Does Getting a Tattoo Hurt? The Honest Truth About Pain
Does getting a tattoo hurt? It is the question everyone thinks about but nobody answers straight.
Anyone who has ever wanted a tattoo has asked it at least once, and the answers swing between “it is really not that bad” and “it hurts like nothing else”, which leaves you none the wiser. The honest version is simple. Yes, it hurts. How much depends on you and on the spot you pick.
Where does tattoo pain actually come from?
A tattoo machine does not stab deep into you. The needle passes through the outer layer of skin to place ink in the dermis, and it repeats that thousands of times a minute. So the buzzing is not frightening for no reason. It is the sound of your patience being tested, right there.
Pain level comes down to three things
1. Placement. Areas with little fat, or where bone sits close to the surface, like the ribs, ankles, wrists and spine, hurt more than padded areas such as the upper arm or thigh.
2. Size and detail of the design. A small piece is over quickly, while a large one, or anything with several layers of colour, can run for hours.
3. Your own tolerance. Some people flinch at a mosquito. Others sit under the needle for three hours and smile the whole way through.
The spots that hurt the most
From what our artist and plenty of clients have been through, these are the ones that usually top the list
• Ribs
• Groin
• Ankles
• Spine
• Neck and fingers
The gentler spots, like the upper arm, thigh and hip, are a good place to start if this is your first one.
How to make it hurt less
Telling you there is nothing to worry about would be a lie, but there is plenty you can do to take the edge off.
• Sleep properly the night before. A tired body feels everything more.
• Eat first and never arrive on an empty stomach, because low blood sugar makes you lightheaded and turns the pain up.
• Skip the alcohol beforehand. It makes you bleed more easily and the ink settles badly.
• Breathe deeply when it stings. Holding your breath tenses you up and makes it worse.
One last truth. The pain fades the moment you see it
Almost everyone says the same thing. “The second I saw it, I forgot the pain.” The pride covers over everything else. A tattoo is not only ink on skin, it is a small record of what you sat through and of a decision you made clearly.
In short: it will hurt. But that is a bit like life, the things you really want are rarely easy. If you are ready for what the tattoo means, you are ready for the moment the needle touches your skin.
At Naive Flora Tattoo we look after every step, from choosing the design and prepping the skin to aftercare, so you walk out with something beautiful and safe. Book a slot or ask us anything on Instagram.