Does Getting a Tattoo Hurt?

The most commonly asked question I get is “does getting a tattoo hurt“?

There will be a certain amount of discomfort and the amount of tatto pain will vary from person to person, but most people describe it with “not as bad as I thought”.
Some other common words are “annoying” or “it feels like a hot scratch”.

Mainly, how much does getting a tattoo hurt depends on two things:
1. The person
2. On what part of your body you are getting a tattoo.

What I mean by saying, how bad does getting a tattoo hurt, depends on the person is that some people tend to be more nervous than others, and I would say that the pain largely depends on your mental state during the process. Some of us hate dentists, some don’t. Basically this is the same deal.

Everyone has heard horror stories about someone going in to get a tattoo and the pain was so intense they passed out. Well, if your tattoo artist is a professional you should not have this problem and you most likely will have minimal discomfort. A less than professional tattoo artist can make the job more painful than necessary by digging or grinding the needles into the skin. By all means, find yourself a good artist.

Another reason might be that the person was nervous and freaked out to the point that once the needle hit the skin they were so tense that they passed out. Again a good and experienced tattoo artist can help in this area also. They can talk you through the process and make you feel a little more at ease with the situation.

Here are some tattoo pain areas listed in order of the level of sensitivity.
#1: This should be obvious, the genitals are the most painful location for a tattoo. In the immortal words of Chevy Chase; HOLY SHIT WHERES DA TYLENOL!!!!!
#2: Your sternum, ribs, hands, and feet are very sensitive.
#3: Ankles, lower back, neck, under arm, around the groin area, and head are also sensitive areas.
#4: The least sensitive areas, and generally most popular tattoo spots for that reason, are your upper arms or forearms, calves, shoulder blades, outer thigh areas, buttocks and women’s breasts.

There is a tattoo pain chart on our website that will show what areas of the body that will have the varying levels of discomfort associated with them.

My best advice if you’re a “first-timer” and scared, not knowing will it hurt, is to be mentally prepared and tell yourself that it’s not going to be that bad, cause it really isn’t. Try to be as relaxed as possible and take deep breaths during the whole process. By all means, if you have concerns about any of the procedures used in the process, express them to the artist and they will most likely be able to settle your fears with their knowledge.

I hope you found it comforting if you’re one of those blessed with a little “needle fear” and the uncertainty of not knowing how bad does getting a tattoo hurt.

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