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.
