How much does it really hurt to get a tattoo?

First off, the needle from a tattoo gun feels NOTHING like the needle you’d get in a dr office. In my experience getting ink doesn’t hurt that bad at all. There are some bits that feel uncomfortable but never really unbearable. Shading hurts much more than line work as well because the ink is more watered down so the needle is less lubricated as it penetrates your skin. (yea try and read that without smirking :P)

“People say getting tattooed somewhere soft hurts less. Is that true?”

Couldn’t be further from the truth in my experience. I have a tattoo the whole length of my forearm. Going into it I thought for sure the bit on the underside of my wrist would be the hellish part, it actually didn’t hurt bad at all, it was the fatty bits up near the elbow that were the worst.

I wouldn’t be too concerned about the pain of the tattoo, it’s the itchiness that sets in around day 2–3 that will drive you mad. You want to scratch it so bad but you know doing so will ruin the tattoo. Tappin it gently helps a lot though. Also make sure to keep it moist with A&D (but don’t over apply it) . In about 4–5 days it will be healed completely and no longer itchy.

It’s also worth noting that the pain bit depends greatly on the artist. Some like to dig in really deep and make only one pass where as others are much lighter but require making multiple passes. I much prefer the latter as it’s less painful and leads to less blowouts in the ink.

As @El_Cadejo says, it is nothing like needles for a shot. It is more of a scrapey sensation.
I like the clean simplicity of the design you want, but the stark single line aspect will be a bit more painful. Your inner forearm is a protected area, so will also be a bit more sensitive.

All that said, it goes by quickly enough and heals quickly enough that a week later it’s a memory.

I’m a baby when I get inked. I bitch and whine and say “ow” a lot. My ink guy is very patient, takes a break when I need him to, and doesn’t visibly roll his eyes when I come back for more. Which I do, regularly.

Good luck with this! :-)

It depends on several factors. Where you get it (over muscle and/or fat is better), who does it (some tattoo artists have a heavier hand than others) and the design (solid blocks of color can require going over – and over- the same area).

It’s not comfortable, but it’s not particularly painful.

I have 2 small tattoos, a black and white cat on my right hip and 3 purple morning glories with a half anklet vine on my right ankle. Neither were more than modestly irritating. No real pain, just repetitive irritation.

Usually soft and squishy hurts more.

I have two tattoos. One on my left shoulder blade and another on the palm of my hand. While they’re both listed as red in the link, the inside of the hand was more painful.

On a scale of 1–10:
10 – induced labor without an epidural
2.7 – natural labor without an epidural
1.4 – tattoo inside Palm of your hand
0.5 – tattoo on your shoulder blade

@fluthernutter Tattoo on your palm…interesting. How long have you had it and how’s it holding up? Seems like an area that wouldn’t be that great for a tattoo because of how much it sweats/how much skin is lost there. I’m sure the healing process for that one was a pain in the ass.

I did not feel that mine hurt much at all. I have one on each shoulder, thou it depends a lot where on your body. They say the worst place is under your foot IIRC.

I only have one on the inside of my wrist. It felt like burning needles and while painful, it was bearable because you knew it wasn’t going to feel any worse as the tattoo artist kept going on with his work. You become accustomed to the sensation because it stays pretty much level. Not sure that makes sense, but that was my experience. Good luck!

@El_Cadejo Tattoos on your palm tend to fade and spread, so my tattoo artist had to go extra deep with the needle. Twice. But it was only line work, no shading. So perhaps less painful than it could have been. Though I don’t think shading would be good for palms. It’s difficult to predict how the ink will shift. It’s been three years and no fall out yet. I get work done on it each year, so fading would be part of the design.

I have a tattoo on each upper arm and did not find them to be particularly painful, and it feels nothing like needles. The first five minutes or so hurts the most, then it was just a steady discomfort.