I am going to share with you 7 step process that will give you and your customers Virtually Pain-Free tattoo experience.
Are you Ready?
OK here we go!
Step 1
The first step in getting a tattoo is truly deciding if you really want one. Remember inking is usually permanent and you will have your tat for life! (Choose wisely!)
Step 2
Look at images and decided what you want tattooed and where. Some good old fashion advice to those getting a first tattoo start with a small image. You can always add onto it latter. Tattoo removal is very expensive, painful, and not always 100% effective. So use the motto: “Start small and build big.”
Step 3
Make an appointment with your regular health care provider (MD, NP, PA). They know your medical condition best and can advise you if they think that getting inked will negatively impact your health. (There really aren’t condition that fall under this category, but it is better to wise than foolish.)
Step 4
Request from accredited supplier for some “numbing cream” such as Dr.Numb (one I use and recommend). Be clear that your are asking for this medication because you are getting a tattoo. This will help the nurse or physician make a better clinical decision and provide you with the correct amount you may need and instructions on how to use it. (Please note: Most insurances will not cover this numbing medication so you need to take that into consideration. Cost vary but a general rule of thumb is about $50 to $75 per tube which may last for several “small” tats or just be enough for one “big” inking.
Step 5
The “numbing cream” consists of lidocaine (like the numbing medication you get at the dentist) and prilocaine (another type of numbing medication). Remember if you ever had an adverse reaction to these medications NEVER USE THEM FOR TATOOING or any other reason.
Step 6
Apply the numbing as directed by your health care provider. Generally, it is applied in a thick layer as opposed to a cream that is rubbed in and covered with clear plastic wrap with the edges taped around the wrap. This should be done at least one hour before your inking.
Step 7
Remove the dressing and wash away the numbing cream just prior to your inking session letting your tattoo artist know.
Tattoo Pain Chart


I hope that you find this information useful,
Have a great day,
Mike

thanks for the advice
i say hooah! that was a vital brief right there!!! your awesomE to the maxxxxxx!!!!!! thankz…
Hi Mike,
Thanks for the very useful info.Now I’m more than ever decided to get my first Tat at 56 years old.I have several ideas as what to get.I havn’t decided the right spot to put it yet.I am a guitar player so my tat will be guitar/music related.Love your website. I’m sure I will get some great ideas.Thanks for all the great designs.Looking forward to my first tattoo!!! Paul
My opinion is the pain is part of the experience. It is always a question friends ask when they see them,”Did it hurt?”. I found that it hurt more at the top of my back at the base of the neck and less along the spine and the lower back. I agree about chit chat while getting it done takes the mind off of the pain.
I was just resently engaged to be married…. given the usually engagement ring, but what meant the most to me, was Allan offered in the next two weeks to have our names tatooed in japanese on his left and right arm….. which meant more then any ring could…. (why japanese, coz his great grandfather was Japanese)….so it’s personal to him…..
Also, just quickly….. we love the Miami Ink T-Shirts……. and I will pass on the info about the numbing cream to make the experience less painful for him……thank you for the info
hi thanks for this info its brill, but could you suggest the name of a numbing cream available in the uk please. i want a tattoo on my ankle going onto my foot and by your body map i think will hurt bigtime. so please please please can you give me the name of some i can buy in the uk thanks. Fay. :0)
hi there,brilliant news, wish you had told us earlier! got a few small tats only thing bin holding me back from a BIG one has bin the pain factor, my daughter recently had blood tests done and as shr was young got cream to numb her up, i had wondered but thot na sumone would have said!! well you hav said ,.so now for the biggy tat from top to bottom of the one side of my back ,cheers guys! hugs & kisses. Wilma
Hi there
I’m now very confused as I was researching numbing creams for my future hand tattoos but I keep reading that the creams slow down the blood flow and stop the tattoo from being absorbed so deeply and also slow the healing process. I shall email my tattooist later to hear what he thinks. I already have a few tatts but am having my hand and wrist ones extended to all over the fingers which will hurt like hell. I love tatts but I don’t like the pain.
i already have 3 tatoo’s but i still found this very usefull
thank you,I am just about to get my tatto,but it will be realy big …so this information is brilliant!!!
cheers mike thanks for the advice at the moment getten tats every week no looken back im addicted
hi mike that was sum useful info. i have a question for you i have tats allover my back and the tat i have got at the bottom of my back hurt the most but it was only as it goes right accross it was as the tat went on too my love handles lol that it hurt i also have a tat on my wrist and that didnt hurt either. i really want a tat on my foot and ancle do you think it will hurt bad lol even though i am addicted to tats and get told im strange as i have fell asleep while being tattood lol
thanx
manda
Yeah i have to agree the inner calf can be pretty painful too, but everyone is totally different when comes to bearing pain…
hi i try to take myself to another place when i get a tat. i put my ipod on and get into that. My foot and very lower back was the most painfull. But i got one down my spine which i was dreading but i found that to be my least painfull.
wow… I never knew such thing. This is a very informative article for many of my friends who are actually scared of pain and mainly that was why so many of them didn’t get tattoo. Thanks for such a great information. I’ve just bought Doctor Numb at drnumb.com thanks!!!!!a ton!!
I purchased Dr.Numb for my second tattoo session this weekend. I’m curious if the cream will ruin the color of the tattoo and make the healing process worse. I’ve heard good and bad things about this cream. Please help with some inputs if anyone has personal experience with Dr. Numb. Thanks!
well thanks for a ll the info i thik i will use it i am about to be 16 and i am ready for my first tattoo. i am a little scared but i really want it for my little sister. does white ink so up as good as the pictures on the internet shows??? cause i think for my first on before my big one i want a little one on my arm with white ink. so does it show up as good as all the pictures i see??
I’m just impressed that you mentioned PA’s. Though a PA for 15 years now, I still get asked “what’s a PA” all the time. Interesting that I got this email today…tomorrow I’m getting my second tat.
great info…thanks!
thanks for the useful info..my daughter will be 21 soon and i promised her we will get our first tattoos together
I had my tatoo on my foot removed last year and it was a bit painful.;*,
I wish I knew about this stuff before now. Ive just had my outline work done from under my left arm pit down over my hip and covering from my belly to my arse. The full side. I always find that the outline work burns a darn site more than the shading. I will however keep this as good advise because I still have to cover my right side yet. Im hoping to eventually achieve a full enclosure.
Good advice…..very helpful; thanks
I think you need to feel the pain to appreciate the TAT I have I,m guessing about 20 Tats,arms,chest,back,lower legs, but it is nice that you guys really care Miami Ink is the only TAT site I’ve seen that responds at a personal level THANKS! I think the is cool
keep up the good work, jcurlee, Joplin, Mo.
Thanks for the advice however I love the pain. The fact that something so beautiful can come from such pain. I have had 3 tattoos all of which have been done to contra something bad in my life. Its something thats painful but yet I’m in control of that pain & its my choice and has helped me to deal with my losses. My favourite is my black pheonix with coloured flames that is on the inside of my right forearm. Life after death.. I agree with chart, 3 and a half hours on my forearm hurt. Love your show & can’t wait to trawl through your ideas for my next tattoo… Thanks for a Great web site, so glad I joined..
hi Mike,
aw, i’ve just seen your pain chart and all the parts i wanted tattooed have red marks on them… aaw! But then again, NO PAIN, NO GAIN. the chart has given me reason to think about what tattoo i’ll get so i’ll know it’s gonna be worth the pain. Thanks so much, this is a big help.
Thanks for the tip. My dearly departed hubby was a tattoo artist. His rule of thumb for pain was; The more muscle or fat between the bone and the tat the less pain. I have one tat by him and two others by other artists, one of which is a memorial tat in honor of my hubby. I have plans for at least one more, probably involving a dragonfly, in honor on my hubby. And, yes, I am a tattoo addict. I just have a lot of trouble finding the right design to draw from as I prefer custom work. So far in my search I have not been able to find anything to spark my interest or point me in the right direction as to what exactly I want for my next tat. Wish me luck! And thanks for the advise!
spot on stuff this chart makes life easier for trieing to explain pionts of greater pain to people haveing first tats done.
mike thanks info very handy
Aloha Mike………..Wow if I knew that tattooing could be painless I might’ve gotten more..well in at least areas that I knew would be
more painful. Don’t get me wrong..it’s kind of a painful pleasure and I didn’t mind it a bit. I will pass your valuable information to others who may have second thoughts due to the pain issue. I’m so sure they would be more apt to getting tattoos anywhere.
hi paul here i have been tattooing for about 18 years and i try to stear people away from using the numbing cream as it dulls the natural reaction of the skin and in some cases i have had clients that use it have had trouble with extendid healing times and some times infections i would not recomend it for use but there is a lot of people who use it. i dont have a worry about people using it but i warn them of some of the problems with using it so i hope this helps.
Thanks for the useful info Mike, but I rather go get an “ink sinking” without the aid of any pain dulling cream or drug………I kinda like the pain, it’s part of the experience.
That’s why I keep going back!!!!!!!!
T.
i have 6 tattoos but am wanting more in more painful places so its good to no i can get something for that thanks . xx
Hi Mike thanks for the info as i said before i have only been tattooing for 12mths and im sure my client’s are going to be happy to hear about this thanks Mike regards…Bob
Hi Mike, hello from London. Thanks for the pain chart. Had my first tattoo done recently at the age of 52, it was a case of mind over matter, but then again after having a ten and half pound baby some years ago,I was happy to suffer whatever for a beautiful tattoo.In two weeks time having another tattoo done. Thanks for the lovely web site and all the very good info. Cheers, J.