'In theory,' says Fredrik, the inside of the thigh 'should be one of the less painful places to tattoo because it isn’t close to the bone, and there is a lot of flesh and muscle'. 'There is definitely a psychological as well as physical pain barrier to get over when it comes to getting a tattoo,' he points out. 'Not only is it painful because of the lack of fat and abundance of nerves here, but apparently the noise and vibration is a little scary - it can feel like they are drilling your skull!' Delightful. HeadĪlthough Fredrik has never had a tattoo on his head personally, he's heard from those who have that it's renowned for being really bloody sore. This isn't the case with the ribs, the level of pain is consistent throughout - for 6 hours in my case!' 2.

I’ve had tattoos all over my body and usually after about 1-2 hours, once the body is used to it and stops reacting, the initial pain signals subside a little. Tattoo pain chartĪ post shared by Leccio51 ribcage is a particularly painful place to get a tattoo, explains Fredrik, because 'you don’t have as much fat, muscle, or skin on your ribs, meaning you will feel the scratching of the needle a lot more.' He also suggests the heightened pain 'could be down to the central nervous system, as the nerves surrounding the ribs are supposedly really close to the surface of the skin.' And one other reason a tattoo on your ribcage will hurt is that 'the ribs move every time you breathe, which makes the tattooing process more painful.'Īccording to Fredrik, 'the worst thing about getting a tattoo on the ribcage is that the pain doesn’t let up. With all that in mind, we chatted to Fredrik Glimskär, founder and CEO of online tattoo marketplace Inkbay, to highlight the most (and least) painful places to get a tattoo – as demonstrated by the tattoo pain chart below. (It actually does make a difference! We recommend EMLA Cream 5%, just FYI). Looking to get a foot tattoo, or something inked on your armpit? Well, you might want to consider investing in some numbing cream beforehand. Whilst we wish we could say 'Oh actually, tattoos don't really hurt that much wherever you get one done', unfortunately there is a real difference in how painful a tattoo is likely to be, depending on where on the body you get it. if only to avoid a nasty surprise on the day of your appointment!

But it's certainly also worth thinking about how sore or painful that actual tattooing process will be. When it comes to getting a tattoo, the chances are you'll have thought long and hard about what it'll be and where it'll go – but what about the pain scale? Given that tattoos last, well, quite literally forever ( unless you have it removed), then we totally get that the aesthetic is likely to be your key priority.

Most painful tattoo spots