This question can actually refer to two different things. One, where (as in location of studio) is one aspect of this question. The other, where (on the body) is the least painful place to get a tattoo is the other aspect of this question.
Attacking the first reference, obviously, the least painful place to get a tattoo is in a licensed, professional tattoo studio. A lot of people will ask why. Here's the reasons. If you go to someone doing tattoos out of their home, or perhaps in a flea market, or an outdoor event, where a tattoo artist is working out in the dirty environment, you risk having an inexperienced tattoo artist butcher your skin. One of the reasons they don't work in a licensed studio may be because their skills just aren't up to par with what is expected of an artist in a studio. Another reason may be that they are just learning. Another reason may be that if they did tattoos in a studio like they do in their homes, chances are they would get no repeat business and this would have a negative effect on the studio. Another reason may be that they cause scarring when they tattoo because of the mistaken assumption that to get the ink to stay better in the skin, they have to go real deep. This is not so.
A professional tattoo artist has been trained to put the ink below the dead layer of the skin at the outside. If the ink is put into the dead layer that sloughs off the ink will not stay and lines and fill in areas will appear splotchy and weak. If the artist puts the ink below the living layer where new skin cells are generated, they are going too deep. This can cause the ink to spread under the skin so edges become spider webbed or there is a bluish or greenish glow around the edges of the tattoo. By going too deep, they also risk causing permanent raised scars on the client. Inexperienced tattoo artists have difficulty in controlling their needle depth and clients complain that the tattoo experience hurts excessively. It also causes healing to take an unusually long time to heal and because the ink is put too deeply into the skin, the tattoo can appear murky and indistinct, colors appear dull, and spread in uncontrollable ways under the skin in the fat layer below the skin.
Now on to the second part of this question. Where does it hurt the least to get a tattoo? The places on the body that seem easiest for clients to tolerate are the upper back, outer arms, outer calves, and buttocks. These areas get more friction in normal daily actions and so are more used to being touched. On the arms and legs, some of the more painful areas are the elbows, inside the elbows, the knees, inside the knees, the wrists and ankles.
Ribs, front torso, underarms are very uncomfortable. Feet and hands are not easy either. Necks can be good or bad, depends on the person. Lower backs seem to also be painful.
Pain is a funny thing. If you have had pain in your life, you tend to take the feeling of getting a tattoo better. If you are young, never had significant pain in your body or are one of those with a low tolerance for pain, chances are you will be uncomfortable no matter where the tattoo is put. Women in general tolerate the feeling better than men. But, men who have been through military or law enforcement training seem to do better.
If you have never had a tattoo, it is difficult to describe the feeling. Some relate it to a cat scratch or bee sting. Some say it feels like being burned or branded. Some say it feels like razor cuts. Without a doubt it is an acquired taste. Since the body has never had this sensation before, it tends to try to relate it to something within your realm of experience. After you get one or two, it gets easier to take. The trick is to relax during the process. A relaxed body is not fighting the pain by tensing up. Tensing up makes the surface of the skin harder and thus makes it harder to get the tattoo ink in the proper layer of skin. Holding your breath will make you pass out. By all means, make sure you have a good meal about 2 hours before starting the tattoo process. Getting a tattoo on an empty stomach can cause problems. The sensation of pain releases endorphins from the brain that is the body's way of protecting itself from pain sensations. It can also cause a drop in the blood's sugar level that can lead to passing out. Many people claim to be addicted to tattoos, and this may suggest that they are really more into getting the endorphin release than the tattoo, imho.
The best thing to remember when getting a tattoo is that there is an end to the process. A small tattoo can take under 10 minutes. Larger pieces take longer. My experience has been that the body has a natural tolerance barrier. This is about 3 hours. After 3 hours, I find that clients become more uncomfortable, more of the plasma leaks from their skin, this dilutes the ink and makes it harder to get good coverage. At this 3 hour mark I also notice that the skin can become pebble-like with areas where it appears to be harder thus making giving the tattoo more difficult.
Large tattoos can be broken into several sittings. The first sitting usually will involve getting all the outline work done. This is because matching up stencil pieces can be difficult to nearly impossible and if only part of the outline is completed in one sitting, chances are the second sitting produces inferior results. Once the outline has been completed, there is no problem letting the outlines heal before beginning any of the fill in process. Dark colors seem easier to get into the skin. Lighter colors may sometimes need to be gone over twice to get the full effect of the pigment. It is not uncommon when doing large black tribal pieces and pieces with large pastel colors to have the customer come back within 3 weeks to have a second 'coat' of ink put in the tattoo. This gives the artist a good look at how you take care of the tattoo during the healing process and the opportunity to 'touch up' any small spots that may need it.
Clients will swear that they followed the after care instructions, but as a trained professional in the business for many years, I have come to recognize the tell-tale signs of neglect or picking at the tattoo during the healing process. Letting the tattoo dry out, using petroleum products, picking at the scabs, exposure to sun and water, wearing tight clothes or shoes over a fresh tattoo, not washing the tattoo frequently, and using too much lotion on the tattoo during healing can all have adverse effects on the final outcome of the healed tattoo.
The final result of where hurts the least are variable. A lot depends on whether it is your first tattoo or not, where you desire the tattoo to be placed, how large the tattoo is, how well you tolerate pain and how well you take care of it during the healing process. During the actual process of tattooing, if you need to take a break, remember, don't take too long of a break or once you sit again to continue the tattoo, you may find it more painful than if you took no break at all. Getting tattoos in unusual locations on the body can be more painful than getting it in the normal locations. You must weigh your desire for placement with how well you tolerate pain. You must make logical decisions based on how large the tattoo will be and whether you are up for sitting for a longer period during the process. You must decide what is best for you. Unfortunately, I know of no areas on the body where it doesn't hurt to get a tattoo, but it doesn't hurt that much, and as an adult, you can always let your mind wander instead of concentrating on the sensation. Go to your happy place and you'll do fine!
Attacking the first reference, obviously, the least painful place to get a tattoo is in a licensed, professional tattoo studio. A lot of people will ask why. Here's the reasons. If you go to someone doing tattoos out of their home, or perhaps in a flea market, or an outdoor event, where a tattoo artist is working out in the dirty environment, you risk having an inexperienced tattoo artist butcher your skin. One of the reasons they don't work in a licensed studio may be because their skills just aren't up to par with what is expected of an artist in a studio. Another reason may be that they are just learning. Another reason may be that if they did tattoos in a studio like they do in their homes, chances are they would get no repeat business and this would have a negative effect on the studio. Another reason may be that they cause scarring when they tattoo because of the mistaken assumption that to get the ink to stay better in the skin, they have to go real deep. This is not so.
A professional tattoo artist has been trained to put the ink below the dead layer of the skin at the outside. If the ink is put into the dead layer that sloughs off the ink will not stay and lines and fill in areas will appear splotchy and weak. If the artist puts the ink below the living layer where new skin cells are generated, they are going too deep. This can cause the ink to spread under the skin so edges become spider webbed or there is a bluish or greenish glow around the edges of the tattoo. By going too deep, they also risk causing permanent raised scars on the client. Inexperienced tattoo artists have difficulty in controlling their needle depth and clients complain that the tattoo experience hurts excessively. It also causes healing to take an unusually long time to heal and because the ink is put too deeply into the skin, the tattoo can appear murky and indistinct, colors appear dull, and spread in uncontrollable ways under the skin in the fat layer below the skin.
Now on to the second part of this question. Where does it hurt the least to get a tattoo? The places on the body that seem easiest for clients to tolerate are the upper back, outer arms, outer calves, and buttocks. These areas get more friction in normal daily actions and so are more used to being touched. On the arms and legs, some of the more painful areas are the elbows, inside the elbows, the knees, inside the knees, the wrists and ankles.
Ribs, front torso, underarms are very uncomfortable. Feet and hands are not easy either. Necks can be good or bad, depends on the person. Lower backs seem to also be painful.
Pain is a funny thing. If you have had pain in your life, you tend to take the feeling of getting a tattoo better. If you are young, never had significant pain in your body or are one of those with a low tolerance for pain, chances are you will be uncomfortable no matter where the tattoo is put. Women in general tolerate the feeling better than men. But, men who have been through military or law enforcement training seem to do better.
If you have never had a tattoo, it is difficult to describe the feeling. Some relate it to a cat scratch or bee sting. Some say it feels like being burned or branded. Some say it feels like razor cuts. Without a doubt it is an acquired taste. Since the body has never had this sensation before, it tends to try to relate it to something within your realm of experience. After you get one or two, it gets easier to take. The trick is to relax during the process. A relaxed body is not fighting the pain by tensing up. Tensing up makes the surface of the skin harder and thus makes it harder to get the tattoo ink in the proper layer of skin. Holding your breath will make you pass out. By all means, make sure you have a good meal about 2 hours before starting the tattoo process. Getting a tattoo on an empty stomach can cause problems. The sensation of pain releases endorphins from the brain that is the body's way of protecting itself from pain sensations. It can also cause a drop in the blood's sugar level that can lead to passing out. Many people claim to be addicted to tattoos, and this may suggest that they are really more into getting the endorphin release than the tattoo, imho.
The best thing to remember when getting a tattoo is that there is an end to the process. A small tattoo can take under 10 minutes. Larger pieces take longer. My experience has been that the body has a natural tolerance barrier. This is about 3 hours. After 3 hours, I find that clients become more uncomfortable, more of the plasma leaks from their skin, this dilutes the ink and makes it harder to get good coverage. At this 3 hour mark I also notice that the skin can become pebble-like with areas where it appears to be harder thus making giving the tattoo more difficult.
Large tattoos can be broken into several sittings. The first sitting usually will involve getting all the outline work done. This is because matching up stencil pieces can be difficult to nearly impossible and if only part of the outline is completed in one sitting, chances are the second sitting produces inferior results. Once the outline has been completed, there is no problem letting the outlines heal before beginning any of the fill in process. Dark colors seem easier to get into the skin. Lighter colors may sometimes need to be gone over twice to get the full effect of the pigment. It is not uncommon when doing large black tribal pieces and pieces with large pastel colors to have the customer come back within 3 weeks to have a second 'coat' of ink put in the tattoo. This gives the artist a good look at how you take care of the tattoo during the healing process and the opportunity to 'touch up' any small spots that may need it.
Clients will swear that they followed the after care instructions, but as a trained professional in the business for many years, I have come to recognize the tell-tale signs of neglect or picking at the tattoo during the healing process. Letting the tattoo dry out, using petroleum products, picking at the scabs, exposure to sun and water, wearing tight clothes or shoes over a fresh tattoo, not washing the tattoo frequently, and using too much lotion on the tattoo during healing can all have adverse effects on the final outcome of the healed tattoo.
The final result of where hurts the least are variable. A lot depends on whether it is your first tattoo or not, where you desire the tattoo to be placed, how large the tattoo is, how well you tolerate pain and how well you take care of it during the healing process. During the actual process of tattooing, if you need to take a break, remember, don't take too long of a break or once you sit again to continue the tattoo, you may find it more painful than if you took no break at all. Getting tattoos in unusual locations on the body can be more painful than getting it in the normal locations. You must weigh your desire for placement with how well you tolerate pain. You must make logical decisions based on how large the tattoo will be and whether you are up for sitting for a longer period during the process. You must decide what is best for you. Unfortunately, I know of no areas on the body where it doesn't hurt to get a tattoo, but it doesn't hurt that much, and as an adult, you can always let your mind wander instead of concentrating on the sensation. Go to your happy place and you'll do fine!
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