Let's state the obvious: Wrist tattoos can hurt just like any other tattoo. The needle pierces your skin and injects ink into it. How could it not cause pain? But some parts of the body tolerate tattoo pain better than others, and your own personal threshold must be factored into the equation. Whether the wrist is one of the most or least painful places to get inked is still debated.
The jury was sharply divided on how painful it was to have ink on this body part. I can speak from my own experience with wrist tattoos, but I also conducted research on a number of tattoo artists. They know what hurts the most because they are the ones who have caused pain to hundreds of clients.
I have a tattoo about two inches high on the inside of my wrist. It has a traditional style with bold lines and bold colors. It's a heart cut open by a razor blade, designed to mimic a cassette tape, surrounded by a "Born to Be Broken" banner. Yes, I got it after a particularly bad breakup, but, really, it could represent any relationship I dealt with in the '00s gone sour.
So let’s talk about pain. The area is definitely tender and the skin is thin and fleshy. Still, it didn't hurt as much as my inner bicep/armpit area, nor as much as the ink on my lower back, which required shading and covering repeated ground. That last one made me cry, drool, and makes wrist tattoos look like a piece of cake. But that's just me.
I remember getting my wrist tattoo done by my friend and fellow tattoo artist Mike Ski, and it was quick, easy, and relatively painless. But I will also never, ever, ever forget that there was a tiny area on my wrist that made me feel like I was getting an electric shock when I got it.
Just below the bottom banner, it says "Broken" with a little shade of blue.
I remember my eyes watering and biting my lip so hard that the small part bled. I don't know why it hurt more than any other part of my wrist tattoo, but I'll never forget the pain.
It was like being slapped hard in the face for two seconds. the rest? Very simple.
Personal anecdotes are good, but since tattoo pain varies from person to person, I need more opinions. The expert panel also weighed in, demonstrating that pain levels can come from a variety of factors and elements. What is the science behind pain? Well, that's not entirely...accurate. Take a look.
1. Your wrist is full of nerves
Jeremy Nieves of Milk and Honey Tattoo in Staten Island explains the anatomy technique, saying, "The inner part of the arm is more susceptible to injury than the outer part because more nerves run along it. The inner side of the arm instead of the outer side. On the inner side, there are the median and ulnar nerves, while the top of the arm only has the radial nerve, which, combined with the thinner skin on the wrist, makes it a relatively difficult place to get a tattoo." It gets worse when the needle hits the thinnest skin of my wrist.
2. Most people agree that wrists aren’t the worst thing
Dana Forrester, owner of Lucky Monkey Tattoo Shop in Ann Arbor, Michigan, points out that people react to pain differently. However, she generally believes that wrist tattoos are not that attractive. She said: "My wrist tattoo hurts much more than my foot tattoo...The pain is relatively small compared to other parts of the body. But if you follow 1 to On a tattoo pain scale of 10, I would rate (the wrist) a 4 or 5 and the ribs a 10.”
3. Pursue simple things
Amanda Rodriguez of Wicked and Love in Brooklyn, N.Y., feels somewhere in the middle about the pain, saying for specific reasons: "Wrist tattoos do hurt, especially on the wrist. It's both sides. While not excruciatingly painful, it's not painless by any means. It's acceptable for a small, simple wrist tattoo, but it can be pretty brutal if you cover it up with a solid color on your sleeve. ”
4. Your artist’s heavy hand is important
Saul Amstutz, a tattoo artist from Lancaster, Pa., points to the artist's skill as a factor, saying: "All tattoos hurt, but the level of pain is relative to the individual client. It really doesn't matter. It’s black and white, “yes, wrist tattoos hurt, or, no, they don’t hurt at all.” "It's also about individual artists because some of us are harsher than others."
Therefore, the consensus seems to be that wrist tattoo pain is related to personal tolerance and threshold. I didn't feel any pain except for the small part I mentioned, while others said it did hurt, but not terribly. I have a friend who says it hurts more than his ribs and neck, and another friend who says it's an "oops" moment, but she doesn't need to stop her artist from moving forward.
There you have it. Getting a tattoo hurts. Wrist tattoo pain intensity varies depending on a number of factors. So plan accordingly my dears.
Photo: Jennifer/Flickr; Amy Sciareto (4); Jiffy (1)
