Growing up in a tattooed household meant I was always fascinated by body art. At 20 years old, I already have eight tattoos, with three of them being larger pieces, and I’m nowhere near done. Tattoos allow me to be creative in a different way than just how I dress, the jewelry I wear, or the way I style my hair. Although tattoos may not be for everyone, for those interested, it’s important to know what you’re getting yourself into.
Without fail, people always ask me the same two questions: which tattoo hurt the most, and who does your work? So, here’s my honest review of my tattoo locations, ranked from manageable to ouch, never again.
- wrist bone
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My first tattoo was a small chrysanthemum on the back of my wrist for my birthday. Honestly, it wasn’t unbearable, but when the needle crept closer to my hand instead of my forearm, I felt it. Being directly on top of bone? Not fun. This tattoo is one of my favorites, and although it’s a little higher on the pain scale at different times through the session, the results were worth it.
- upper thigh
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My hip piece was my second tattoo, and also my first big piece. This was also the piece that introduced me to my now go-to artist. For most of the session, it didn’t hurt. That was until she got farther up, closer to my actual hip bone on my upper thigh. This one sucked for me; I even bit a hole in my tattoo artist’s sweatshirt! Disclaimer: I did have both bruises and stretch marks on my thigh, so that definitely added to the pain.
- collarbone
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My collarbone tattoo is part of a larger piece that goes down my entire upper arm; only a very small piece of it curls into my collarbone. It only took about 20 minutes, but I felt the vibrations from the needle in my skull, and my jaw was rattling. Anyone who has tattoos knows that sometimes you’ll feel the tattoo gun in a spot that you don’t expect. I was not expecting such a painful sensation!
- back of the neck
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This one was brutal. So brutal that both my mom and my tattoo artist thought I’d tap out — and this still wasn’t my worst one. The awkward positioning (my head bent forward the entire time) only made it worse. I ended up biting the tattoo chair to cope. Mine was in full color, while my mom’s smaller tattoo in the same spot was painless. For her, it was a breeze, while for me, I felt like my neck was on fire.
- inner bicep
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For my family and me, nothing has hurt more than the inner bicep tattoo. I had white ink in that area, my sister had black ink, and we both shook uncontrollably. If you want to have a sleeve, be prepared — this one is no joke.
Every single one of these tattoos did hurt, but I’d do them all again in a heartbeat. The real secret to surviving the pain? Find a light-handed, talented, and kind artist who puts your comfort first.
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