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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask just how much a tattoo hurts?

92 replies

Giraffe31 · 01/03/2017 12:45

I know that obviously it does hurt but I'd really like to get one. Just a small one on maybe the inside of my wrist?

So how much does it REALLY hurt? I'm a complete wuss when it comes to pain but I have nothing to compare it to. So AIBU to ask what the level of pain is comparable to?
Thanks!

OP posts:

sonjadog · 01/03/2017 19:31

The worst one I have pain-wise was the back of my ankle. It was very painful from the get go. The others (wrist and lower back) were painful but not excessively so. The shading is the worst bit. It feels like going over a cut again and again. I only did shading on my first one, the others are all outlines as I couldn´t face the thought of the pain again. But it is important to remember that it won´t last forever and what you want to do it probably only a 15 minute job. Also, when you start you have to keep going (or else it will look stupid), so you just have to get on with it.

notMarlene · 01/03/2017 19:52

Even with a huge, complex tattoo in the most painful area possible, the minutes of pain to hours of wear ratio is tiny. That is absolutely worth bearing in mind

Interesting, heavily tattooed people tend to agree to disagree on what the most painful area possible is though. Ribs, stomach, sternum, backs of heels, foot soles, hand palms, nipples, kneecaps and armpits are usually well up in the running. Anecdotally, there seems to be a degree of correlation between how ticklish a person is in a particular area and how painful they find tattooing that area.

kel1234 · 01/03/2017 20:03

I really really want one.
It would need to be hidden because of the type of work I want to go into (working in schools).
I thought the top of my thigh would be a good place as no one except myself and my husband will be looking at me with no trousers on except the midwife when we have baby number 2.
Dh thinks I'm not 100% sure I want it, as i asked him to make me an appointment (he knows his tattoo artist well), then I stopped him last minute. The only reason I stopped him is because I'm scared of the pain.
I've heard people say if I can go through 4 days of contractions and give birth with hardly any pain relief, then I can get a tattoo. Also they say that the top of the thigh won't hurt much as it's nowhere near a bone.
But I'm still so terrified of it..

HarryPottersMagicWand · 01/03/2017 20:05

I've heard getting a tattoo removed hurts a lot more than having it done, sorry.

My tattooist doesn't advocate numbing cream. He said he would be pushing chemicals into your skin with the needles and he told me not to use it.

I have one on my shoulder, don't remember it being bad, had a sebacious cyst that had to be drained in the same area, the numbing injections hurt far far more than the tattoo. One on bottom of back, fine, scratchy but bearable. One on foot, was told it would be awful, so painful, wouldn't get one there etc etc. Found it enjoyable and was sad when it finished. Got one on my ankle (which is very boney) and that was my most painful one but bearable. That one felt the most tender after too. But it was worth it as I love it!

HarryPottersMagicWand · 01/03/2017 20:07

kel doesn't necessarily have to be hidden for a school. DDs teacher has one on her back and sometimes you can see it if her hair is up and she has a certain top on. I've seen a TA with one on her foot too. Doesn't seem to be an issue.

DoctorStrange · 01/03/2017 20:21

My first tattoo was a full rib piece, with some of it coming around my hip bones and onto my stomach. I couldn't feel anything apart from the tiny bit that was going over my hip bone. It's not like there was any flab there to cushion things either - I had a BMI of 16 at the time.
People always think I'm bullshitting but I genuinely couldn't feel anything!

notMarlene · 01/03/2017 20:33

No sensation of any sort whatsoever DoctorStrange? No vibration or anything?

My tattooist has had large work on both sets of ribs (obviously). One side done when on the verge of underweight and the other when he had a bit of padding and had been working out. They are reasonably similar tattoos and both were equally awful, apparently.

FirstSeemItThenBeIt · 01/03/2017 22:10

I think part of the 'don't use numbing cream' is a bit of tattoo snobbery. Like the ink equivalent of people who show off about having a natural labour. Well, good for you, I think, but I wasn't in pain and still got the result I was hoping for.

Coconutcoconut · 01/03/2017 22:18

Ribcage was excruciating but inner arm was just like a bearable scratching sensation.

WineAndTiramisu · 01/03/2017 22:29

I remember thinking it felt like someone ripping your skin with a blunt knitting needle... But I was 15 at the time, I think I'd probably cope with it better now I'm in my 30's

It was the black outline that hurt most, the colour inside I didn't even notice, I thought he'd already finished!

CherryChasingDotMuncher · 01/03/2017 22:32

I've had tattoos on Binet parts and fleshy parts. I wouldn't say it hurt, just felt like someone was scratching me hard

CherryChasingDotMuncher · 01/03/2017 22:32

*boney

notMarlene · 01/03/2017 22:32

Putting on numbing cream before a tattoo appointment without speaking to the artist about it first is just plain daft. But then, I've heard it said that we get the tattoos we deserve

someone ripping your skin with a blunt knitting needle I've had moments like that. Colour blending

hollinhurst84 · 01/03/2017 22:42

Definitely - I spoke to the artist, I used a bit on a small area as a trial for him to feel how the skin was etc. Now he's just like "yeah load it on"
Mine still look perfect, no problems with them at all. It definitely doesn't stop the pain for me after the first hour but it took the edge off so I could sit for that long

amusedbush · 02/03/2017 07:41

I think part of the 'don't use numbing cream' is a bit of tattoo snobbery

I'm definitely not snobby about it, I was just relaying my experience and what my artist told me.

CharlieDimmocksbosoms · 02/03/2017 12:18

Paracetamol is fine before but I wouldn't recommend ibuprofen which can thin your blood and make your tattoo bleed more.

notMarlene · 02/03/2017 12:28

There are pros and cons with inbroprofen. It's more or less pointless for pain relief (as is paracetamol), maybe even counterproductive for longer sessions as it can interfere with endorphin production. But, the anti inflammatory properties are a boon. There may be teeny bit more bleeding, but there is less swelling and less plasma.

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