NWR: how much do tattoos hurt?

stgn01 · September 2009

so before my 30th birthday (next aug) i would like to get a tattoo. i've wanted one for a very long time, and was too chicken. i figure if i don't do it now, i probably won't.i've known for a while what i want, but how much will it hurt? how much will it hurt on your back? or on your spine? i know the fatty areas don't hurt as much, but i want opinions. thanks ladies!

mandapanda78 · September 2009

Mine is partially over bone, partially over soft tissue. It was more annoying than painful. The part where it went over the bone was definately higher on the pain scale but at no point did I cry, if that's any help at all. I've heard color hurts more though.

dukeylouise · September 2009

It really depends on your pain tolerance. Neither of mine hurt at all. They were mildly uncomfortable. I have one on my bikini area and on my spine.

dukeylouise · September 2009

Color is a little more uncomfortable because they use more needles at a time to fill in.

LovesMM · September 2009

It depends. Everyone's tolerance for pain is different.I have the typical 'tramp stamp' and it didn't hurt too bad. It was more of a burning sensation. When he was doing the area on the spine the burning was more intense. I cringed and had to breathe through it but it was nothing that made me jump off the table and run for the door. I think it itching that comes after to actual tat is more annoying.

jerseylaw21 · September 2009

I think the pain depends on the person. Some people I know say they just feel like little pricks. They are annoying more than they hurt. I on the other hand have a very low pain tolerance so to me it hurts really bad. Lets just say on a scale of 1-10 my pain would be a 10++++.

TiDa2009 · September 2009

I don't have one on my back, but my ankle, but I don't remember it hurting too bad. I likened it to being scratched with a pin/needle. Also, once you've been there for awhile your skins goes a little numb and you won't feel much. I have heard the spine hurts, though. The worst part of mine was standing up afterwards because of the position I was in. I sat twisted so I could watch and that killed my knee and hip. Good luck!

temerityjane · September 2009

You're going to get answers from people who tell you that it hurts and answers from people who claim "oh it doesn't hurt at all."Those "it doesn't hurt at all" people make no sense. It's NEEDLES. In your SKIN. Tattoos HURT. It WILL hurt, no matter where you have it done. If it's your first one, you have nothing to compare to. So just go in knowing it's going to hurt. You probably won't scream or cry, but I admit that on one or two of mine, I've gotten a bit light headed.Anyway. It's going to hurt. You'll be able to take it, but it's not going to be a d@mn picnic.

sarah-bella · September 2009

i have a few, and they all hurt on different scales. the one on my ankle hurt like hellll. it's right on the bone and it felt like the guy was peeling the skin from my body!the one on my shoulder took 30 minutes and i barely felt a thingthe one on my back made my teeth jitter. the vibrations were going right through my body most of the time. it was uncomfortable, but not painful.it depends on how much fill you are getting too, but the fineline (outline) gets a little grating too

ggmae · September 2009

It really depends on your tolerance for pain and the area. I have one on the top of my foot and while it didn't hurt, it was more annoying than anything else. My foot felt really hot, but I never cried or winced or anything. However, my little brother just got a tat on his arm and he passed out during. He has a lower tolerance for pain and psychs himself out, so that's why he passed out.I have heard that it hurts most along your spine, ankle, and ribs. My brother got on on his stomach and said that hurt a lot as well, but the foot isn't so bad from my experience.

KitteeBride2Be · September 2009

I personally don't have one, but I went just a few weeks ago w/ my friend, who has quite a few, to get a new one just below her breast bone. She has a very low tolerance for pain and said it was painful, but nothing she couldn't stand. She said her foot was the worst and bled like crazy, but again, nothing she couldn't stand.That tattoo artist, who was covered in tattoos, said he is trying to finish one on his rib cage and just can't force himself to do it bc it hurt so much. Spine and Rib cage seems to be two of the worst areas.I would imagine placement and tolerance for pain would play a big factor in how well you do. I'm trying to talk myself into one I have wanted for a very long time and honestly, I think I would be ok as I'm planning on going small and simple.

MandaBelle1211 · September 2009

I have one on my bikini/hip area. I honestly didn't think it hurt...I was surprised by it because I was expecting the worst. I think it was more irritating than anything else. However, I do have a very high pain tolerance.

salt78 · September 2009

Varies on location. I don't think any of the ones I have particularly hurt that much, but I thought the ones on fatty areas were a bit more painful than when they went over bone.

crfische · September 2009

The one on my back hurt. There's no two ways to say that. The one on my ankle hurt way less. It's kinda like...if you take a pencil and go over your arm over and over pressing kinda hard? That's how it feels.

tlv204 · September 2009

I actually thought the black was a lot more uncomfortable because they had to make it so much thicker and deeper, at least that's how I felt. But yeah I'll agree with the "very annoying" description. I mean it doesn't feel good, but I didn't cry either.

Nebb · September 2009

My back tattoo spans from the top of my spine to almost the bottom and it was the least painful of all my tattoos. I would point out to be careful how low you get yours if you do it on your spine - some doctors will not give you an epidural during pregnancy if they have to insert it through a tattoo because of some technical stuff I dont remember. I would also think though that its going to hurt differently for everyone, depending on their pain tollerance.

temerityjane · September 2009

One thing I think you can count on is that for your first, you're going to build it up WAY WORSE in your mind than it's going to turn out to be. So at least you can walk in there knowing it's extremely likely to hurt much, much less than you think it's going to, and be pleasantly surprised.

maggyruth · September 2009

Continual paper cuts. That's how my mother described it. I would discribe it as someone constantly touching a pretty bad sunburn. Personally, my pain was minimal, but I have a high pain tolerance. Most painful was my anklet, but that was because he did the outline and then went over the area again to put the color in. THAT'S when it hurt...because the skin had been given a chance to calm down and was being aggrevated again. (I have 9, though, so not bad enough to stop me.)

sapphirebaby926 · September 2009

Like pp's said this is really going to depend on your pain tolerance and the location of the tattoo.I have one on my upper back right over my spine and that was extremely painful for me but the ones I got on my hips were next to no pain.

temerityjane · September 2009

OT, but sapphire, what dress is that? I think it's one, or similar to one, that I've been interested in.

stgn01 · September 2009

thanks everyone...that was really helpful. i want it on my back and i can't decided where. it will either be right in the middle of my back (because i i like things to be symmetrical and in order) or off on my shoulder blade. how high or low on your back does it have to be for a doctor not to give you an epidural?any advice on ways to make it better? xanax perhaps

alixzafiris · September 2009

Mine didn't hurt at all, but it's on my upper thigh so it's not really a bony area. The most painful part (and it honestly wasn't that painful at all) was the line-work. Filling it in kind of tickled. It depends on where you get it though, and your tolerance for pain.

sapphirebaby926 · September 2009

It's an Alfred Angelo - the style number is 1612There's another one that's very similar to it that has the color all filled in the middle but I can't remember which style number it is

temerityjane · September 2009

Ah, I thought it was Alfred Angelo. I like a lot of the dresses from that designer. Thanks!

ggmae · September 2009

TJ - My friend had this w/ fuchsia. [url]<a href="http://www.alfredangelo.com/Collections/ProductDisplay.aspx?productID=2039e191-e45b-4b44-bba1-6a2ac07f9712&categoryID=8b186130-0d63-4e3c-ac5c-aea0d9566e1c&pg=1" rel='nofollow'>http://www.alfredangelo.com/Collections/ProductDisplay.aspx?productID=2039e191-e45b-4b44-bba1-6a2ac07f9712&categoryID=8b186130-0d63-4e3c-ac5c-aea0d9566e1c&pg=1</a>[/url]

maggyruth · September 2009

how high or low on your back does it have to be for a doctor not to give you an epidural?I don't think the presence of a tattoo would mean that you wouldn't be able to have an epidural. They can go by feel and fluroscopy if need be...

temerityjane · September 2009

ggmae - that was the first dress to ever catch my eye.I saw it bustled on this site - http://www.leanna.com/Bridal/Bustles.htm - way down at the bottom - and I just loved it. My mom hates it. I don't think she wants me to have any color on the dress. I've got a while, though, so I'll probably change my mind 800 times.

mandysmear · September 2009

Depends on the person. I know a girl who had an orgasm from the tattoo on her lower back (tramp stamp).The tattoo on my back was done by my good friend and esthetician. She has some kind of freezing ingredient (she does permanent make up as well as tattoos), so after she put that on, I would have let her tattoo me all day long. It felt kind of good.My ankle was annoying. It felt like when you scratch a mosquite bite to long and it starts to sting a bit. It's just incredibly annoying. IMO.

*BeachBride0410* · September 2009

I am personally a huge baby, and I went into it thinking it would hurt really bad....so I got all nervous, but it actually was not as bad as I thought. I do agree it depends on location and the amount of fatty tissue in the area. I have 1 on my hip, lower back to the right of my spine & on my foot. The 1 on the foot hurt the worst, because it was on the top of the foot, not much fatty tissue. You feel all the vibrations of the needle and gun. It felt like I was getting stung by a bee, over and over again. I would not recommend the foot as your 1st tattoo. My 1st was the hip, and like I said it was not as bad as I thought. It is kind of a burning sensation. However says that once you get the outline done, you wont feel the filling in because you will be numb...is full of Sh*t..... I do however agree they are addictive...I'm not sure why, but they are!

ggmae · September 2009

TJ - My friend bustled her dress like that too. Her favorite color is pink, so the dress suited her well!

sapphirebaby926 · September 2009

yep that's the one I thinking of ggmae and it's one of the one's I tried on but it was just too much color for meTJ - My mom was surprisingly ok with the color on it and she's really traditional. I'm glad I decided on that one because an all white dress just isn't my style.

NWR: how much do tattoos hurt?

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