How bad will this hurt?

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Question by skeeter: How bad will this hurt?
So I am getting a tattoo for my 18th birthday. I am looking at getting it from shoulder to shoulder across my upper back. I am pretty skinny so I understand that it’ll be painful when it hits the bone, but I was wondering how much pain I can expect. Examples are great too, though i’ve heard it’s like having a horrible sunburn and having a cat scratch at it.

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10 Responses to How bad will this hurt?

  1. Take a lit cigarette and hold it close to your skin…. Its not unbearable by any means, but the longer the needle is in the same place the more it hurts. I have a full back piece and it hurt…. but it was so worth it!!!

    nikki696
    September 7, 2013 at 4:50 am
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  2. .. that would be one of the less painful places to get it done.. being skinny it will hurt a little bit more.. sunburn , no.. and dont listen to what others pain is because everyone has different pain tolerances.. i would say that it would be compared to a pinch.. but remember when the outline is done the coloring goes over and over and tends to get numb and really not painful at all.. if you read a magazine or look at pics your mind tends to wonder and you may not even notice it.. good luck.. good place for a tat..

    Love Doc.
    September 7, 2013 at 5:08 am
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  3. it’s a little more intense than just a cat scratch I would say, especially if it’ll be going over your spine. the spine was the most painful part for me, but my tattoo artist was wiling to take as many breaks as needed so it wasn’t TOO unbearable.

    it mostly feels like a horrible sunburn when they are doing the shading part (although i kinda thought it felt nice and relaxing…lol im weird…)

    but yea… just a lot of needles poking you. after awhile you kind of forget about the pain…halfway through I almost fell asleep… lol

    also, it starts to feel really hot after awhile but then it feels so nice when you are all finished and they put this cool ointment on it !!!!! lovely!

    best of luck!

    thefireneverdies
    September 7, 2013 at 5:12 am
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  4. I stand by the cat scratched sun burn analogy.

    Occasionally you will get a particularly tender spot that really stings, but for the most part it is just an annoying sort of pain. It is like one of those twinges that is part itch, part imaginary bee sting and your first reaction is to slap at the spot.

    Getting a tattoo is nothing that you can’t sit for. It is tireing and it does hurt, but no more than a bad sunburn. In fact I react to being tattooed just about the same as I do to getting a sunburn. I get tired, shivery/a little fevered and finally just go to sleep for a few hours. I sit for very long sessions though so I take a lot of wear and tear. A shorter session shouldn’t keep you from getting something to eat and going on with your day.

    If you were to take a needle and scrape it along your skin so that it raised a little welt and then to scrape it a few more times in the same spot, it would probably hurt a little more than getting tattooed does in most places.

    Just have a light meal before you go in, take occasional breaks if you need them, and keep a positive attitude. You’ll be fine.

    asher3620
    September 7, 2013 at 5:23 am
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  5. Imagine like getting a thousand needles being put in your skin like when a doctor shoves 1000 needles for vaccinations. I like Tats personally but I hate that it’s permident and it can’t be fully removed.

    Titanic
    September 7, 2013 at 6:19 am
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  6. YOU HAVE SEVEN LAYERS IN YOUR WONDERFUL ORGAN: SKIN. TATTOO ARTISTS(if they know what they are doing) WILL NOT PENETRATE 3 to 4 OF THOSE LAYERS….
    IN OTHER WORDS: IT WILL NOT HIT YOUR BONE!

    ANYWAY: if you really want to alter your appearance permenantly and have given it the thought it deserves, the pain is irrelevant.

    gunsho_gypsy
    September 7, 2013 at 6:49 am
    Reply

  7. I have a tattoo in that exact same spot. For the most part it was consistent dull pain, however when they went across my spine it was very bizarre. Because they were putting very specific pressure on the nerves, my knee would suddenly hurt, or my elbow, or my hip. Always the joints. That was more strange than anything, though.
    My guess is you can take it.

    Sylvie
    September 7, 2013 at 6:50 am
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  8. you’ll be right mate, i was a skinny 15 year old when i paid 10 bucks each for big blue birds on my chest, it hurt me, but it wasnt unbearable, they get addictive tho, be sure of that mate. you mite feel some sort of electric type shock sh it that goes along your shoulder bone and evev into your tongue, seriously, they hurt but not real bad, you get used to it after a while. good luck to ya pal.

    Jonesy boy
    September 7, 2013 at 7:09 am
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  9. i don’t care who you are, it’s painful. anyone who says it’s not has a freakishly high pain tolerance or they put it in a place that isn’t that bad…

    i turned 18 last month and just got my first tattoo this tuesday and it hurt like nothing i could even explain. but honestly if you want it bad enough you tough it out, and you may eventually go numb (though i didn’t). outline hurts alot more than color, if you’re getting it. it isn’t unbearable, but you have to have some type of tolerance because if you think about it it is a needle going in and out of your skin, it isn’t going to be a walk in the park.

    missA
    September 7, 2013 at 7:12 am
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  10. it hurts……but since its constant its kinda cool the brain releases a morphine like chemical..( it might be morphine lol). through most of my tattoos they hurt mostly at the begining and when ever they come back to an area already done..for example doing the outline then filling it in.

    joseph i
    September 7, 2013 at 7:42 am
    Reply

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