The first question that comes to the mind of a person when planning to get a tattoo is “how bad will it hurt?”and “what are the most painful tattoo spots?". The pain is certainly due to many factors and many people will eventually choose not to get tattooed. The intensity of pain during tattooing varies depending on the location of tattoo and how deep it will be inked.

Tattoo Spots: From Most Painful to Least

The intensity of pain that a person can withstand differs significantly, depending on the pain threshold of the individual and concentration of pain receptors on different parts of the body. If a person is sensitive, he/she may experience severe pain even on spots that are considered not sopainful by others. Therefore, it is recommended to gather the knowledge of most painful tattoo spots if you have a low tolerance for pain.

Below is our list of most painful spots in descending order:

Most Painful

Some parts of our body are very richly supplied with nerve fibers and sensory endings. For example, bony parts of the body and some sensory structures are considered to be regions where tattooing can cause most pain. Besides, tattoos on these areas also take longer time to heal.

Such areas include:

• Abdomen
• Buttocks
• Armpit and surroundings
• Nipples
• Inside of joints
• Back of knees
• Lower chest

Medium Level of Pain or Mixed Sensations

Tattoo pain is also very much related to the mechanical use of that body part. For example, joints of upper and lower limb are highly mobile structures, which not only delay the healing process but also aggravate the intensity of pain due to repeated motion.

Parts of the body where tattooing cause moderate pain include:

• Lower back
• Head
• Ankle
• Neck and surroundings
• Central back
• Inner arm

Least Painful

Areas ranking last on the list of most painful tattoo spots include:

• Shoulders
• Upper back
• Inner wrist
• Outside of arms
• Top of thighs

• Calves

HERE are more sites that don't hurt that much because they are padded and have few nerve endings. 

Design Choices that Affect Tattoo Pain

There are a number of different techniques used in tattooing such as filling, line work, dot work etc. In most cases, line and dot work does not include deep penetration into the tissues and the use of needles is also not significant, making such tattoos less painful.

On the other hand, filling tattooswill cause a considerable amount of pain, because filling is done through needles motions that irritate your skin. Unlike dot and line work which requires only 1-2 passes for completion, filling tattoos requires multiple steps, making it a long and painful scenario. Therefore, if you are planning to get your first tattoo, it’s better to stick to a simple design that does not require filling or shading.

Most Painful Tattoo Spots: Others’ Experiences

“I have tattoos covering almost all parts of my body, but the fingers hurt the most especially the soft skin and the bones of fingers are awfully painful.”

“The most painful tattoo that I ever had is on the inner arm. It is even causing pain when I am writing this. Before getting this tattoo I was confident that it won’t cause any pain, but the moment they began to pop my arm with the needleI freaked out”

“I have a tattoo on my head and this is the most painful site for me, I did not experience any headache but a little nausea because of the needle vibrated on my head for 2 hours.”

What Happens If I Decide to Get a Tattoo?

Besides knowing the most painful tattoo spots, you should also know other precautions to take.

• Selection of studio and artist

When you decide to gettattooed, you should first choose the place where you wish to get it. After selection of the studio or favorite tattoo artist, you will be asked to fill in some paperwork regarding the terms and conditions of tattooing.

• Clean shaving the skin

The process starts by selecting the area where a tattoo will be made and clean-shave it. This will minimize irritation and make the tattoo smoother.

• Preparation of equipment

Nowadays to save time, most tattoo studios are using thermal fax to prepareyour selected stencils. After that, equipment such as the tattoo machine is prepared, and the ink is transferred into ink cap, which is attached to a tube and then needle. Needles are cleaned and sterilized before starting the tattooing process.

• Line work

The actual tattooing starts by line work over the stencil. A topical ointment is placed to prevent the rubbing of stencil design and to make the line work smooth. Line work will not cause significant pain, so just take a deep breath and do not panic.

• Shade and color

After completion of line work, shading and coloring is done using different sets of needles. The level of pain differs from one person to the other.

• Finishing tattoo

After completing the artwork, the artist may place a hot towel on your tattooed area to clean up.

• Dressing bandage

Remember that a newly applied tattoo should be treated like a wound. Special care is needed, so a bandage is applied over the tattoo to minimize the risk of infection.