Does getting a tatoo HURT???

Question

I'm considering getting a tatoo on my right shoulder... but i'm sorta afraid of the pain, if there is any....

Answer 1

You should learn more about the process... it is a needle going into your skin hundreds of times rapid fire... yes it will hurt, but it will be worth it if its a good tattoo that you'll like for the rest of your life.

Dont worry about getting ink poisoning or some disease from tattooing, if you're going to a decent tattoo shop, there is little to no chance of that happening. They know that if one person gets a disease from getting a tattoo from their place, then they go out of business. Make sure they use new needles and ink, and sterilize equipment with an autoclave. An easy way to tell if a tattoo shop is serious about their business is if they have a professional website.

and you can feel free to disregard t-bones answer, I'm pretty sure he knows nothing about tattoos.

Answer 2

Absolutely. Think about it: you're having a needle (or many needles) repeatedly jabbed in and out of your skin over and over and over.. You get the idea.

Anyway, there are some things you should know. Placement (that is, where you get your tattoo) does affect how much your tattoo will hurt. Any place that has thin skin or minimal fat padding will HURT - such places are your ribs, neck/chest, ankles/wrists, elbows, hip bones, and over the spine. Some people are more sensitive than others, so it might not hurt one person as much as it may hurt someone else.

Also, getting a tattoo "filled in" (coloring and shading) hurts pretty badly, too. The tattoo artist uses multiple needles when shading or coloring, usually in stacks of 5 or 7 needles. If you get a tattoo completely done in one sitting (not recommended for large tattoos), it'll hurt more because the needles will reenter the damaged skin where the tattoo artist draws the outline. Plus, the artist uses a scraping, circling method to fill in the tattoo w/ color or shading which, of course, hurts!

Finally, getting a tattoo colored or shaded w/ certain colors hurts more than others. For some reason, the most common allergic reaction to tattoo ink occurs with red ink and its subsidiaries (orange and pink). Even if you're not allergic to it, red can just plain hurt. Don't ask me why, as I have no idea. Also, getting a solid black tattoo hurts terribly, as the artist must be very accurate in the placing of the ink so that there aren't any blank spots or holes, so he/she may be a little more rough than usual. Basically, any solid color in a large area will hurt pretty badly.

Anyway, what I'm getting at here is that there's no way around pain when it comes to tattoos. A tattoo is basically a controlled scarification, in which the artist injures the skin and pushes in ink so the design is permanent. If you don't like pain, then don't get a tattoo. Part of the pride of getting a tattoo is being able to put up with the physical pain, so you're just going to have to deal with it.

In my experience (I have one large, unfinished tattoo across the middle of my back and spine), my tattoo didn't really hurt that bad. I was very nervous, as I HATE needles, but once I was a few minutes into it the pain sort of went from being a throbbing, burning pain to more of an annoyance. It felt like a very bad sunburn when it was done, and I was a bit sore for a week. I ended up having my boyfriend wash it with dial soap (to prevent infections) and I continually kept it moistened for about 2 weeks with cocoa butter (a cheap and excellent lubricant for tattoos, btw). It healed fine with minimal fallout.

I hope this helped some.

Answer 3

Anything permanent is going to involve some degree of pain. Some compare it to a bee sting, some give it a little higher pain rating, some lower. It all depends on the person's pain tolerance, and the artist.
I have 3 tat's and I took a cat nap during the 3 hours for my Celtic knot work tribal band. Personally I thought the outline wasn't bad at all, it was the shading that got to stinging a little.
Nothing that is as meaningful to you as something you will have marked on your body forever will come without a "price". If it is something that is truly important to you, don't let a little discomfort hold you back. Go For It!

Answer 4

It can hurt but I've noticed that after a bit, the areas seem to go numb. At least it does with me. I guess the level of discomfort would depend on the location and size of the tat you're planning. If you have a really low pain threshold though you might want to consider it well before getting one. There would be nothing worse than starting and not being able to finish.

Answer 5

Its more of like an irritating feeling, the outline hurts the most, but then mostly goes numb. Which mine only took like 10 min to do (literally). My fiance's, however, took like 3 hours. Get something small first, that way you know the feeling. And get it in a fatty area... like kind of where you are getting it now. If you can push your area in and not touch any hard places then it probablly isn't going to hurt as bad as, say, somewhere a bone is.

Answer 6

Drea, pay no attention to the peanut gallery....Your question always brings out the do-gooders (with no tattoos of their own) telling their horror stories of how it felt like someone pouring gasoline on them, lighting it and then putting the fire out with an icepick.....bull ****. They secretly want ink sooo bad but for whatever reason (fear of pain, fear of being ostrasized by their peers, fear of their own twisted little prejudices) they never will get any and they don't want you to get any either.

I have only had the outsides of my biceps tattooed but the closest thing I can compare it to .....it's like having tiny little sparks falling down on you over and over. They go out as soon as they hit the skin...but there's always more of them falling and hitting.. It doesn't hurt so much as it is annoying. The next day (and for about 4 to 6 days later) its going to feel like a sunburn. The key is to relax, listen to music or talk to a friend to distract you. Use the best artist you can find. go to my 360 page and click on the dragon tattoo in my blog, then click it again. My dragon was 12 hours old in that picture...no scabs..no bleeding.

I am doing 8 to 9 hours under the needles next month so I've been doing my research.....here is the best article I could find on pain as charted by body location

http://www.tattooz.net/default.cfm?sitem...

I hope this helps

Answer 7

I have a small butterfly on my thigh. It didn't really hurt, it was more like a burning sensation. You definitely feel it, but it's not that bad. If pain is the only thing holding you back, go for it. Just remember that it will be there when you're 70.

Answer 8

just when you turn fifty you look like an old fat x biker.
forget the tattoo they are very painful and very dangerous if your allergic to the ink make sure if you do get one you buy new needles and that the artist as they call themselves has a clean bill of health. Hep a-b is a real scary decease to bring home or if the scare tissue doesn't take well you may be one sorry soul, as a matter of fact tattoos are out the only Chic's you see with them are hags, and and another thing you will never be able to give blood again even if your mother of father are dying its just not allowed

Answer 9

it all depends on the person but i have one in the upper middle back its pretty big and the only part that would hurt was when he would go on my shoulder bones but on the shoulder it wouldnt youll be fine the pain is only for a lil bit you can do it ;)

Answer 10

honestly, I think that it depends on your pain tolerance is. When prepping myself up for it, I thought I was going to run out of there screaming but in reality, it wasn't that bad. Yes, it wasn't a vacation but it was bearable. To me, it felt like bee stings....hurt initially but as my body adjusted to the feeling (the endorphines kicked in), then it became annoying.