Odd question....

[deathpixie]

For those on my friendslist who have tattoos... I know the amount of pain depends on where the tat is done - bony places or areas that are sensitive any way (like the inside of your upper arm) are painful, but is it bad just during the tattooing, or does it hurt for a while afterwards? And it's a sort of burning pain, yes?

No, I'm not about to go get one tonight. This is for something I'm writing. ;)

Comments

[frito-kal.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I hit refresh on my flist BEFORE I posted. Because I was about to ask the same thing.

[deathpixie]

*grins* Got half-way through a reply to the log when I realised I'd better check this. [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] would be perfect source, actually. ;) Obviously there will be a pause until answers turn up. ;)

[alestar]

I got a tat on my shoulder, which didn't hurt at all, and one of my lower back, which did hurt, but more in a way that was like... the intense hot/cold sensation you get the instant you pull a muscle? Only v. localized and coupled with the uncomfortable vibration of the needle. And I seem to remember it not hurting at all afterwards.

But then, I immediately went out to a nice dinner, so maybe the ecstasy of salad and fried catfish masked the pain.

[frito-kal.livejournal.com]

No worries.

[azzinita.livejournal.com]

I got one on my ass, and it wasn't too bad. It feels like someone is repeatedly scraping your skin with a very sharp fingernail. Depending on the location, like if it has muscle or bone it hurts way more. The mor fat you have under the area the less painful it feelts.

After you get it done, it's very sore for a couple of days. Thought that wasn't true for me, since I had a lot of fat on my butt. :)

[alestar]

ahhhaha, I got a tattoo on my lower back. But I think it would be funny to get a tattoo of my lower back. Like on my stomach or something; really throw people off.

[avariel-wings.livejournal.com]

*looks at you both curiously*

Can I see?

[yonaelka.livejournal.com]

Okay, here's how it felt for me:

I have a rather large tattoo on my lower back of which I posted photos a while back. While it was happening, it felt like someone was digging into my back with a small, hot, sharp needle. Which is exactly what was going on, really. The farther away from my spine it got (read: the more fleshy areas), the less it hurt, but not by a whole fuck of a lot. There's a lot of nerve endings back there. Afterwards, it was a little sore, but nothing too horrible. As long as you keep it moisturized really well (I used A&D ointment the first couple days, Aveeno Daily Moisture the rest), the worst it should do while healing is itch like a motherfucker due to the scabbing (but you can't scratch! the scab needs to stay on until it falls off of it's own accord, or you could wind up pulling ink out).

It might also bleed through the bandage the first day (I had to keep my pseudo-bandage of many paper towels on for at least four hours). Mine did. It seemed like a lot of bleeding, but it was really just oozing.

Hope that helps.

[hopeness.livejournal.com]

Mine hurt, but I started to get used to the feeling of it and then it hurt most when he switched from the small needle to the big one. The big one hurt less, IMHO. And when they were done they wrapped my leg in plastic wrap.

[caliban18.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm scrawny, so that didn't help, but mine was on the shoulder blade I think that made it a little more uncomfortable. However, I think that the pain is part of the moment. As indelible as the ink, I remember staring out at the roof of the building next door, the buzzing, the burning, the decision that would last until the flesh moulders away in the ground.

Pain lends the experience more permanence then the ink itself. But I think I'm waxing poetic.

[chicago-h.livejournal.com]

I've got one on my shoulder blade and one on my upper arm (sort of the ball of the shoulder, so high enough to be hidden by t-shirt sleeves). Mostly I echo what other people say here, but it also matters how much fill area you have in your art. The broader the line, the more the pain because they have to go over the same tender area over and over. Big color field? Serious ouch.

I had two unusual after effects on the one high on my arm. I'm pretty muscular there, and I ended up with bruising directly under the tattoo (it literally was following the lines of the tattoo), and for a few days afterward, it felt as if someone had gotten in a good punch (think the kind of martial arts bruise that doesn't constantly draw attention to itself but if you get tapped there again, you know it). I also have some keloid scarring, so if you run my fingers over the tat on my shoulder, you can literally trace the lines with your eyes closed. The effect is actually kind of cool, but that's an aside. At any rate, I think both side effects were related to the density of muscle and the toughness of skin at that part of my body (neither effect appeared on my shoulder blade).

[bittertwist.livejournal.com]

I was told my chest would hurt...it didn't. Scott (owner of Anipeg Tattoo) said I'm the best girl to get the chest tattooed since he opened. :) My arms were great as well.

It doesn't *hurt*, least of all while it's being done. Imagine a pin-point sunburn, buzzing away in one spot. It feels like that...and afterwards, it's just itchy/annoying like you're getting over the sunburn. No *pain*.

Shaiyela

[bittertwist.livejournal.com]

I didn't even read this before I wrote my comment. HAHAHA. Thanks. :)

Shaiyela

[bittertwist.livejournal.com]

Also - outlines hurt more than filling. By the time you fill an area, the adrenaline and minor pain suppression has kicked in and it's just buzzing and irritation. The outline is more the scraping sunburn. Colour burns a little more than black too...afterwards, some folks get minor irritated rashes due to allergies (though, this is more rare nowadays).

And the longer you go, the more the adrenaline flows. Big pieces get breaks every hour or two to avoid the shakes and over-taxing the body. Small pieces can be done in half an hour to an hour and some, and then you're supposed to relax and let it sit a bit.

It seems really simple to get inked, but you're basically opening up a couple layers of skin, which your body is naturally trying to protect as you ink.

Shaiyela

[alasdair.livejournal.com]

Upper arm wasn't too bad. Chest was quite painful. For a value of painful that means "entirely bearable, just not exactly pleasant".

The sensation is as if someone is dragging something stabbity across your flesh (because well, they are). Yes, burning is a good way of putting it, but the sensation has a distinct dragging, pulling feeling or not.

The big problem I found with the chest was that the sensation changed (from sharp to dull, I suppose) from one side of the tat to the other, because the nerve concentration across the area varies, so just as you're used to one kind of pain, it gets replaced by another.

With the chest, I found myself tensing involuntarily a lot, and the tattooist had to keep telling me to relax.

In terms of aftercare: it itches like a bastard for a couple of weeks, but you can't scratch. I found myself slapping the affected area quite a lot, as a means of dealing with the itch.

[qbmuses.livejournal.com]

I've got one on the lower back and the biggest worry while it was happening was my skin twitching involuntarily. But as it's going on, it stings/pricks at first and then... well, and then, for me it started to feel pretty neat. The euphoria you get afterward is almost like being on drugs, I swear.

But as it heals... for me it felt like the really bad sunburn. The worst part was keeping myself from sticking to the sheets the next morning. Ewww.