument which will outlive you?

Do you need to have a constant visual cue to remember your father?

Do you feel a pressing need to show others you are keeping your father's memory alive?

Would it, in that case, be something another person could interpret to mean remembrance of your father without you having to explain it?

Would your father agree that injecting dyes under his child's skin and having that child endure several hours of intense pain is an appropriate way for him to be remembered?


My dad's dead, too. So, this is your chance to convince me to honour his memory in a similar fashion; have at it. Seriously, if you can convince me there's any validity to your statement, I will get a tattoo and post a photo of it right here.


Look, just like graffiti, most tattoos are frivolous attempts at asserting individuality in an increasingly dehumanising society. And in just the same way that most graffiti is an uninspired copy the exact type of Bronx Wildstyle that's been around for fifty years, most tattoos lack any sort of real creativity or meaning.

And, just like graffiti, a very, very small percentage of tattoos are works of art.

But the minute you can download a Wildstyle font off the internet or get tattooed in a mall, you have to acknowledge that the individualistic elements of the trend are over.

Hrrrumph, "begins", indeed!

I apologize for the misunderstanding. :P

;)

Over a muscle it isn't so bad. Over a bone (like the ankle or wrist), drawing on the pattern with a pen hurts like hell.

:P

when I got my nipple pierced. And I've done both. Depends where on your body you get it. Some areas are more sensitive than others.

to is another matter.

Er, sorry :)

applied right over the medial malleolus (bone). It hurt like a mo-fo. I had no idea it would.
The tattoo artist assured me I'd be back for more; everyone does he said. That was 30 years ago. Damn.