Most painful spot to get tattooed

[BrookR70]

On my most recent piece on my back/shoulder, the tattoo extends down to the crease of my armpit. That was painful enough, but I had to go back the very next day and have it shaded because we ran out of time. Sonofabitch!

The artist even said, "I don't blame you if you think I'm the biggest asshole on the face of the earth right now."

[Jnvlv]

On my most recent piece on my back/shoulder, the tattoo extends down to the crease of my armpit. That was painful enough, but I had to go back the very next day and have it shaded because we ran out of time. Sonofabitch!

The artist even said, "I don't blame you if you think I'm the biggest asshole on the face of the earth right now."

My 1/2 sleeve goes into the armpit crease a little and it really burned, like a knife digging in

[Ditch Belgium]

I confirm the area of armpit crease was really hard for me during my sleeve elaboration... Probably the most tricky part for the arm but tattoing directly on the elbow top is also rockn roll I swear...

I cannot say I have my ribs which are tattoed but my great white shark tattoo extends down to the ribs area and honestly these 10 minutes (the tattoo artist would probably say more 5 minutes only !!!!) were really horrible. I really hated this moment. That's why I have a deep respect for people which begin tattoos with a big piece on ribs... Respect guys..

I planned also to tattoo the lower part of my back and I read this area is really sensitive so I will experience one day..

I continue my tattoo on legs (bottom only) currently so I'm discovering pain on this area.. I had this week a new tattoo on my left calf... an ambulance (don't laugh please) but it was very acceptable but sure my legs will reserve more surprises. To be continued

[astraelly]

I think I have a pretty shit pain tolerance because my entire thigh sucked, but dear lord, the area just above my knee, my kneepit, and right under my butt cheek were awful.

I always see people saying that tattoos hurt less than you think they do. Liars, the lot of them!

[Mick Weder]

right under my butt cheek were awful.

Fully agree. You'll find with most suited people, this spot is the, let's say..."most memorable"

[NateJ]

So far, the back of my knee has definitely been the worst. It was by far worse than my kneecap was.

[mtlsam]

I'll chime in and say that my side piece was most uncomfortable on the ribs near the nipple area. Worse than the stomach and love handles by far!

Contrary to popular opinion both of my elbows were fairly reasonable. But my friend hated her experience.

Finally I got a large hand size piece on my thigh. Thought that it would be mellow, but it really sucked, a lot! I'm a tall guy who is mostly leg, and I'm more than a little apprehensive about all the fun leg work to come.

[WhyMista]

I've got my shoulder, forearms, wrist, fingers and hands done and the only one that was even remotely painful was the one I just got on the outside of my pointer fingers right where the first knuckle is at the start of the finger. Only one thats ever actually been sore after getting it. And then again near the second knuckle on my left finger because of how close it came that part made me wince a bit but overall it was no big deal at all. I keep waiting for one to hurt bad enough I want to say stop.

[Mick Weder]

From all the painful areas I've had blasted, it's the feet I'm borking at having done.

I had a shitty inside panel done in my early 20's. But I was young and fuckin wasted at the time.

What I wanna do is blast that panel solid black then throw a solid as fuck piece over the top.

Not being able to convince myself 100% at this time.

The wasted option is sounding a good one. No, not really...well maybe.

Edited July 4, 2014 by Mick Weder
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[tay943]

I'd always been under the impression that thighs would be not so painful to get tattooed? Due to the muscle, fat, etc. But around this forum I seem to be hearing a lot about trouble with thigh tattoos. I'd been really relaxed about my first one until I started hearing about this. Still gonna go through with it but just a little more nervous now...

[Mick Weder]

I thought thighs were gonna be a walk in the park before we started. Especially after blasting the entire torso literally in a matter of months, week in week out.

How mistaken I was. :)

[tay943]

Well I guess I'm lucky that its a pretty small piece; and on the upside it could prepare me better for future work?

[Graeme]

Well I guess I'm lucky that its a pretty small piece; and on the upside it could prepare me better for future work?

Pain is really individual. My wife has pretty substantial coverage of her thighs and she's never foind it especially bad. A lot of people here hate getting their lower legs done, I've always found them really easy, but inner bicep for me was totally brutal and some people are fine with it. Bottom line is tattoos hurt, and that's partly what makes them awesome.

Honestly kind of happy that I'm going to hit where the thigh connects with the ass soon so I never have to get tattooed there ever again.

[tay943]

Yeah, I get that pain is a part of the experience, and it definetly hasn't put me off getting it done. I always get freaked when expecting pain, but have a high tolerance once it gets down to it. This has been my experience with piercings, and I'm assuming it will be the same for a tattoo. Once I feel the initial pain I'll settle into it...hooefully. I do look forward to the experience though.

[Breakme]

I'm still very new to getting tattooed, and I've said a couple of times here just how much I hated getting my thighs done. In my limited experience, I can only compare it to my inner forearm, it's a different sort of pain I found. While my inner arm and ditch certainly hurt more in terms of surface pain, I found with my thighs it was a more deeper, muscular/nerve pain, which left me totally exhausted and shaky at the end of the session.

Both of my thighs were one-hit tattoos, so this probably factored in as well. Emily has a reputation of being a driller, but as I've only been tattooed by two people and she has done both my thighs, I don't know how much of a difference this really makes.

[polliwog]

I've never really understood how people come to refer to different tattooers as being heavy-handed (including a couple of the people who've tattooed me). It's a sharper pain in some places than others, but it all feels more or less the same to me. I'm sorta drunk but hopefully this makes sense.

[Breakme]

I've never really understood how people come to refer to different tattooers as being heavy-handed (including a couple of the people who've tattooed me). It's a sharper pain in some places than others, but it all feels more or less the same to me. I'm sorta drunk but hopefully this makes sense.

I don't know either? Is it the speed in which they tattoo?

[WhyMista]

I don't know either? Is it the speed in which they tattoo?

I have had my fingers, sides of my hands and then the outside of my pointer fingers done in the past three months and I can say that my most recent was better than the others done by the guy I normally have do mine. It wasn't that it was less painful it was just more efficient to me and there wasn't ever that moment where it felt like he was digging into my skin.

I know my most recent he said that he used the smallest needle(I know jack and shit about the mechanics of tattoo guns) and thats why it may have been more painful and taken longer but it was the best way to insure a good result. But I have nothing really to judge this off of.

[Tight-Lines]

I am changing my opinion of whatever it originally was to any place Scott tattoos.

[TattooPics]

I've always hear the feet are horrible but never been tattooed there myself, for me though it would be the chest

[misterJ]

I've never really understood how people come to refer to different tattooers as being heavy-handed (including a couple of the people who've tattooed me). It's a sharper pain in some places than others, but it all feels more or less the same to me. I'm sorta drunk but hopefully this makes sense.

I don't know either? Is it the speed in which they tattoo?

I could be way off but I always thought it was the total trauma to the skin after doing a solid area.

[polliwog]

Re: the discussion of inner biceps going on in the backpiece thread, I just remembered that part of mine was whipshaded to the beat of "Don't Stop Believin'" ("I'm playing her arm!") This will probably be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

- - - Updated - - -

I could be way off but I always thought it was the total trauma to the skin after doing a solid area.

Sorry for my original cranky-sounding post. A couple times now I've been expecting a rough time from a tattooer based on people's experiences on here or elsewhere, and then found the pain to be pretty unremarkable. Not that it tickled, just that it felt like getting a tattoo. It's a novice mistake, but I've finally learned not to stress too much about the level of pain I'm in for based on other people's experiences with a tattooer - for better or for worse, it seems to be pretty unpredictable.

[Mick Weder]

It always is unpredictable isn't it.

Plenty of times I've gone in thinking breeze, and it's been far from a breeze and vice versa. We really never know what we're going to experience until we're under that machine. Simply just coming down to never becoming nonchalant about it and treat every sitting with the respect it deserves...

if that makes sense.

It's like in our things that people say that shit you thread...you must get used to the pain after all this time.

I can never see how that statement would make any sense to anyone at anytime. How do you get used to pain?

One of my answers to people when I feel like it is, part of me getting tattooed so extensively is because of the pain factor.

Pain dictates everything in life. Learn to manage it, I can learn to sustain anything.

Edited July 22, 2014 by Mick Weder
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[polliwog]

Pain's mercifully/stupidly easy to forget but not at all easy to get used to in the moment...

I can only imagine people who say you "get used to" the pain have never experienced arthritis, sciatica, etc etc etc?!

[Mick Weder]

Ooh, Sciatica. That's literally a pain in the arse.