What does getting a tattoo feel like?

Question

Does it hurt?

Answer 1

It feels like a swarm of wasps with strap-on vibrating stingers are attacking you over, and over, and over, and........well you get it. But, it is really not too bad and if you pick an awesome design and a great artist, you will be more than happy with said tattoo.

Answer 2

It depends on where you're getting your tattoo and on your artist. A good artist knows just how hard to push the ink in and knows when to move on to a different area. I don't want to feed you a line of bull here. Tattoos do hurt ....but it's the kind of hurt that you can live with. The closest thing that I can compare it to is ....... if you have very been around someone who was grinding metal it throws off this little sparks (of burning metal). Getting tattooed reminds me of these small sparks falling down on my skin over and over. It helps me if I have something to distract me. If I have some one to talk to it distracts from the discomfort. Some people tell me it hurts worse if they watch while they're getting inked.... personally I've found that if it really starts hurting, watching just exactly what he is doing that hurts so much helps take away from the pain. I'm scheduled to have nine hours of work done (in one sitting) next month. The longest I've done before in one sitting was about two hours. Sooooo if it hurt that bad... I wouldn't be doing it. Look at it this way. You are getting a PERMANENT piece of art put on your body.......it should hurt...... the best things in life are often the hardest and most painful things to achieve. But worth it in the end.

Answer 3

It's pain mixed with a buzz of electricity at the same time. Some of the pain is sharp, like when you are getting the tattoos outline done, and shading the tattoo is more like dull pain to me. But everyone is different. Between my wrist and the elbow was super tender, but yours might not be so sensitive. My back was not sensitive.

When my tattoos are about 12 hours old the skin feels like it's sunburned. Tattoos are not some sort of intense pain that you can't handle, otherwise everyone wouldn't have them.

Choose your design wisely, and choose your tattoo artist very carefully. Find someone with ink you like and then go see that tattoo artists portfolio.

As with any personal service, there is a cost for the tattoo and a voluntary tipping situation, just like when you get your hair done. You should tip if you are happy with your tattoo and the artist was professional.

Answer 4

Getting tattooed does hurt. But the pain is different for everyone. The way I describe it to people is like this.
It hurts like a bee sting, then it gets hot like a sun burn, and then the hot and sting both get very dull, but you can still feel it. Towards the end it gets hot like a sun burn again, then starts to feel like a bee sting.

Those stages can vary from person to person. When I get tattooed the bee sting sun burn stage only lasts 10-15 min each. It's at that point when I can "zone" out. I tend to relax totally and go into a meditative state. I can hear everything going on around me, but I'm focused on nothing. I can stay that way for approx 2 hrs. My max sit time is 3 1/2 hours.

It's a very cool process when your able to achieve it!

Answer 5

if you take your fingernail and you scratch the area hard that you're getting the tattoo at and then you scratch it in the same area over and over...kinda feels like that...or it did to me. Once in awhile there's a little "ouch" but it's not too bad. After several minutes, your body adapts to how it feels and the pain isn't so bad...I just got my first ink on Friday and I'm going to get a small addition to it soon. That's what it felt like to me. Once you see it though - you kind of forget the uncomfortableness of it. :) I would bring a friend with you. :)

For me, the outline hurt less than the shading. The shading felt like he was pricking me but the outline wasn't bad. I didn't realize that he started until he had tattooed like almost an inch on me.

Answer 6

Depends on where you get it. I have about half of my back done, and i can tell you that up on my shoulder blades, it was almost like a massage, but the lower you go, the more it starts to hurt. By the time i got to the small of my back, it was nearly unbearable(although i had been at the tail end of a 6 hr session)and i deal with pain prettywell. The rule of thumb is, the more muscle on an area, the less it will hurt.

Answer 7

To know what the pain feels like, get something like a earing stood or something not to sharp like a pluntish pin ect.
Just relax and scratch the area u want done not to hard but not gentle just a form of pressure till u feel like a little burning then that what it feels like.
Well it helped me have an idea before i got my tattoo's

Answer 8

of course it depends on location. straight on the muscle (like arm) is the easiest, onto the nerve area hurts (spine). all in all, think hard before getting it and after you really really are sure you want it (not after two months, mind!) and that it's the design you want, the pain isn't such an issue anyway. it scratches, it burns, it depends on your tattoo artist (mine rocks!) and don't get it somewhere where you might heavily regret it. true tattoos are about the feeling not the display. :)

good luck.

Answer 9

they always hurt me. but some people will say there is no pain. i guess it depends on where you get it and how big it is. my tattoos are all big enough to hurt. but it's not unbearable pain. it is irritating and sometimes brain rattling (on the spine) i would rate it a ta constant 3-4 pain with a 7 every once in a while for a few seconds. totally worth it tho.

Answer 10

To me it felt like someone took a straight edge razor, and heated it up... Then sliced it into my skin (the outline of the tattoo), by the time they filled it in (the inside color), I was used to it, and it felt fine. I have three tattoos. Honestly, I wish I didn't have any of them. I got them while in college, and I didn't think them through.

Make sure you really want it!