19 Tattoo Stories That Will Either Prepare You Or Make You Cancel Your Appointment
Last month we asked the BuzzFeed Community to let us know what their experience was like getting tattoos. Here are some of the best responses:
1."I have a number of tattoos, and the only ones I remember really hurting were my ribcage and the back of my neck (but that was mostly the position/chair the artist made me sit in)."
"The rest have had minimal pain and were almost calming. You get to just lay/sit there for a while where you literally can't do anything but sit still. It's almost restful to me. It's a time to slow down and take a breath while adding art to your body."
2."I literally got my very first tattoo yesterday and am sitting on my couch with it wrapped in plastic wrap. I am 55 years old and have been deathly afraid of needles all my life..."
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"Even fainting once in the hospital at the sight of the needle the doctor was going to shove into my wife. So I never, ever had the desire to have an ink-tipped needle poked into my body over and over again. However my wife had different ideas. However, 24 years ago I accomplished a life goal, and my wife said I should get a tattoo in honor of the accomplishment. I laughed and said, 'I will get that tattoo when you do what I just did.' Knowing there was very little chance of her spending the minimum 12 years it would take to do what I had just done. Well, last year she did the same thing I did, and so after a year of searching for the right artist, she got her tattoo done last month. So I had to keep my promise those many years ago, and I got mine yesterday."
3."The healing process was easy peasy. The tattoo came out great."
"I was in my 20s. I met this tattoo artist, and he tattoos 'life cycle of a butterfly' on my left forearm.
This was my first time getting tattooed so I thought it would be more painful than it was. My tattoo artist (Anthony) was also surprised and was almost able to fully complete my tattoo including the color, all that was left was the butterfly.
I had been there for several hours by this point, so we both said, that this was a good stopping point. I paid him plus tip."
4."I love getting tattoos; I'm getting one next week."
"I'm hoping that since it's on my leg, it won't hurt too much, the last leg tattoo that I got was fine, it didn't exactly hurt, it's sort of like digging a nail into the skin, like a hot cat scratch, but with added noise. It's the noise of the tattoo gun that bothers a lot of people, but recently my tattooist started using a swanky new gun, and it was almost silent, so I said, 'No, this is weird, make the noise!' Also, different parts of the body hurt more, my last arm tattoo was a wench, really stung, so I was sat there going, 'I PAID for this, keep going!'"
5."The face didn't hurt at all, the arm slightly, knuckles stung most but weren't too bad."
"I got my first (professionally done) tattoo when I was 20, right after getting a few months of COVID unemployment backpay, during a manic episode. I walked in and asked for an upside down cross on my face, ACAB on my knuckles, and a character on my forearm.
I went to one tattoo removal appointment, but it'll cost over one thousand dollars (knuckles are hardest to remove) so I have to wait for now."
6."My first tattoo is my large watercolor thigh tattoo that took three full days. I got a little woozy first session."
"A sweet tea and 5-minute break sorted me out, and the final whites going in end of day three made for a fairly horrible last 20 minutes, but otherwise it was fine. Kinda therapeutic. Second tattoo was a little flower inside arm which barely felt like a scratch. Current tattoo is a back of shoulder piece which is on day three, and counting as it's so detailed. I'm finding the back a fair bit more painful, the first day of outline was very unpleasant and a bit of a surprise after the first two relatively breezy experiences. I had a bit of a stress reaction and felt sick for a few days after. However, it's getting easier each day. Last session was totally fine, just like being mildly grazed all day, plus Baclofen spray is a godsend."
7."The first one itched like hell for about a month."
"Also, the artist warned me that the reds and yellows would fade rather quickly due to my skin tone, but it’s been 18 years, and the red is still alive and well despite the fact that I’ve gotten much darker with age. The rest of my tattoos were a breeze. Also, I knew that there was stigma attached to tattoos so all of mine are easily covered by clothing, jewelry, and hair; that said, the only person on the planet who had anything negative to say about my tattoos was the one person whose opinions on what I freely choose to do with my own body have never mattered to me."
8."It’s a rose on the top of my foot."
"I got my tattoo in Tahiti while on vacation 50 years ago. The tattooist used a sharpened finishing nail while I held a spoon with printer ink. Very painful as there is little muscle on the top of the foot. Something to remember."
9."For me, every single one felt like cat nails lightly running across my skin."
"I have three on my arm, all varying in size and intricacy. One of my tattoos has spots that were colored in black, and for me, filling those in hurt the most, but even then it didn't hurt all that much. I like the pain of a tattoo."
10."He chose an elaborate tattoo of a bull for his bicep."
"Not my story, but a friend’s. My husband and I were with him to get his very first tattoo. (all in our 30s.) All was going along swimmingly for the first 15 minutes or so. Until we watched our buddy slump over and fall out of the chair flat onto his face on the tile floor. He woke up a few seconds later with all of us staring (and admittedly laughing). Turns out he was holding his breath each time the artist used the gun! That’s why they remind you constantly to 'keep breathing!'"
11."I have chronic pain so I find getting a tattoo so relaxing."
"It gives my brain a specific area to focus on and leaves me feeling sleepy, chilled, and calm.
I have my husband’s name in hieroglyphics on my back, my son's footprint from when he was born on one leg, my dogs paw print on my foot, and my mum drew an Egyptian lotus flower and wrote, 'Stay strong. Love mum x' underneath it when she was diagnosed with terminal leukemia, and so I have that on my other leg.
I get some people see tattoos as tacky or you’ll regret them, etc., but mine are all incredibly meaningful and sentimental to me."
12."Tattoos always hurt more on a bone."
Universal / ??Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection, Yakobchukolena / Getty Images
"Second Skin is a miracle for healing the tattoo! I've got over 50 tattoos, and I always use it. As for an itchy tattoo, I slap the tattoo. It gives the same effect as scratching it without the damage.
Do your research first, and you'll be okay (hopefully).
Also, Good Luck!"
13."The pain depends on the location — the one on my calf hurt like crazy due to its size and location over bone."
Siro Rodenas Cortes / Getty Images, Mrs / Getty Images
"I have five tats from five different artists. The ones on my inner arms stung. The shoulder one only felt uncomfortable. The one on the side of my leg barely hurt. Honestly, the healing process is worse — it feels like a mosquito bite on sunburn, and YOU CAN'T SCRATCH IT."
14."I currently have four tattoos, mostly on my thigh."
"My first tattoo was of my favorite singer right above my knee. I remember it being kinda long cause it was mostly shading and more painful the closer it got to the knee but not unbearable. I didn't take any breaks, the session was 2 hours or so. It made me start loving my thighs cause I was always insecure about them and hated showing my legs. Another thigh piece is higher up near my hip. It's about the size of my hand and it felt so good, like pleasurable. My last one was on my ribs, a little 4"x4"; I was a chicken for that one and used numbing cream. It lasted until the last 20 minutes of shading (the artist was an hour behind my appointment time) but the worst pain was my hand being number from being over my head."
15."My biggest takeaway is that the tattoo artist's experience and technique really matters."
Willie B. Thomas / Getty Images, Kymberlie Dozois Photography / Getty Images/Image Source
"I have 11 tattoos and am planning on more.
I never knew there could be SUCH a difference in tattoo pain depending on the artist. I had a fairly new artist whose art I absolutely loved but every tattoo was excruciatingly painful (worth it for the gorgeous art though!). I assumed it was because of the placement, but then I got another tattoo in the same location on the other side of my body by a different artist and I almost fell asleep during the tattoo because it was so painless.
Check reviews and look for someone with a light hand if you're worried about pain, but ultimately go with the art you like best because it'll be on your body forever."
16."I have only one tattoo, a small one on my shoulder – a pretty easy job for the artist."
"We talked as she worked and the conversation turned to the bad time she was having with her parents. The more she talked, the angrier she got and the deeper she dug with the needle. I started laughing and told her we should probably change the subject. She apologized and finished an excellent job, still looking good 30 years later."
17."My worse one was for a small diamond I got on my hand."
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"I have sat for literally dozens of sessions, and this tattoo was about 1.5 inches in circumference. While doing my outline, the artist accidentally squirted rubbing alcohol on the site instead of saline! it burned and the artist felt so bad about it. It's a colored piece that faded with time. I think I want to get it covered up at some point down the line."
18."I remember getting faint from the pain."
"I have 11 tattoos, done over a period of 22 years. My first two were simple, small tribal designs on my back (welcome to 2001) that were an 18th birthday gift from my older sister. I got three more done at age 25, and also felt faint from the pain."
And last, but not least.
19."Whoever said legs tattoos are easy are LIARS!"
![Margot Robbie cries in pain, text reads "[cries in pain]" with the First We Feast logo in the top right corner](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/.TaDWeyQRELMFmklXRHvPw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTk3NA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/buzzfeed_articles_778/2269f9b2790c07b2606d1d6c6e214348)
"I started on my leg sleeves last year thinking I would be able to handle it, I have my arms mostly covered and even my sternum done. For the first tattoo on my leg, I chose the back of my calf with the tattoo ending just below my knee ditch. Holy shit was it the most painful thing I ever experienced. It felt like she was injected fire into my skin. At no point did the pain stop. My knuckles were turned white and my arms had broken out into splotches, but I sat still the whole time. And when we got to the ditch, my soul left my body. It was probably the closest I've ever been to tapping out. I have a few more tattoos on my leg now and every single one has sucked to get.
This is why though it's so important to get a tattoo artist you trust and feel comfortable with because they truly can make the appointment feel easier even as you are in absolute agony"
Some responses were edited for length and/or clarity.
How did a tattoo feel for you? Tell us in the comments below.