The most painful places for women will be areas with more nerve endings like your nipples or breasts including between your breasts. If you're planning a sternum tattoo this can also be a painful spot, same as your ribs. You may want to opt for hand poke tattoos here as many people say they're more gentle.
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 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).
Use a tattoo numbing cream
If you don't think you can handle the pain or sit still for the whole session, try a tattoo numbing cream like our Signature or Signature+ Numbing Cream. These creams allow you to sit pain-free your entire session, up to 7 hours at a time. You won't feel a thing and your ink will look great.
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.
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.
Do Numbing Creams Affect Your Tattoo? Numbing creams do not generally affect your tattoo's visual outcome, but this depends on the quality of the product you use. Some low-quality numbing creams can create a slippery effect on your skin, affecting your tattooer's work.
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.
If you're worried about how you'll deal with the pain, it's good to test your first tattoo out on the legs or arms, where Brodsky says the pain can be less intense, especially if it's a fleshier part of your body.
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.
Therefore, some good spots to target are your calf, bum, bicep, and thigh. The shoulder blade also doesn't usually hurt all that much. Therefore, you should avoid getting a tattoo on very bony parts like your spine, ribs, ankle, feet, breast bone, etc.
The upper back region around the trapezius, below the neck, and around posterior deltoids all provide a stretch-free (for the most part) canvas. Even with significant weight gain, aging skin, or muscle growth the skin in this area keeps the same relative range of elasticity.
Benefits of Fine Line Tattoos
There are many reasons why someone might choose to get a fine line tattoo. For one, these tattoos tend to be less painful than traditional tattoos due to the smaller needles that are used. They also heal more quickly and have less risk of infection.
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.
It's understandable that people wonder, "do tattoos affect hair follicles?” and the short answer is that tattoos are not normally likely to affect the hair follicles nor prevent effective hair growth. Contrary to popular belief, tattoo ink pigments are known to be deposited in the dermis layer of your skin.
This means you'll need to deal with the pain of a tattoo naturally or use a non-blood thinning OTC painkiller like Tylenol. Velvet also recommends getting plenty of rest and eating an adequate meal before your tattoo appointment, explaining that the body needs extra energy and nutrients to withstand the process.
If there is swelling, apply ice and/or use NSAID pain relievers such as ibuprofen. Keep your tattoo away from animals.