As a nine-year-old, seeing someone with a tattoo was the dopest thing on this planet. Even a tiny flower on the wrist would make me respect that person. I thought they must have gone through a lot of pain to get such a delicate yet painful tattoo.
Naturally, I first asked my parents for my birthday (as a ten-year-old child) to get a wrist tattoo of my favorite cartoon at that time- Oswald! And obviously, my parents refused (I still thank my stars that they did).
Can you imagine the big yikes of growing up, being a school/college-going student, and having this weird blue octopus on my wrist?
I still believe that I lowkey hit my head to make that request, as I can feel shivers run down my spine imagining Oswald on my wrist (still better than an evil eye tattoo. Period.)
Tattoos, Why Are They Painful?
Before spilling the beans on the least painful areas on our bodies to get a tattoo, I would like to inform my readers on the why of painful tattoos.
Tattooing involves using needles and ink to get a permanent drawing on the skin that is a little painful. As time passes, the pain subsides gradually, and the area heals.
The basics of tattoos are that an artist uses a needle (precisely, a set of needles) to inject ink under the first layer of skin so that the ink can stay between those layers and become permanent or semi-permanent/temporary, depending on the choice.
The tattooing process is painful due to the injection of the ink in the second layer of the skin, which involves piercing through the skin. This results in inflammation of the injected area and swelling, both due to the damage caused to the skin.
The pain one feels during the tattooing process may be initial, where the recipient may not feel the pain after a few minutes once they get accustomed to the needles.
However, there have been cases where the pain was unbearable for the recipient, and they had recurrent sessions under anesthesia. The use of anesthetics has been in this line of art for a long time, where the artists have used sprays or topical creams to provide ease to the recipient.
A person can get two types of tattoos- permanent or semi-permanent/temporary.
The former is painful and poses a few risks when a professional artist is not involved. However, the second one is comparatively safer and less painful as the needles are not piercing deep into the skin.
Thus, getting the type of tattoo also plays a role in the pain felt during the process.
Which Areas Are Least Painful To Get A Tattoo?
The type of tattoo that can be less painful for a person depends on the area where they get the tattoo. Read on to know more!
The pain scale for a tattoo would determine that all areas on the body lead to some extent of pain. The intensity differs depending on the nerve endings in that area.
Simply put, the nerves in an area ensure that all "signals" reach the brain. These are akin to texts exchanged between cells. Depending on the signals processed, the brain facilitates the necessary action.
Thus, I will tell you about the areas in our body where the presence of nerve endings is less.
It must be clear that when the intensity of this "signal" is high, only that is when the "message" is sent to the brain as the cells can sense that there is potential damage to them.
It comes from experience when I tell you that getting tattoos hurts at the beginning when the needle first touches the skin. As someone with a couple of tattoos, I can tell you from first-hand experience that tattoos are not as unbearable as people make it out to be.
But I get that the perception of tattoos is a unique experience. Just like people experience events differently, their pain sensitivity is also different. Thus, I can share my experience as a source of relief.
Most of the time, it is the placement of the tattoo rather than the age, gender, or other usual factors that affect the tattooing process. The idea of a tattoo makes some people wince, while some are repulsive.
Though painless tattoos are now a thing, their safety is not determined entirely. The reader must understand that getting tattoos in areas that are bony and with a lot of nerve endings can lead to a lot of pain- these are mainly wrists, ankles, ribs, collarbones, elbows, and feet, among other places.
The main reason these areas hurt the most is the absence of fat.
Thus, try not to get big tattoos in these areas- as getting small tattoos did not hurt when I got my wrist tattooed (this was my first experience!)
The other sites most painful to get tattooed are the genitals, nipples, face, and throat. These areas are high in nerve endings and thus cause much pain.
Most popular areas for getting tattoos:
The top five areas for men to get a tattoo were:
Back
Biceps
Upper arm
Forearm
The top five areas for women to get a tattoo:
Wrist
Collarbone
Back
Nape
Spine
Tips:
Wear comfortable clothing, especially if you have a calf/thigh tattoo. Joggers for men would be the best, and women could either choose to wear tunics or shorts in such cases. Be sure to follow the artist's instructions and follow them diligently.
Conclusion:
It is true that if you ask three people about the top most areas that hurt the most, you will receive different answers with a few common areas. Thus, I hope this article provides you with a better understanding.
I am excited to see/hear about what tattoos you get!
Author Bio:
Oriana Raven is a professional content writer with 3 years of blogging experience. After graduating from Princeton University in California, She began her career as a blogger. She writes for a number of well-known blogs, including searchenginemagazine, voiceofaction, 7bestthings, womenmagazine. She enjoys writing to multiple international journals and magazine articles. Besides She likes listening to song, watching movies in her free time.
