by Madison Starr

Created on: April 10, 2008

Each time someone takes a good look at my tattoos, they ask, "Didn't that hurt?" I tell them in all honesty that no, it did not. Then they look at me as if I'm crazy or I'm lying, they just can't figure out which. I don't know what to tell them after that.

I suppose the pain of getting a tattoo depends on three factors: your pain threshold, the location of the tattoo, and the amount of time it takes to do it. I really cannot think of any more contributors other than those.

An individual's threshold for pain determines how aggravating the actual tattoo process is. If you have a low pain threshold, my advice would be to take an aspirin because you may be in for a jarring experience. We've all seen them; people in a tattoo parlor that look as white as a sheet, sitting there grinding their teeth to keep from yelping in pain.
If you happen to have a high threshold for pain, then you will most likely make it through the tattoo process barely feeling a thing.

The next pain factor associated with tattoo deals with the location of the tattoo. Where you put the tattoo, can either increase the pain factor exponentially or decrease the amount of discomfort you will feel. Any tattoo placed near a bone can be uncomfortable to sit through. These places can include feet, hands, knees, ankles, spine, ribcage, elbows, scalp, and collarbone. The genitals may also be a rather sensitive area to tattoo but I'll save that one for another article.

To decrease the amount of pain, try to tattoo the fleshy areas of the body where there is sufficient "padding" between your bone and the needle(s). Your best bets would be the buttocks, thighs, calves, biceps, chest, hips, or abdomen. The fleshy areas make a much easier canvas to work on than the bony ones, anyway.

The third pain factor associated with tattoos is the amount of time it takes to get it done. Some tattoos can be done in less than an hour. Others can take several days or weeks to complete depending on the size and detail of the design. The longest time I have had to sit for a single tattoo was about two and a half hours. The longer it takes, the more irritating it can be.

Years ago, when I was still a tattoo virgin, I remember how some people tried to explain to me what it was going to feel like. Some of them, who already had tattoos and were big macho men, even tried to demonstrate on my skin what they believed it felt like. They took a piece of my skin between two fingers and twisted it as hard as they could or scraped a fingernail over my skin. Perhaps they were merely trying to deter me from getting one, I don't know.

When I finally got my first tattoo at the age of eighteen, I was surprised to discover it felt nothing like what others told me it would. It was easier than I thought and I didn't think much about the "pain". I remember thinking at that point that all of those tough guys who'd claimed it was so painful were actually wimps in reality. My apologies to everyone out there cringing at the thought of getting a tattoo because it's too painful, but I just don't see the big deal.

Just think of it this way; I'm seriously afraid of needles, yet I have five tattoos, a few of which are not small. Therefore, if I can do it, you can do it. On the other hand, if you get a tattoo and consider it a painful experience, just remember: no pain, no gain. You are getting ink permanently etched into your flesh with a needle. Did you really expect it to be completely painless?

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