How painful is it getting a tattoo

[Sadless]

I am thinking of getting a tattoo done but the closer I get start to worry about the pain.

Any advice

Thanks
Sal

I agree, also 1 inch x 1 inch is too small. Any tattoo artist worth their salt would tell you that what you want needs to be bigger otherwise it might look good now, but it will blur and be unreadable very quickly (unless they're specialists in teeny tiny work like Jorge Becerra sp?)

I found it more of a burning and scratching sensation. I was expecting to feel needle stabs but didn’t.

Recently got my fourth. I have one on each side, one on my lower back (soooooo 90’s!) and my latest on the inside of my heel. I’d never say they are fun but I find that the adrenaline makes your first one easy you then get addicted and the adrenaline wears off!

as others have said you will need it bigger than you are planning and higher up than on your wrist (the bit with the lines/where it bends is a no go as it will deteriorate badly over time and smudge.

to get through it I’d say think of your little toe - the furthest thing from where you are getting inked. Like mindfulness I guess!

I have several tattoos I didn't find them painful UNTIL I had my wrist tattooed the pain was horrendous 😂😂 I was having Rosary beads tattooed around my wrist and spent the whole sessions swearing under my breath.

Wrist was fine for me.

I have two on inner forearm, a small bee, and love friends and laughter slightly painful

The level of pain associated with getting a new tattoo depend on a your pain tolerance, the size and location of the tattoo. And also type of needle a tattoo machine used.
But in general, if you want to get tattoo on nerve endings part of body, such as the ribs, spine, and ankles, are considered to be more painful to tattoo.

While a body part that has less fat and muscle, such as the upper arm, are considered to be less painful.

Less painful than when you later want it removed, apparently. And less expensive.

I have zero pain tolerance, but I’ve still got five tattoos. One is a square shaped band logo just above my wrist, it definitely hurt but it’s not unbearable. Like others have said, you don’t want anything on the crease of your wrist, forearm is better for quality.

@Sadless Wrist tattoos don't really hurt too much but the closer to your palm, they do hurt a bit.
If it's only going to take 30 minutes though you should be fine.

I don't think it hurts that's much.

To me it's like someone flicking your skin if you have sunburn

It's very painful literally like someone sticking needles into your skin hard. Imagine sticking a sewing needle into you over and over again. My worst was my toe. That bloody hurt.
They will also not be impressed if you make a fuss. You must sit there and make like a statue and then thank them for torturing you.

I have a small one on my lower arm, on the underneath side. It was a bit stingy at the end closest to my wrist going over the bony bits. I'm getting one on my other arm in the same location shortly though so I didn't find it so bad it puts me off doing it again!

I have a tattoo on my stomach too, that didn't hurt at all. I think any non-bony parts are the best as far as pain goes.

I’ve just had one on my thigh, you certainly feel it but it’s ‘ignorable’, I just watched videos on my phone and although I was aware of it happening, it wasn’t too painful and I could distract myself.
A mixture of a burning sensation and stinging.

Hi - tattooist here.
Most people are fine with the wrist but if you let the artist know how nervous you are they can adjust placement and maybe voltage accordingly to accommodate.
Ignore the advice re. Black ink. It’s nonsense! All ink needs to be punched in 😂 the artist will be able to advise on sizing. 1 inch for a paw print sounds fine, I expect the name may measure slightly bigger unless it’s only a few letters. Again the person seeing your wrist in person and working on you is the best to advise.
I’m sure you will have had much worse pain in your life, you’ll be fine. Eat and drink beforehand! Enjoy your new tattoo!

I have 4 and none have really been any worse than a bad cat scratch. Burns at the time but as soon as they pause to wipe it stops. I wouldn't fancy going over bone, one of mine just brushes my ankle and that did make me sweat for a minute! The itching as they heal is worse in my opinion just because it's so irritating!

Really happy to see this thread as I have been thinking on and off about getting a tattoo for years (decades even!). I'm 54 and a) I wonder am I too old (skin gets thinner as you get older I guess and b) can I tolerate the pain.

I'm thinking of something small, similar in size to the OP's, a robin in my case. I was thinking inside the wrist (or a little further up) or perhaps on the outside of the wrist as this might be slightly less painful? I would like to be able to cover it with my watch if needed (eg for work meetings).

I can't get rid of the thought that I really want to do this but a bit fearful too.

Sorry for hijacking OP!

I think it completely depends on the body part. I have most parts of my body tattooed to some extent, and some are just a slight scratch/vibration, others have been the worst pain of my life.

Mid forearm - absolutely fine.

Shin or behind the knee - I wanted to die.

Feels like a hot needle being dragged over your skin. It does hurt. But I’d get another. Bit like giving birth. That’s painful but I did that 6 times 🤣

Mine really hurt but I have a low pain threshold.

Winces.
My mum had her feet done close to the toes. She's mad.

Wrist isn't too bad. I had 5hrs done on my back which by hour 5 I was cursing the tattooist and very grouchy! Then had my wrist done straight after my back and was fine
Inner foot/ankle over the bone was sweat inducing

Wrist was absolutely fine. I have one on my ribs that absolutely killed! You will be fine and won’t take long

I love the feeling and find it rather therapeutic 😂