Tattoo Pain Scale 1-10
1) No pain at all.
You feel no discomfort even when your skin is being crushed by needle.
2) Mild pain.
Your skin feels slightly uncomfortable but not unbearable. It hurts only occasionally and it does not interfere with daily activities like eating or sleeping.
3) Moderate pain.
Your skin begins to hurt frequently and becomes intolerable during normal activities such as walking, talking, breathing etc..
4) Severe pain.
Your skin becomes so irritated that it causes severe burning sensation and sometimes even blisters. Even minor injuries become infected very easily and death may occur due to infection.
5) Death occurs within 24 hours from the acute effects of this level of irritation.
6) Death occurs within 48 hours from the chronic effects of this level of irritation.
7) Death occurs within 72 hours from the cumulative effects of this level of irritation.
8) Death occurs within 96 hours from the acute effects of this level of irritation.
9) Death occurs within 120 hours from the chronic effects of this level of irritation.
10) Death occurs after one month from the acute effect and after two months from the chronic effect.
Where It Hurts The Most (and Least)
The most painful tattoo spots
1) Eyebrows: With so many nerve endings in the eyebrows, getting a tattoo here will feel like sensitive hairs are being plucked one by one.
2) Lips: Getting a lip tattoo will be so painful that it may feel like your whole mouth is on fire.
3) Nipples: It may be hard to believe, but getting a tattoo here is one of the most painful.
4) Lower Back: The lower back does not contain as many nerve endings as other parts of the body, which is why it is not as painful to get a tattoo here.
5) Navel: The navel has fewer nerve endings than the lower back, which is why getting a tattoo here is slightly less painful.
6) Feet: Getting a tattoo on your foot is slightly less painful than getting one on your lower back.
The reason is because the feet have the least amount of nerve endings in the entire body.
7) Buttocks: Getting a tattoo on your buttocks is slightly more painful than getting one on your feet.
8) Scrotum: This area is very sensitive and getting a tattoo here hurts a lot.
9) Tongue: Getting a tattoo on your tongue will be very painful since there are many nerve endings here.
10) Eyelids: This area is is very sensitive and getting a tattoo here hurts a lot.
The least painful tattoo spots for men
1) Elbow: Getting a tattoo on this spot will be slightly less painful than getting one on your foot.
2) Palm: The palm contains a lot of nerve endings and getting a tattoo here will be slightly more painful than getting one on your elbow.
3) Back of the Hand: Getting a tattoo on the back of your hand will be slightly less painful than getting one on your palm.
4) Waist: The waist contains a lot of nerve endings and getting a tattoo here will be slightly more painful than getting one on your back of the hand.
5) Stomach: Getting a tattoo on your stomach will be slightly less painful than getting one on your waist.
6) Ribs: The ribs contain a lot of nerve endings and getting a tattoo here will be slightly more painful than getting one on your stomach.
7) Buttocks: Getting a tattoo on your buttocks will be slightly less painful than getting one on your ribs.
8) Inside of the Arm: Getting a tattoo on your inside of your arm will be slightly less painful than getting one on your buttocks.
9) Thigh: Getting a tattoo on your thigh will be slightly less painful than getting one on your inside of your arm.
10) Back of the Leg: Getting a tattoo on the back of your leg will be slightly less painful than getting one on your thigh.
The least painful tattoo spots for women
1) Nipples: Getting a tattoo on your nipples will be slightly less painful than getting one on your back of the leg.
2) Navel: Getting a tattoo on your navel will be slightly less painful than getting one on your nipples.
3) Belly Button: Getting a tattoo on your belly button will be slightly less painful than getting one on your navel.
4) Outside of the Arm: Getting a tattoo on the outside of your arm will be slightly less painful than getting one on your belly button.
5) Top of the Foot: Getting a tattoo on the top of your foot will be slightly less painful than getting one on the outside of your arm.
6) Inside of the Leg: Getting a tattoo on the inside of your leg will be slightly less painful than getting one on the top of your foot.
7) Calf: Getting a tattoo on the calf will be slightly less painful than getting one on the inside of your leg.
8) Heel: Getting a tattoo on the heel will be slightly less painful than getting one on the calf.
9) Little Toe: Getting a tattoo on your little toe will be slightly less painful than getting one on the heel.
10) Great Toe: Getting a tattoo on your great toe will be slightly less painful than getting one on your little toe.
Sun and Ageing
The sun is no friend to tattoos, in fact, it probably is the enemy of tattoos. Getting a tattoo inked in the first place makes the skin’s pigment darken in that area. With a new tattoo, the color will appear to be darker than it will be once the tattoo heals. The reason for this is due to the fact that the ink particles get caught within the top layers of your skin where they are more easily seen.
However, as your skin continues to age the pigment starts to sink deeper into the dermis layer of your skin and by the time you reach your 50’s that new tattoo will begin to look like it has faded due to the ink particles settling within your skin.
However, if you spend a lot of time in the sun any new tattoos you get will make your skin look older much quicker. The sun will cause the ink particles to break apart much quicker and the pigment will appear to have faded. In other words, if you’re young and getting a tattoo and care about how it’s going to look when you’re older, you definitely want to try to avoid getting a tattoo that is exposed to the sun a lot.
Any tattoo that is located on the part of your body that is regularly exposed to the sun is going to look like it has faded within a few years no matter what colors you had it inked in. This means that if you have a black tattoo on your arm or back and spent a lot of time in the sun, that tattoo is going to have the appearance of having faded to gray within a few years. This happens because the sun breaks down the particles of the ink that were used in the tattoo, much like how it prematurely ages your skin as well.
With tattoos that are located on areas of your body that are not exposed to a lot of sun, they will not fade nearly as fast as tattoos located on areas of your body that are regularly exposed to the sun’s rays. This means that tattoos located on the groin, buttocks and inner arms are going to lose their color much slower than if they were located on the back, forearms or any other part of your body that is exposed to the sun on a regular basis.
So what does this mean?
It means if you’re a sailor and getting a tattoo of a mermaid, you might want to consider getting it located somewhere on your body that isn’t on display. It also means that if you work indoors at a bank and have a tattoo of a sunset on your arm, it’s probably not going to have lost much of its color by the time you hit your 50’s or 60’s.
It also might be beneficial for you to try to schedule regular appointments with a dermatologist in order to get your tattoo looked at and checked up on. This is because tattoos located on areas of the skin that get a lot of sun exposure need to be enhanced with special ointments that are designed to protect the skin as well as the tattoo itself.
Finally, if you have a tattoo in an area of your body that is not exposed to the sun much at all, you might want to get another one in an area that is exposed to the sun in order to bring some balance to your life and your art.
So there you have it, my attempt at bringing a little knowledge into the world of tattoos. If you found this at all interesting or informative, please pass it on to someone who might find it useful. See you later.
Sources & references used in this article:
Cannabis in painful HIV-associated sensory neuropathy: a randomized placebo-controlled trial by DI Abrams, CA Jay, SB Shade, H Vizoso, H Reda… – Neurology, 2007 – AAN Enterprises
The demographics and rates of tattoo complications, regret, and unsafe tattooing practices: a cross-sectional study by W Liszewski, E Kream, S Helland, A Cavigli… – Dermatologic …, 2015 – journals.lww.com
Spiritual tattooing: pain, materialization, and transformation by MA Pagliarini – Journal of Religion and Violence, 2015 – pdcnet.org
Patients’ evaluation of argon laser therapy of port wine stain, decorative tattoo, and essential telangiectasia by JA Dixon, RH Rotering… – Lasers in surgery and …, 1984 – Wiley Online Library
Evaluation of EMLA cream for preventing pain during tattooing of rabbits: changes in physiological, behavioural and facial expression responses by SCJ Keating, AA Thomas, PA Flecknell, MC Leach – PloS one, 2012 – journals.plos.org
Mirror therapy for phantom limb pain: brain changes and the role of body representation by J Foell, R Bekrater‐Bodmann, M Diers… – … journal of pain, 2014 – Wiley Online Library
