Just how much does getting tattoos hurt?

[Nr1Humanoid]

I really want one but I don't' handle pain very well.

My wish is for a tiger, leopard, black panther and a wolf. The cats to the background of a rising sun and the wolf set to the background of a full night moon. If I could find an artist that could create one to my satisfaction of course.

But that would take hours and I don't think I have it in me.

So, how much does it hurt?



Feel free to make this an official tattoo thread, telling us about your tattoos or what kind you'd want.

[T.J. "the Crippler" Stevens]

The actual pain itself is really not that bad. It hurts more because it's constant. If you can get over the fact that it's gonna take a little while and just brace yourself to have a dull achy pain for a few hours, you'll be fine. It also depends on where you plan on getting it. If you plan on getting it right over bones or tendons, it's gonna hurt more. The meatier the area, the less the needle will hurt. But if you go too far and get it on an area with alot of loose skin (I don't know your body type), the vibration is gonna bother you. Afterward it won't hurt as long as you follow their instructions. Leave the bandage on as long as they say, and use whatever lotion or ointment they tell you to use. Also keep in mind that the tattoo you're looking to get is pretty elaborate and would probably require more than one trip.

[Young Game]

It really depends on where you're having this done, and your personal threshold for pain.

Having got 2 new tattoos this month (one on my chest, the other on my left arm), I can safely say that the chest is pretty uncomforable. Plus all the re-positioning me and the artist had to do.
When it was all said and done, it took about 3 and a half hours. It was really worth it, though, as this is quite a colorful piece.

I barely even felt the one on my left arm. I've got like 7 tattoos on my left arm, 5 on my right.
I'm starting to kinda look like a sticker album at this point, so, the next time I go in, I'm definitely working on filling in the empty spaces.

[domrep]

What's a good idea for a tattooo? A friend of mine told me to write things down about myself, and then from there, I could come up with something but...I dunno. I have all of these ideas in my head, one being a tattoo of the Dominican flag. Well, it starts off as the Dominican Flag, but it blends in or turns into the American flag at the end. I guess it would be half and half, ya know?

Other ideas: fire breathing dragon but I'm sure that's too cliche.

[Nr1Humanoid]

Doesn't sound too bad, at least in print.

As for placement I'd like it like this:

[Alex Shelley]

As said, it depends on your pain threshold and where on your body you're getting the tattoo done. I felt no pain at all when I got my arm tattoo, but my wrists were pretty painful. They have generalized charts for how bad certain areas tend to hurt most people, but it differs from person to person.

The most pain tends to be where you don't have a lot of fat or muscle covering the bone, so areas like your shoulder blades, sternum, elbows, knees, spine etc are going to be more painful. Also, areas that the skin is just thinner or more sensitive, like the wrists or armpits or inner thigh, will be more painful. The meatier part of your arms and legs will hurt less.

Most people tend to agree (at least from what I've seen) that the outlines and small details of the tattoo hurt a lot more than the shading in, because you're covering less surface area at once so you're more able to focus in on that specific area of pain.

Plus, if you're anything like myself and the rest of the world's tattoo addicts, the pain feels reaaaaal good after a while, once the endorphins set in.

[Apricots And A Pear Tree]

It's better then a kick in the face with a golf shoe.

[Forty Six & 2]

It's more irritating than painful.

[darthalexander]

It depends on where you get it. If it's close to the bone, then it's supposed to be fairly bad but I couldn't say if that's true.

I have one on my forearm and it didn't hurt at all. It felt like an electric razor that slightly pinches. It was no big deal.

Other areas, I couldn't tell you.

[Deleted]

No offense, but someone that wants to express themself by having pictures of ferocious animals permanently displayed on their body shouldn't be afraid of a little pain.

[Deleted]

Anything near the inside of joints (elbows, knees) and on top of bone will likely hurt more, but I've gotten chest, arm, calf tattoos and one about three inches below my adams apple. That one hurt, but the pain is more than bearable. If you can handle a bee sting you can handle this.

As far as good tattoo ideas goes- anything that looks good. If it looks good, then nothing else matters.

[domrep]

Sept 27, 2010 13:24:50 GMT -5 @personman01 said:

Anything near the inside of joints (elbows, knees) and on top of bone will likely hurt more, but I've gotten chest, arm, calf tattoos and one about three inches below my adams apple. That one hurt, but the pain is more than bearable. If you can handle a bee sting you can handle this.

As far as good tattoo ideas goes- anything that looks good. If it looks good, then nothing else matters.

But I've heard your tattoo has to mean something, otherwise it's pointless.

[Deleted]

Sept 27, 2010 13:27:34 GMT -5 domrep said:

Sept 27, 2010 13:24:50 GMT -5 @personman01 said:

Anything near the inside of joints (elbows, knees) and on top of bone will likely hurt more, but I've gotten chest, arm, calf tattoos and one about three inches below my adams apple. That one hurt, but the pain is more than bearable. If you can handle a bee sting you can handle this.

As far as good tattoo ideas goes- anything that looks good. If it looks good, then nothing else matters.

But I've heard your tattoo has to mean something, otherwise it's pointless.

Yeah - I've heard that too. Most often, and notably from people who have no (or 1-2) tattoos.

The more tattoos you get the more you realize that its great if it means something (like a memorial tattoo or something), but its more important it looks like a work of art.

[Lord Rahl]

Its different for different people. Thats the easiest way to say it. My wife got one done on the top of her foot, which everyone says is really bad, and she didnt even flinch. For me, the one on my upper back only hurt, as others have stated, over my shoulder blades and spine. The two on my shoulders werent bad until they got to the bone. Also, again as others have said, my half sleeve wasnt bad until they got to the underside up my arm.

Also, I dont think this has been brought up yet, but with what your wanting, it sounds like its gonna be a good size piece if its only gonna be one piece. My half sleeve took about 5 hours or so and my arms arent tha big. So something good size, for quality work, youre looking at a good deal of time and money. Plus, if theres a lot of detail in it, they have to use a smaller needle, which typically hurts more.

And one last thing if this is your first....and I cant stress this enough (and I'm sure all the rest will agree with me) DO YOUR RESEARCH AND MAKE SURE YOUR ARTISTS IS REPUTABLE. Visit shops and look at their work, talk to people who have gotten pieces there, go online and see if they have a website or Facebook or something. I know yahoo search on businesses will bring up reviews of said business. Use em! And make sure you're gonna be happy with your piece....you're basically stuck with it for life.

[Lord Rahl]

Sept 27, 2010 13:34:44 GMT -5 @personman01 said:

Sept 27, 2010 13:27:34 GMT -5 domrep said:

But I've heard your tattoo has to mean something, otherwise it's pointless.

Yeah - I've heard that too. Most often, and notably from people who have no (or 1-2) tattoos.

The more tattoos you get the more you realize that its great if it means something (like a memorial tattoo or something), but its more important it looks like a work of art.

Good point. Most of my tattoos.........I dont wanna say they mean something to me, but I can look at each one and remember what was happening in my life at the time. I really dont have one that really has deep, personal meaning. Closest thing I can think of is my Cold spider which I got while I was going through some tough times and their music helped get me through it.

As long as it looks good and you like it, to hell with what everyone else thinks!!

[Alex Shelley]

Sept 27, 2010 13:34:44 GMT -5 @personman01 said:

Sept 27, 2010 13:27:34 GMT -5 domrep said:

But I've heard your tattoo has to mean something, otherwise it's pointless.

Yeah - I've heard that too. Most often, and notably from people who have no (or 1-2) tattoos.

The more tattoos you get the more you realize that its great if it means something (like a memorial tattoo or something), but its more important it looks like a work of art.

Yepyep. I don't think tattoos necessarily have to mean anything. I've got several lined up that mean jack shit, other than "dude this is awesome".

Anyway, this is what my next tattoo will be:



I had intended to get it this December, but it looks like with my money situation that's definitely not going to happen.

The scene is the "Weighing of the Hearts" from Egyptian mythology. Basically, if your heart was heavier than the feather, it meant that it was weighed down by all the bad things you had done in your life and that your soul couldn't go on to live in the underworld. Your heart would then get eaten by Ammut, the badass lion/crocodile/hippo dudette under there. I'm a huge mark for Egyptian mythology, as is my bestestest friend in the entire world. I also am very very big on being a good person and doing good things. So, the tattoo is kind of an homage to my best friend, as well as just being something that I really love and symbolizing my love for doing good things. So it doesn't have a very deep or personal meaning, but there is some there.

The most important part is that I want to kind of modernize the design of it. I mean, not like having anime Anubis or anything (...lol), but I want it to be somewhat of a different style than standard Egypt style, and I want Ammut to look really awesome... Because if you have the chance to have a lion/crocodile/hippo hybrid on your skin for the rest of your life, you better make that thing look as badass as possible. The biggest problem is going to be making a papyrus look on my skin, because the color is so close to skin color. But I have a feeling that me and my tattoo artist are gonna have a lot of fun with this one.

[Ultimo Chocula]

From my own personal experience:

*It's gonna hurt, so be ready for it. It's not as bad as a lot of people make it out to be but after a few hours it might wear on you. So on the one hand, don't be a puss, but on the other, know your limitations and when it's appropriate to tap out. Three and a half hours is the general average.

*Don't walk into the first joint you see. Do your research and find out which artist is the best for you. There are more crappy artists than good ones and the likely hood of you stumbling into the best shop in town on your first try is practically zero.

*Be damn good and sure what you want to get is what you want to get. Don't get the first thing that pops into your mind. Today's impulse tattoo is tomorrow's cover up.

*Don't be afraid to pay a little extra $$$ if the artist is really good. There's a reason why they might charge twenty bucks more than Dirty Pete's House Of Filthy Needles down the street. Because they're worth it and the difference is obvious.

*Get it for YOU! If it takes you more than two sentences to describe to someone what it means, you got it so other people will think you're cool. That's something that I've noticed over the years when I've traded stories with people. The people who go into an entire routine about their tats just want people to look at them, and those people suck. Don't be one of those people.

*Eat something before you go in, bring a bottle of water for the actual process, then eat again right after you're done. It'll ward off the shakes.

And just so you know, the guy giving all of this advice has this on his leg:

[Turd Ferguson]

I want to get a tattoo of myself getting a tattoo.


But seriously, I have all these awesome Tattoo designs, but they are SO expensive. I'm contemplating going to jail just to get some tattoos for cheap.

[Alex Shelley]

Sept 27, 2010 14:08:50 GMT -5 Turd Ferguson said:

I want to get a tattoo of myself getting a tattoo.

HAHAHA, I might actually consider doing that somewhere down the line. That is awesome.

[Lord Rahl]

Sept 27, 2010 14:06:53 GMT -5 Ultimo Chocula said:

And just so you know, the guy giving all of this advice has this on his leg:

Thats badass. How old is it? The red still looks really good