How much does it hurt to get a tattoo?

Question

I'm thinking of getting a tiny one somewhere...I don't know where yet...either my ankle. my right shoulder or behind my right ear. Just a tiny one...nothing big...can you tell me about the pain? Will it hurt a lot? Is it like a bee sting?

Answer 1

I would describe the pain as a "pins & needles" sensation, like when your foot falls asleep. It's more annoying than excrutiating. If you relax through it, it's easier to endure.

Answer 2

Wow.....Is this question asked EVERYDAY (sometimes twice a day?) Or is it my imagination?........ok here we go again.......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 bullshit 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. I usually take a book with me and I get all caught up in the storyline and before you know it we're done. Listening to music (or watching TV) helps as a distraction. The last tattoo I got....there was a movie playing on the big screen.... and it helped take my mind off of 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 really depends on the person. You won't really know until you feel it for yourself. There are certain parts of the body that hurt more than others, however. Usually, meaty areas hurt less than boney areas. Also, in areas that don't have less exposure to the sun (i know it sounds wierd), like inside of arm, back of leg, feet, belt line and so on, tend to hurt a lot more. It's generally going to hurt more on thinner skin also.

Generally, the pain is like if you were to drag your nail against the top of your hand, pressing hard enough to make a decent scratch. That pain...times two...for about 15 min.

My best advice for you would be, when you finally decide on what you want, and you're ready to get it, tell the tattoo artist to go over the spot without ink, so you can make sure you can sit through 30 min of the pain.

Answer 4

Did someone say they reuse the needles? I don't know where you've been getting tattoos...someones basement? They don't reuse needles at a good tattoo parlor.

Anyway...I have sayings on both of my wrists and tattoos over my hipbones. I would imagine the shoulder would be the easiest...since the hipbones (mine stick out alot) are very bony like the ankles they would probably feel a lot alike. And I can tell you now...the hips hurt more than I could ever describe. I remember the guy pausing and I thought he was done the one side, then looking down and seeing he had only finished the outline.

The wrists were a breeze...however, I have a bunch of my guy friends who had it done and said they were the hardest to sit through.

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

It does hurt but not that much, to me its wasnt even like a bee sting, but it also depends where ure getting it. I think behind the ear would hurt more. i think your ankle would be the best for your first tattoo and choose a small design just in case it hurts too much.

Answer 6

That really depends on your pain threshold. I have one above my left breast of a hummingbird on a flower. The most painful part on this one was the outline. Once the tattoo artist starting filling in the color, I hardly had any pain at all.

Now, the one above my right ankle hurt like a son of a b_t_h. It's a dream catcher with a lot of detail in it. There's not a lot of fatty tissue between the skin and the ankle bone. That's why it hurt worse. But all in all, it was worth it. I love them both.

Answer 7

It will hurt, but it's not so bad if you can concentrate your energy to another part of your body or tell yourself that it feels really good. I know it sounds weird, but my tattoo took 4 hours and I barely felt it because I thought about other things, chaneled my energy in other parts of myself and told myself I liked the feeling of it.

The fattier the area that you get tattooed on, it hurts a little more. The outline is the worst part and it just feels like someone is drawing on you with a razor blade.

Just make sure you see the artists work before you go through with it. Make sure that you're not getting something trendy but something that has a lot of meaning to YOU. Good Luck!!!

Answer 8

It depends where you get it done. If done on the more meatier parts on the body, it shouldn't hurt much. Ankles, and lower back is supposed to hurt a little more. I have a tattoo on my shoulder, it wasn't bad at all.


If you do get one done, make sure it's a clean environment and that the instruments are sterile.

Good luck!

Answer 9

It will depend on where u get it. behind the ear would hurt. The ankle is o.k. It hurts a little but once u get going it's tolerable.
Go for it, but I'll warn u once u get one you'll want more.
They are addicting.

Answer 10

Behind the ear would probably be VERY painful. Depends on the area you are getting tattooed.