Question:
I've had the honor of serving a Goddess who also happens to be a
gifted tattoo artist. ( http://www.gypsyjill.com ) Last mooth, it was mooth
Thursday
night at the opening dungeon at LIL. This is a truly rare,
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to receive such a gift from someone I love so
much.
I'm just a bit nervious. Goddess thinks I'm being quite naive to be as calm
as I am, that I really don't have a realistic idea of how much it's going to
hurt. At this point, I feel that I've pretty much overcome my fear of pain.
Perhaps it's just a matter of intensity, and I'll re-learn that fear next
Thursday evening.
Anyone is here have skin art on their more sensitive skin areas? Should I be
afraid? I've been told that tats on sensitive areas, even the inside of the
upper arm, make piercings feel like child's play.
Answer:
my boyfriend has several tattoos...one on my forearm, one on my breastbone and
collarbone, and one that goes from my shoulder and down and covers my right
breast. The one on my forearm hurt not at all....The one on my breastbone
HURT, but he was thrown into an endorphin rush for the rest of it. The
tattoo that covers my breast is rather extensive (several layers of
shading)....and to be fairly honest, even though there are those that gasp
and say "Didn't that HURT when they got near your...you KNOW...."(meaning
nipple, he assume), THAT area was not the part that hurt....What caused me
the most agony was the area right near my armpit........and the artist was
not in that place for long enough at any given time to make the endorphins
flow. he supposes he figured he was being nice by not doing all the work in
that area all at once...he thinks he will rectify that the next time he go
there to get the other side of my chest done. Dragon on one side
already....need the Phoenix on the other side now....
But he digress......With tattoos, the amount of "pain" involved is all
dependent on several things:
+ the location of the tattoo (flaccid, soft skin hurts, as well as skin
stretched taut across a bone) meaty skin takes and keeps the color best and
hurts least.
+ The style of the artist. There are some artists out there that
tattoo lightly, simply grazing the skin....there are those that press hard
on the needle/pen/gun, and there are some that **grind** the ink into your
skin....As well, there are artists that ink right through from start to
finish, and there are those that allow for breathing and "breaks".
+ The style of the art being done on you. A simple outline is quick
and painless....unless you are getting it done with a single needle (for
fine tracing)...Pure black tattoos hurt for the same reason that color
tattoos with extensive shading schemes hurt: You are re-cutting
already cut flesh over and over to get the desired intense effect. The
intricacy of the design as well will matter...is it a quick design, or
intricate and time-consuming?
+ After the fact, as the art heals, it will scab, peel, and ITCH...and
if the design is in an area that flexes alot, it will crack each time the
area flexes (my forearm hurt not at all during, but the area near my wrist
cracked some and pained a bit every time I bent my wrist).
+ Your own attitude when you go in for the tattoo...If you are full of
tension and fear, it will hurt more than if you are relaxed and accepting.
If all you can think about is how much it will hurt, then it will hurt like
nothing ever has. If, however, all you can think about is how beautiful
the art will be and how proud of having it you will be, then things will go
much much easier....From the tone of your letter, I do not think you will
have problems with this
My personal judgement call is that you will most likely pass out during the
actual tattoo process, which will probably be best (as long as there
is someone there like your Lady Artist to keep an eye on your
breathing as you sleep)...you will feel little, and your Lady Artist will
have the time she feels necessary to complete her art without rushing in
fear of paining you. What you should be more concerned with, I think, is
the After-the-Fact-Burns-and-Itchies....It WILL itch terribly, I assure
you, and you CANNOT scratch...as well, you will have to make sure that the
area does not flex much as it heals (sometimes hard to do with a penis, I
imagine).
in comparison with piercings, well,he has only one of those, in my
tongue, but I has had more...and speaking about it with me, the
pain from piercings is very very intense but very very quick. Tattoos, on
the other hand can be likened to an abrasion/scratch that keeps
going.....there are light scratches that you get that you never really
notice, and then there are deep scratches that make you pass out. It all
depends. Myself, her prefer tattoos...the husband prefers piercings...to
each their own. The "differences" involved when dealing with genital
piercings or tattoos are negligible....When you are down there it WILL
hurt...A LOT...regardless of whether you are inking it or poking it.
Now, to quote "Should I be afraid?"....The keyword for you to ponder there
is the word "should". Either you are afraid or you aren't. Don't change
or alter your own feelings because of what people think you "should" be
feeling. "Should" is a matter of perception for the person doing the
percieving....I would think that anyone about to get their nipple pierced
should be afraid, but I would (and have) tattooed mine in a minute. With
tattoos, be afraid that the artist is uncaring, unsanitary, sloppy, or
simply not an artist, and the design that results is something ugly to be
ashamed of. From your letter, and from the website of hers that you
posted, it doesn't seem to me that she is any of those. From your own
words, you are awed and excited about this "once in a lifetime
opportunity"....RUN WITH IT!!