Is it supposed to hurt? So tattoos and pain tolerance

It has to hurt! This is what we hear most often in response to the question of whether tattooing has to be painful. Are we saying yes because we want to show how tough we are? Or are we emphasising that tattooing is not really for everyone? Or is it about the warning signal our body sends us?

From this article you will learn:

• What affects our body's tolerance to pain?
• Are tattoo sessions always painful?
• How to make tattooing less painful?
• When does our resistance to tattooing decrease?

Do tattoos hurt? Some even last a lifetime...

Tattooing is experienced and perceived by us individually. It used to be that pain tolerance was linked to genetics, but increasingly there is talk of simple principles and exercises to help increase our resilience.

On the basis of many individual assessments and experiences, a map of painful areas that withstand tattooing better or worse has been created. The most uncomfortable areas are the nose and face, the larynx up to the top of the sternum, the middle of the chest and the area under the breasts, the nipples, the bends of the elbows and wrists, the spine, intimate areas, the groin, knees, tibias and feet. We can encounter a high level of pain during sessions of our head, neck, back, clavicles, breasts, abdomen and ribs, hands, cross, buttocks, knee bends, heels. The arms and forearms, the outer sides of the thighs and the sides of the calves are said to be the least painful. It is also said that each of us has a greater level of pain tolerance on the left or right side of the body. Although there are some people who claim that the most painful areas actually tickle, but at the same time cry out in pain in those considered to be robust - there is no rule.

However, we can assume that the least comfortable areas are those at the junctions of muscles and tendons, very mobile and covered by a small layer of fatty tissue and thinner skin, and with more nerve endings.

The further the more painful

The first session rarely hurts. We are on adrenaline and the endorphins are kept high. The accompanying excitement of breaking taboos, of crossing a boundary, is so passionate that we rarely remember the accompanying discomfort. We also forget about our physiological needs - we don't drink water or feel hungry.

Tattoo artists discourage us from getting our first tattoo when we are under the influence of alcohol or narcotics or painkillers. This is somewhat due to this ‘deserving’ of a tattoo, but mainly an assessment of the body's actual reaction to prolonged pain and bleeding. If medical attention is required, this is easier to do when the body and mind are sober.

In addition to the areas that are generally perceived to be the more or less painful ones, the number of sessions taken and their frequency matter. If we do them more often than every three weeks, the body may have no respite. A gruelling pace is one way of avoiding or delaying the moment when the pain tolerance barrier is crossed.

People after their twentieth to thirtieth full-day session unanimously claim to be fed up with tattooing after just an hour, two at most. Their skin is already so exhausted that, in order to avoid using aids, they have to remind themselves of the most important and seemingly difficult skill....

Mind over body

If you have watched any film about special forces, this statement is always made at some point. A lot depends on the attitude of our head when it comes to pain. Just as you switch off the sensation of it in moments of extreme stress, it is possible to switch it off or reduce it when getting a tattoo.

You can repeat like a magic formula that there is only half an hour left, only four more lines, only shadows. You can reminisce about your grandmother's dumplings or become a lotus flower on the surface of an undisturbed lake. In general, the idea is to convince your mind, with an effective mantra, that it is above physical perception and will withstand what we serve to the skin.

The method for pain is to relax and rest. A long, restful sleep preceding the session makes it very easy to endure the tattooing. Calmness and optimism is another of the prescriptions for decreasing pain tolerance. Another is a reasonable pessimism of the inevitable task to be done, even though our body is begging for mercy.

A decline in endurance will happen - that much is certain. First it will be a worse day, a poor place, poor weather. These are the first symptoms our body conveys to us that it has had enough and we are hurting it with the pain we are inflicting. We don't enjoy or get excited about crossing the studio door, and at the sight of the chair we feel tension greater than that at the dentist. These feelings can be overcome by the stability of the mind, which should prevail over the body.

Is it bad that it hurts?

It is good that it hurts. It's not because we masochistically want to feel suffering. And while this is a common response to the reasons for getting tattoos, feeling pain is very important. A high pain tolerance can mean that we overlook or ignore the dangerous symptoms that the body is communicating to us. And this does not bode well, as we could end up fainting, collapsing or going into shock. Therefore, remember that there is nothing wrong with a pain or a short session. What matters is the goal we want to achieve, and that is a nice design. It is better to stop tattooing and make another appointment than to do it hastily. Because then a failed tattoo will actually hurt us for life.

Summary

The ideal situation would be the technological solution that painless tattooing offers. You lie down for an hour and your whole back is done. Only then is the tattoo actually deserved? After all, it is a decoration that shows our creativity, audacity, courage and endurance, not something commonplace like a roll of cheese for breakfast. That's what the purists claim. Or is it just about fashion? We'll find out in our next article.