by Ryan A. Baker

Created on: October 10, 2009

"It feels like a bee sting, only over and over and over again". Those were the exact words a friend used to describe what getting a tattoo feels like to me. Before my first tattoo, I had heard so many stories about the pain of a tattoo. Some say bee sting, while others rant about it being only a subtle pinch, others feel it's the worst pain they'll experience, and some just laugh at the idea of a tattoo hurting at all. As I made my way into a local tattoo shop, I was ready to disprove all the theories my friends and online blogs had told me about the pain of a tattoo, and finally decide for myself what it was like. As it turns out, they were all wrong, well at least to me. For myself, the pain of a tattoo is something like a tack being dragged across my skin, manageable but annoying pain.

Okay, okay, so that image may be a little bit much to handle, but consider this; the reasons we get tattoos, range from fun to commemorative, and if it's worth it enough to the person ( which it should be because it's going to be there forever), then the pain should be dealt with accordingly. Of course it's going to hurt, unless your threshold for pain is immensely high. The fact of it is, there are one or two, minute needles puncturing your skin as a racing fast speed. It's like the finger prick for diabetics and blood tests, but a thousand times over, depending on the size and detail of the piece.

The outline of the tattoo is always going to be the worst part, pain wise. The first few lines done will send your pain sensory system into a pretty good shock, heightening all your senses, and making you super-aware of what is going on. But after the first few minutes, your body releases chemicals/hormones/endorphins that builds up a numbness to the pain you may be in, as an good and reliable tattoo artist will tell you. For me, it helped to watch my artist as he worked his magic on my forearm. The minute I stopped concentrating on the beautiful picture he was creating, I was immediately sent back into the super aware state of the needle jabbing into my arm, and the lovely tack dragging sensation. But the longer I concentrated, the less I felt it, and then it was over before I knew. I would argue to say the majority of the pain comes in the aftercare of the tatttoo, because during the next few days, it burns, stings, aches, and itches, and that was not fun.

The minute I stepped out of the chair and left the shop, I wanted to go back in and get another. Perhaps maybe that makes me sadistic, but it's not the pain that I'm searching for, but the masterpiece that can be created during the tattooing process. So, sure it hurts, it's uncomfortable, annoying, agitating, and what have you, but for me, and for millions of other people in the world - it's totally worth it. So if you're thinking of getting a tattoo, for any reason, don't let the fear of the pain you may endure stop you. If it's something you want and something that has significance to you, then by all means, get it tattooed. Trust me, the pain, however grand or minuscule, will be worth it in the end.

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