Tattoo Tips - How to Avoid the Pain

Getting a tattoo can be a fairly painful process considering a tattoo needle pierces the skin 3,000 times a minute. But it doesn't have to be as excruciating as it sounds. Here are some helpful hints on how to avoid pain when getting a tattoo.

Psychological ways to avoid pain:

Practice mind over matter. If you love the design you're getting (which you should), then it should be pretty easy to focus on how beautiful your piece will look when it's done and not worry about how bad it hurts during the process.

Listen to music, bring a friend to talk to or think about something else completely. I wouldn't advise talking to the tattoo artist so much; you wouldn't want to distract them from their important task at hand.

Sit still! The job will get done quicker and with no errors. If you happen to move and the artist inks you outside of the design, they may have to modify the design, which usually means more inking.

General areas to avoid:

• Veins close to the surface
• Bones (areas where skin and bone are very close)
• Areas where the skin in thinner
• Areas with a lot of nerve endings close to the surface
• Sensitive skin that is not exposed to sun very much
• Flabby skin

Specific areas that typically hurt:

• Hipbone
• Ribcage
• Tops of feet (and feet in general)
• Ankles
• Hands
• Wrists
• Behind the ear
• Skull
• Pubic area

Basically all the sexy areas to get inked will come with some degree of pain.

Now, an individual's threshold to pain will also play a major factor in how much they can or can't tolerate. A general rule is that if you're more susceptible to pain, or if pinching or poking with your fingernail hurts, the tattoo process will not be at ALL enjoyable for you. If you can stand a medium pricking sensation on your skin (or more like an eraser burn), then you'll make it through.

If you're worried about the pain, start out with a smaller tattoo or a creative outline. The more simplistic the design is, the less amount of time it will take, and the less amount of pain you will have to endure. Once you get used to the feeling and make it through a few pieces, your body will not perceive the danger and pain to the same degree.

Now that you know where the painful places on your body are, you can avoid the pain when getting a tattoo. If you really want a tatt in a typically painful place, you can just suck it up and deal with the pain because in the end, you will have exactly what you want and the price you pay won't even matter.

Tattoo Pain

Well the short answer is yes it hurts... and the long answer is getting a tattoo hurts of course, your having a needle injected into your skin at an incredible speed.

Tattoo pain can be described in so many different ways depending on the person who's had it done, people have described it like a cat scratching your skin, a hot needle being dragged across your skin and some even say it's like having your skin cut open. So as you can see people have different pain thresholds when getting tattoos, for example if your young and haven't experienced much pain in your life and it's your first tattoo then it's going to be a very painful experience but if you're getting long in the tooth and have broke some bones or had stitches then it's not going to be that bad.

So you might be thinking I'm not getting a tattoo if it's going to hurt that bad but what you have to remember is that if you really want one and its the perfect design for you then a few hours pain for a lifetime of pleasure is really worth it.

Here are some tips to help you with tattoo pain.

1. Under no circumstances should you have a tattoo when drunk, most tattoo artists with not tattoo you anyway as it can make you bleed excessively and you might make the wrong tattoo choice.

2. Do not have a tattoo when your hungover as your nerves will be a lot more sensitive and you will FEEL THE PAIN trust me I know.

3. Don't have a tattoo when you have a cold as that too can increase the pain levels.

4. Get some numbing gel, some people swear by it but I have tried it myself and it only seem to work for the first 10-15 Min's so would be OK for a small tattoo.

The best advice I can give is to be focused and distracted after the first 10-15 Min's of getting the tattoo you seem to be able to switch off to the pain, its still there and your aware of it but you kind of get over the first initial shock.