I am often asked how much getting tattoos hurts, or alternately describing the pain of a certain tattoo and have someone say that tattoos don’t hurt. If you think tattoos don’t hurt then you simply haven’t been tattooed on a dicey area yet. Some areas of the body are more painful then others and while your buddy might say that his superman tattoo on his bicep didn’t hurt, that same tattoo on his knee would have been almost unbearable.
I came across this handy tattoo pain chart yesterday and I must say it’s very accurate when I compare it with my own personal tattoo experience.
My Own Experience
I’m rather tattooed and have been tattooed on quite a few places extensively. Here’s a list of where I’ve been tattooed and how much I think it hurt.
Outer Arm - This is one of the least painful places to get a tattoo. Expect to feel some burning but it’s nothing you can’t grin and bear. If you can’t handle a tattoo on you’re outer arm, don’t try to get a tattoo somewhere else as it will surely be more painful.
Inner Arm – The inner arm isn’t the most pleasant area to have tattooed and it does hurt considerably more then the outer arm. I would say it burns considerably. If you are just going around the arm it seems to hurt much more then if you are getting the inner arm tattooed exclusively for a few hours.
Ribs – I’ve heard horror stories of the pain of rib tattoos but in my experience, it’s not so bad. Just like any dicey tattoo the longer you sit the more tolerant you are to the pain. Getting your ribs tattooed burns and occasionally you will hit a nerve, sending chills throughout your body, but is not unbearable.
Abdomen – Getting my abdomen tattooed was one of the most excruciating tattoo experiences I’ve endured. I have a large piece across my entire right love handle and I must say, It hurt like hell. For a time during the outlining process I had to be physically held down to the table by one person while my tattooist worked on the tattoo.
Upper Back – It’s been so long since I had my back tattooed I barely remember it. My very first tattoo was on my upper back. From what I can remember it wasn’t too bad. It certainly burned and when a nerve was hit all kinds of things would tingle from my arm to my legs.
Outer Thigh – The outer thigh is not a painful place to get tattooed. Many areas of my thigh didn’t hurt at all, although the closer to my ass cheeks we got the more it hurt. Second to the outer arm, this is least painful place I have been tattooed.
Inner Thigh – The inner thigh, much like the inner arm, hurts more then the outer thigh. The skin is more tender therefore it burns considerable more. Far from unbearable, but certainly not a comfortable spot to be tattooed.
Knee – I have only been tattooed as close as an inch to my knee. I can say that the closer the tattoo got to the kneecap the more it hurt. Eventually my tattooist was physically holding me down as the tattoo further approached the knee. This is one of the most painful areas I have ever been tattooed.
Armpit – As you can probably imagine getting your armpit tattooed hurts like hell. Not only does every stroke of the tattoo burn intensively, the wiping and stretching make the tattoo almost unbearable after a few hours. My last session was entirely my armpit and although I booked 7 hours of tattooing I threw in the towel after only 5 hours. There’s nothing fun about getting your armpit tattooed.
Finger – The webbing of my finger hurt pretty bad each time it was tattooed, the only saving grace is that there isn’t much room for a large tattoo so even though it hurts almost anyone should be able to take the 5-10 minutes it takes. The fingers aren’t the best place to get tattooed. It took me 4 separate sessions to get a single teardrop to stay in.
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Tags: Tattoo
22 responses so far ↓
1 Ali // Mar 17, 2009 at 3:28 pm
I’ve had the top of my foot tattooed.
I can take a lot of pain–I have a branding that I sat entirely still for–but the top of my foot was excruciating. I didn’t wiggle or anything, but there were a lot of foul words said. It was hell. I don’t recommend the top of the foot unless you’ve got pudgy feet.
2 Alex // Mar 29, 2009 at 3:06 pm
For me, my middle back hurt so much i almost passed out, especially toward the edge. I barely felt the one on my hip, but the one below that on my outer thigh burned the closer to got to the front of my thigh and groin area. The top of my foot did not hurt nearly as much as I thought, but the ankle was quite painful. As was my shin.
Basically, if the skin is sensitive, it’s gonna hurt.
3 missymay // Apr 2, 2009 at 3:26 pm
i just got my first tatts on my chest two outlined stars they probably tooke an hour not very big but my bf makes fun of me for making facesbecause it was a lil painful wait tell he gets his first tat tho hes never had one and hes wanting a superman symbol to cover his whole chest.we will see whos the cry baby.bet its him;)
4 sinnisfun // Apr 26, 2009 at 10:55 pm
i got my first tattoo on my lower back… despite hearing horror stories about that area… and aside from being dehydrated (they made me drink a lot of water while i was getting done), i didn’t feel anything.
and my friends decided to get a tat on their shoulders, one said hurt like hell (scared of needles, so idk y they got it in the first place), the other said he winced and bared it…
5 Carrie // Jul 7, 2009 at 11:04 pm
My wrists, collarbone, and sternum were the worst (so far). May I use this chart on my site if I credit/link you?
6 sarah // Jul 8, 2009 at 5:24 pm
i have 5 tattoos the one on my shin was hellish but it was my first the other 2 are on my back they were easy peasy and the other two are on my wrists, no pain at all im booked in for one this friday for a skull on my finger, i know people say its gonna hurt but i dont agree, if you want it youll stand the pain. i heard the finger is needing to get retouched but i dont agree with that either. its like seeing a film i never listen to anyone else i go see it myself if its crap then fair enough but what some hate i like, same with tattoos what they find hurts i might find ok.
7 Elijah // Jul 24, 2009 at 1:27 am
I was thinking of a tattoo on the upper part of my back that stretched shoulder to shoulder
How will the pain feel
P.S. I have been in many experiences with pain like broken bones and split heads, will a tatto be a breeze?
8 linz // Jul 24, 2009 at 2:08 pm
i have two tattoos and am about to sit for a rib cage mural. i have words on my left rib cage and a big circle on my hip. both took about the same amount of time but the rib cage was almost relaxing. my hip was near impossible to sit still for. i didn’t want to be a whiny bitch but it felt like my skin was ripping off of my body. we’ll see if my opinion changes after my 10″ x 7″ rib mural.
9 elizabeth // Aug 2, 2009 at 5:10 pm
ELBOW…. you feel it in you BRAIN. the worst yet by far.
10 Dirty-D // Sep 15, 2009 at 2:43 am
i have my neck ribs forarm and inner fingers and my knuckles my ribs hurt pretty bad but part of it tickled my forarm wasnt shit neither was my knuckles and the neck piece wasnt that bad and my innner finger F*%$in Sh!t
11 sarah // Sep 17, 2009 at 11:32 am
I have tattoos on both arms, upper and lower legs 5 on my back, on both feet, wrist, both hands, wedding finger and breast and they ahve all been very different. i also found that if you are not hundred percent yourself then they tend to hurt more but the ones on the calf muscles hurt but not as bad as the recovery, i could hardly walk, the best place was my shoulders, the way i look at it is i have had 2 kids and nothing hurts like that.
12 brad // Oct 15, 2009 at 10:23 am
ive got some extensive tattoo work. mainly to my ribs and shins/knee cap.
id say the knee cap and ribs have been the worst by far. ive only got the outline done on my kneecap but i must say ive prolly got another 4 hours of coloring to do to it. now im re-designing the tattoo to be complete in 2 hours. haha it was that bad. as for my ribs it hurt like hell. no if ands or buts about it. if you try and think about how ticklish you are in an area can kinda gauge the pain level you are going to experiance.
13 eric // Oct 30, 2009 at 4:18 pm
if u have to ask how bad it’ll hurt, u dont want it bad enough. every persons gonna have different pain tolerances. it also depends on the artist and his machine set up. ive got about 40 hrs worth of tats, most being the kneecap and across the shin because of the bone underneath
14 Robert // Dec 11, 2009 at 8:42 pm
I will put it like this. I have logged about 150 hours of chair time and BY FAR the worst was the top of my foot.. eight hours of pure agony. I applaud all the ladies that I see with foot tattoos. I have full sleeves on both arms, a few on my legs, one inside my lip, a few ribs, my chest, back and two on my penis (yes two). No tattoo is really friendly, but they are bearable if you really want it.
15 Miranda // Dec 14, 2009 at 2:51 pm
I have a measly 10 tatoos, all on my arms but I have to say the inside of my arm -the top- hurt the most!
But like someone said before, everyone has a different pain threshold.
I can’t handle a headache but I can quite happily sit there to get a tattoo, knowing the end result is worth it :]
For anyone getting a first tattoo I’d say the top of your arm is least painful, but like they say
-No pain, no gain ;]
16 desi // Dec 18, 2009 at 11:20 am
ya my dad is givven me a tattoo after christmas he has his own shop and im only 15 but ill be 16 may 7th Im thinking of my lowerback or my shoulderblade I have been in alot of fights so im sure i can take the pain
17 lo // Dec 25, 2009 at 1:58 pm
my first tattoo was on my wrist. fairly large in size (horizontally covers the entire patch of skin) and actually totally bearable. it felt like someone was slitting my wrist repeatedly, but if you’re used to dealing with paper cuts, shouldn’t be too big of a deal.
i’ve also gotten lower to mid back, inner forearm, bicep, elbows, and upper back, which were all bearable. the upper back (right between my shoulder blades) hurt the most and actually stil hasn’t completely healed to this day. it’s still raised. the lower to mid back made me squirm and tear up. forearm and bicep were a piece of pie. the elbows weren’t too bad. i remember an unusual amount of bleeding, they blurred, and it took them a long time to heal.
18 Kaitlin // Jan 2, 2010 at 11:23 pm
I got my First Tat On my Lower Back, (3 large Hibiscus flowers) and I have to say it hurt like hell! I have good pain threshold but the 2 hours it took to complete were not very fun. I am 100 lbs with NO fat on my body, so every time that needle hit my back it felt like it was going straight through my spin. But I do love my Tattoo and it was 100% worth the pain :)
19 wes mccorkle // Jan 5, 2010 at 11:09 pm
Got my first one today! It goes almost all the way aroud my ringer finger! Im not gonna lie, it hurt pretty bad! I was worth it tho!!
20 well // Jan 8, 2010 at 10:15 pm
I have had behind my ear, back of my neck, inside of my lower lip, bicep part of my arm, inside wrist, ass, 1 on each calf, and 1 on each foot. By far the worst pain was with my lip but that didn’t last very long and the healing time was great. The top of each of my feet hurt second to my lip. The longest I have sat for was 6 hours but that was when the tattoo was finished. But I have to agree with some others on this one, if you want it, really want it, than it is worth any amount of pain. Oh and P.S. I am a girl!!!
21 debbie // Jan 22, 2010 at 1:58 am
i got a large tattoo on my back and whilst it hurt i was not prepared for the excruating pain round my upper kidney areas, i felt like fainting it was so bad, im not finished yet and am a little apprehensive about going back, but i will cause its very addictive.
22 Joey // Feb 13, 2010 at 4:57 pm
I have had about 17 tattoos in completing my full sleeve. The wrist (especially when getting retouched) was the only one that made me squirm.
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