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[ SECRET POST #3741 ]

⌈ Secret Post #3741 ⌋

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I've always wanted a tattoo and I've been seriously considering it lately. But I'm a wimp when it comes to pain. I really want to do it though, because it would be good to to step out of my comfort zone and I feel like it would be a huge confidence boost. I'm doing research and would like to hear your stories.

Do you have a tattoo? Where is it and how much did it hurt? Is there a sensation you could compare it to? How long did it take?

Got a Terry Pratchett's "Summoning Dark" on the inside of my left wrist, Three Witches (I went for Granny, Nanny, and Perdita rather than Magrat) on my right shoulder blade, and a caricature Pterry himself on my right boob. I'm a Discworld fan. I'm going to get Death on Binky on one of my calves and shin. None of them really hurt that much. I think that a lot of the people who talk about how having a tattoo hurts are just trying to make themselves seem macho and tough.

Which place would you say hurt the least? I've heard calves mentioned often. I'm not sure where I'd get one. I just know it wouldn't be my shoulders, because they're really sensitive. How big are the tattoos and how long did it take?

Boob tat hurt the least (it is well up towards the top of my cleavage away fromt he nipple, a nipple tat would probably hurt), and shoulderblade the most, but even then it didn't really hurt. It was more like a bad case of pins and needles (no pun intended) than the jab-jab-jab stab-stab-stab that some people say they experienced. The not being able to move, especially the wrist, was more the annoying part.

Re: Tattoos

(Anonymous) - 2017-04-01 23:11 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Tattoos

(Anonymous) - 2017-04-01 23:45 (UTC) - Expand

I have a small tattoo (though I want more), and before I got it a friend told me "they hurt both more and less than expected" which is weirdly accurate. Where you want to get it and how detailed you want it to be are gonna be big factors. Where are you thinking of getting it, and is it like, what type of a tattoo is it? (aka words, smooth realism, colored, etc)

The closest sensation I can compare it to is being scratched? Like by a small cat, or a sharp mechanical pencil. It hurt the worst when they had to go back in to places where they had already worked to add more ink.

How long it takes also depends ENTIRELY on how big and detailed it is. I got a word on my foot, and that took around 20 minutes to half an hour. My gf has two tattoos (a winged snitch on her back and a owl on her thigh) and the back one took an hour and the owl took 2 hours. But it all depends.

OH also! Imo the healing is more uncomfortable than the pain. They get itchy and you can't scratch them.

Since it's my first tattoo, I want something small. Not sure about the design yet. I do know that I'd like to have it colored and I don't want words.

I don't mind being scratched; my sister had plenty of cats so I'm used to it. My big fear is shots, but I'm fine with needles.

I would say it doesn't hurt anything close to how much a shot does! Its more kind of... irritating and twingey, as opposed to any kind of deep pain. The main problem I see people run into is not eating enough before hand, cause it can make your blood sugar drop like crazy.

Also, if you're nervous, bringing a friend to talk to you while it happens can help a lot, or listening to music during. Tensing up/freaking out will make it hurt more from what I understand, so something to distract you can help that.

Re: Tattoos

(Anonymous) - 2017-04-01 22:30 (UTC) - Expand

My entire back is tattooed, as is my left upper arm, and my lower abdomen down to my pelvic bone.

Yup, it hurt. It's needles going into your skin (very shallowly) over and over and over. It has a kind of burning, scratching, *hot* sensation, like someone dragging something rough or sharp over a sunburn.

Most-hurty - pelvic bone and lower. Holy fuck, that hurt. Also - the 'point' of my shoulder, and the edges around my underarms and kidneys.

Least hurty - outer bicep, spine and middle of back, up under my navel. My daughter has most of a full leg and her outer thigh wasn't bad, or calf, but around the knee and elbow are very hurty on most people, and over bone is pretty uncomfortable. Anything in the 'ditch' - where the elbow or knee bends, or underarm - is damn hurty. My SO got one on his foot and it hurt him like hell, and he's the kind of 'don't go to the hospital unless your guts are hanging out' person.

My SO is a tattoo artist and is pretty light-handed, but some artists are really heavy-handed, so the pain factor has a lot to do with that, as well as your own pain tolerance. The size, of course, will determine the time it takes. My whole back took about 30 hours, but that was over months. My whole left bicep/upper arm (shoulder to elbow) took about five hours - it's a blue jay with flowering tree branches and a very detailed bee. Something really small, like a symbol or a word, might take fifteen or thirty minutes, tops, from an experienced artist.

Of course - don't let anyone's story scare you. It hurts, but it doesn't hurt so bad I would quit getting them, and I never regretted mine. If you make up your mind to do it, just go for it, and remember to have a snack first, and to breathe (that is, don't tense up and hold your breath) while it's happening.

You can do it! And you'll be glad you did. If you want to post the city you're in, you can probably get some recs as to good artists; always check out the shop cleanliness and artist portfolios first!

Good luck!

Thanks! I'm planning on something small. I don't know where yet, I was thinking my calf.

I'm very pale and get sunburned easily, so if it's similar to that feeling it could be doable.

Very pale = tattooists dream. Color will show delightfully on your skin, so you can go for something super-saturated and eye-popping (if you like that kind of thing).

Good luck!

Re: Tattoos

(Anonymous) - 2017-04-01 22:33 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Tattoos

tabaqui - 2017-04-01 22:48 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Tattoos

(Anonymous) - 2017-04-01 23:20 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Tattoos

tabaqui - 2017-04-01 23:25 (UTC) - Expand

I have one on my shoulder (in the area of the "regimental patch"). Now, I have a very high pain tolerance but for me it didn't hurt whatsoever. It was over with in about 45 minutes, and even by the end I wasn't feeling any pain: it essentially felt like someone scratching me quite hard, almost a little satisfying.

That said, if you have already convinced yourself that it's going to hurt, then frankly you're going to psych yourself into being in more pain than you would have otherwise.

It's generally recommended that first timers don't get it in an area that's highly innervated and don't go for an area that's close to bone. Most of the more common areas to get tattoos (upper arm, lower back, outer butt cheek, shoulder/upper back) are common because they are the least likely to be extremely painful. Also, keep in mind that the longer the tattooing session the more intense the pain will become, so you should limit yourself to something you feel confident that you can withstand.

THIS! Psyching yourself out is the worst thing you can do.

I have a tendency to psych myself out. The fear is always worse than the experience but I end up doing it every time.

I don't know what to tell you there, OP.

This isn't something you should go into scared. Maybe it would be a good idea to go into wherever you plan on getting it done and have a look around the place. Possibly even ask if someone else getting a tattoo wouldn't mind you watching the procedure so you can get a sense of what it will be like?

Perhaps that would put you a little more at ease.

I have four. They didn't hurt too much except the one on my rib during. Sensation I'd compare it to is a sunburn being scratched.

I've heard the sunburn and scratching multiple times. I can deal with those. What designs do you have?

Two that are just line art (a semi colon and a tiny planet with a ring), one that's more detailed (a lighthouse, for size think a little smaller than a pinky finger), and one bigger sunflower that was the more painful one.

Re: Tattoos

(Anonymous) - 2017-04-01 23:14 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Tattoos

sparrow_lately - 2017-04-02 01:14 (UTC) - Expand

I have one on the inside of my arm, a hand width above my wrist. It didn't hurt at all, just felt like someone was scratching my skin lightly with their fingernails. It's two kanji in solid black, so it took a lot longer than I expected, more than two hours.

Were the kanji big? Would coloring take more time or less?

Re: Tattoos

(Anonymous) - 2017-04-01 23:55 (UTC) - Expand

That seems like a long time for two kanji. Were they really big?

Re: Tattoos

(Anonymous) - 2017-04-01 23:54 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Tattoos

tabaqui - 2017-04-01 23:56 (UTC) - Expand

DON'T get a tattoo to "get out of your comfort zone." Do it because you want one and are comfortable with it.

THIS. A tattoo is something that's going to be on your body for the rest of your life (unless you opt to have it removed, and that's expensive AND painful). You want to be absolutely, positively 100% sure that it's something you want and are going to continue to want years and decades down the line.

Re: Tattoos

(Anonymous) - 2017-04-02 00:31 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Tattoos

(Anonymous) - 2017-04-02 11:27 (UTC) - Expand

Agreed, but it sounds like for OP the tattoo itself wouldn't be out of their comfort zone, just the actual process of getting tattooed (bc pain).

Re: Tattoos

(Anonymous) - 2017-04-02 00:44 (UTC) - Expand

I don't have one. I don't have enough permanence in me to commit to one.

That being said, I do kind of regret not getting one in Santiago with my when we finished the Camino. Just a little something to commemorate, but neither of us gave the final push so it ended up just being something we joked/talked about.

Edited 2017-04-02 02:02 (UTC)

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