The most painful tattoo placements are frequently located at the extremities (head, face, hands, fingers, feet, toes), regions where there is naturally less body fat (ribcage, shoulder blade, collarbones, hips, ankles) or more nerve endings (armpit, groin or buttocks).
Tattoo pain will vary depending on your age, sex, and pain threshold. The most painful spots to get a tattoo are your ribs, spine, fingers, and shins. The least painful spots to get a tattoo are your forearms, stomach, and outer thighs.
The head, including the scalp and face, is a highly sensitive area due to the high density of nerve endings. Tattooing this area can be extremely painful. Some people compare getting a tattoo on the head to a migraine. You will probably notice stinging and scorching sensations when you're getting your head tattooed.
The most painful places to get a tattoo are areas that have less muscle, lots of nerve endings, minimal fat, thin skin, and are close to bone. This includes obvious spots like your head, chest & rib cage, stomach, nipples, face, ears, neck, groin, and armpits.
Least painful to tattoo
The least painful places to get a tattoo are areas of your body with fewer nerve endings. Think outer shoulder, calf, buttocks, and outer arm. While people generally focus on the location on the body, Stanley Kovak, a cosmetic physician, theorizes that pain is more about size.
You do not want the scabs picked off. The scabbing stage can last a few days. The tattooed area is unlikely to still feel sore after about two weeks.
Once you're of the legal age though, there's no right or wrong time to get tattooed. But if pain is a consideration, it's worth noting that tattoos tend to hurt more as you get older because of thinning skin, so your 20s and 30s are the best time for tattoos in terms of the skin's elasticity.
For a first tattoo, find an artist who's inspiring, and consider getting a tattoo that is personal in some way. For some people, it could have sentimentality; for others, it could simply be an image they find beautiful. Meaningful quote tattoos and memorial tattoos are both popular choices.
“The most common answer is that it feels like a cat scratch on a really bad sunburn,” Olivia says. And for Trinity: “Getting a tattoo feels like when you pet a cat's belly, and the cat grabs your hands and kicks, scratching you with its claws,” she says. “It's not aggressive. But it does hurt, at least a little.”
An average tattoo will hurt for around three days as this is when the healing process is starting. However, it can continue to be sore and tender for up to two weeks. If you are concerned about the tattoo pain or worried about infection, you should speak to your tattoo artist and then see your doctor for advice.
In conclusion, a new tattoo is likely to be sore for the first few days after getting it, but the level of pain can vary. The pain should start to subside within a week to 10 days, and if it persists or gets worse, it may be a sign of an infection or an adverse reaction, and it's important to seek medical attention.
You can shower 3-4 hours after getting a tattoo, if you have a Saniderm bandage on, however, if you have a plastic wrap wait 24 hours to unwrap your tattoo and shower. In either case, shower in cold or lukewarm water and avoid prolonged soaking or submerging your tattoo in water for 3-4 weeks.
Myth: In reality, getting tattooed does hurt -- but it does not produce the same type of pain as childbirth. The pain of getting a tattoo feels more like scratching a bad sunburn.
You must always ask your artist first before using a numbing solution. Some artists advise against using numbing creams because it can affect the tattoo process. It is possible that the cream or gel can temporarily alter your skin texture, making the artist's job much harder.
With that said, don't take painkillers before getting a tattoo either. Painkillers like Advil and Ibuprofen also thin the blood, which will lead to similar issues that alcohol has. Acetaminophen may potentially be fine to take, but should be discussed with the artist beforehand.
Expect about half an hour to an hour for a simple, small tattoo. Keep in mind, however, a small tattoo with lots of color, line work, details, or a tricky placement could take several hours.
A temporary tattoo is completely painless. A permanent tattoo will always involve a little pain, just like anything else we do to improve our look. It's also painful to wax your eyebrows or fix an ingrown toenail, but it's totally worth it.
About 1/16th of an inch into the skin. Not so scary, right? The tattoo machine's needle aims to deposit the ink in a region of 1.5 millimeters to 2 millimeters below the surface of the skin.
Roman also says tattoos on your wrist or forearm tend to be pretty easy places to start with, but a pinch test (yes, literally pinching yourself with your nails) is a good indicator of which areas on your own body might be more sensitive than others.
Choose a place with more cushion, less bone and more fat or muscle. Examples of these places include the outer arm, outer thigh and calf muscle.
Foods to avoid include those that promote inflammation – red meats, foods high in sugar, salt and additives, as well as overly processed foods. These can interfere with the body's natural healing processes. The same is said to be true for an excessive amount of dairy.