# I'm getting my first tattoo! Tell me how much it doesn't hurt! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 14, 2003, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740 "2003-06-14T03:36:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![fizzestothetop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e79b87/32.png) [@fizzestothetop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fizzestothetop)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/21 "2003-06-14T22:15:23Z")
Okay, it’s done. It hurt a bit, the sunburn comparison was spot on. Some parts I was okay with and didn’t even flinch and then others I had to close my eyes and grit my teeth. It didn’t take as long as I thought it would either. We got there close to one-thirty and he was done by two. The tattoo guy did a fantastic job. It looks exactly how I wanted it to and I couldn’t be happier. I do feel like a putz though because I forgot that you’re supposed to tip your tattoo artist. It was my first trip and I was nervous enough about the pain so that completely slipped my mind. I feel really horrible about it too. I plan on making it up some how. If I need to go back for a touch up I’ll tip him more than enough then or next tat I get I’ll be extra generous. He did such a good job and I feel like a complete moron for not tipping him.☹ And now the best part. PICTURES! The quality of my webcam isn’t that great so pictures aren’t perfect but you get the idea. [Picture one](http://strike9.com/file.aspx?path=/Bailie/fullsize/alicetattoo3.jpg) and [picture two.](http://strike9.com/file.aspx?path=/Bailie/fullsize/alicetattoo2.jpg) And for the record **Muad’Dib** I’m not interested in what 90% of guys thinks about my tattoo seein’ as how I’m already engaged to one and he likes it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/22 "2003-06-14T23:11:36Z")
Congrats, **fizzestothetop**. Saw the pic, and it looks great. The ones that mother gives you don’t do anything at all. How long did it take? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/23 "2003-06-14T23:14:38Z")
Shit, looking at that and thinking about it, that thing that all already-tattooed people said would happen to me before I got mine but I said wouldn’t happen to me is indeed starting to happen to me… I want another one. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/24 "2003-06-14T23:19:04Z")
I want to get another one myself… it won’t be for awhile though. Not until I can truly spare the money, but I already know exactly what I want. The where is giving me a little trouble though. When I went to get the one I have now I figured I would want at least 2 more… I had 3 designs in mind and all three still appeal to me years after feeling like I might want them. One of course is already on me 😉 Now I just need to get the others. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/25 "2003-06-15T00:49:08Z")
It is always a shame to see such beautiful skin senselessly scarred. ---
**Author:** ![shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/26 "2003-06-15T01:27:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muad’Dib \* > but if you ask 90% of guys will all agree that a tattoo will only make a girl look skanky. Or at the very least they will say that a tattoo _never_ improved on a girls looks, it will only harm it. Allow me to point out something you may have not yet considered in your life: when making decisions about their bodies, some women do not consider whether men will find it attractive. I don’t give a flying fuck whether men find my two tattoos attractive. I don’t give a flying fuck if men find me attractive **AT ALL**. Basing my personal life decisions on whether or not men find them appealing would make me a sad individual completely lacking in self-confidence and unable to see myself as anything other than a trophy. Just something for you to consider. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/27 "2003-06-15T01:28:17Z")
Well, unless I am blind, there’s no scarring, and it certainly wasn’t senseless. The skin, though, is lovely, though you’ll have to take my word on that;) ---
**Author:** ![XJETGIRLX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9fc29f/32.png) [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/28 "2003-06-15T01:49:56Z")
Oooooh! Gor-ge-ous! Congrats, Fizzles! And to anyone who has a distaste of tattoos, I’ll echo what Shrew has already said so eloquently. Who gives a fuck? I certainly don’t and if you do, you’re not the kind of person I’d likely view as relationship material anyways. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/29 "2003-06-15T02:15:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by shrew \* > \*\*Allow me to point out something you may have not yet considered in your life: when making decisions about their bodies, some women do not consider whether men will find it attractive. I don’t give a flying fuck whether men find my two tattoos attractive. I don’t give a flying fuck if men find me attractive **AT ALL**. Basing my personal life decisions on whether or not men find them appealing would make me a sad individual completely lacking in self-confidence and unable to see myself as anything other than a trophy. > > Just something for you to consider. \*\* That men will not find you attractive is not quite the point that I was trying to make. I have seen an awful lot of girls getting tattoos lately, most often their decision is spur of the moment and rash. They only give thought too how “cute” it will be without _really_ thinking about the permanent ink filled wound that they will be scarring into their skin. They think more about how hip it is and less about how it really looks. Imagine if a friend of yours was about to blow a huge sum of cash on a fancy sports car, would it be so wrong in reminding him that this is stupid and besides, the vast majority of women do not find a man more attractive because of his car. So in closing, tattoos almost always make ya’all look like cheap skanky ho’s. Think twice, no make that, think thrice then fourth and so on, before having one done. BTW, if they really did not care what other people thought, I doubt that anyone would get a tattoo. ---
**Author:** ![fizzestothetop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e79b87/32.png) [@fizzestothetop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fizzestothetop)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/30 "2003-06-15T02:30:56Z")
**Muad’Dib** did you even read the OP at all or did you just skim over the part where I mentioned that I had been wanting a tattoo for a few years now and have been seriously thinking about what I wanted to get for the past year? I put a lot of thought into what I wanted and I found something that has personal meaning to me. This isn’t some spur of the moment impulse purpose and it isn’t some dainty little butterfly that I got to make myself look hip and cool. Assumptions are far more unattractive than the ugliest tattoo could ever be. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/31 "2003-06-15T02:34:04Z")
I read your OP, I was replying in general. It is still possible for someone to make a foolish choice even after a long time thinking about it. I know more than one guy who saved for many months so that they could blow several thousand dollars making their cars bounce up and down. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/32 "2003-06-15T02:36:15Z")
However I should add that I do agree that getting some stupid little butterfly on your hip is more obnoxious than someone who actually goes out and gets a _real_ tattoo. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/33 "2003-06-15T04:25:57Z")
I got a couple of tattoos when I was a young buck. Now that I am approaching 50, I wish I would have never gotten any. My wife has several tattoos and she is now looking to have some of them removed. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/34 "2003-06-15T04:48:13Z")
Took me about… 8 years before I got my tattoo. I decided at 11 I wanted one and started seriously considering what I would get at age 15 and finally got it at 19. Yes I may change my mind in 30 years, but I figure by that time it’ll be even cheaper to get removed than it is now (and no that wasn’t part of my consideration before getting the tattoo, just a general observation) ---
**Author:** ![BadBaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71c47a/32.png) [@BadBaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BadBaby)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/35 "2003-06-15T05:50:29Z")
**Muad’Dib** , what are you trying to accomplish here? **Fizzes** has already had the tattoo put on her body, it’s a done deal. Anything else you have to say is just hurtful and why do you feel compelled to hurt a lovely young woman like **Fizzes**? Okay, you don’t like tattoos, we get it. I don’t like children, but you don’t see me marching down to my local hospital’s maternity ward to share my feelings with the new parents. Rude, nasty, and pointless behavior. In a thread where someone is celebrating getting a tattoo is not the place to voice your objections since it’s off topic at the very least. If you feel so strongly, why not open a thread in the pit? Sorry to have hijacked and flirted with being a junior mod in your thread **Fizzes**. Your tattoo artist did a pretty darned good job, and I’m the most picky art teacher on the planet, according to my students. Will you be adding more color or do you think you’ll stick to the wash of delicate color you have now? Oh, and before I forget, you can always go in the next time you know he’s working and tip him then. ---
**Author:** ![butter\_pie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@butter\_pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butter_pie)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/36 "2003-06-15T05:52:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muad’Dib \* > \*\*So in closing, tattoos almost always make ya’all look like cheap skanky ho’s. Think twice, no make that, think thrice then fourth and so on, before having one done. > > BTW, if they really did not care what other people thought, I doubt that anyone would get a tattoo. \*\* I got my tattoo right over my spine, mere fractions of an inch right over the bone, it’s almost five inches long, three wide, and hurt like a mothefucker, and was penance for all the shit I did wrong and pain I caused other people when I was a self-centred, insane 15 year old. Stop assuming the motives for why people do things. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/37 "2003-06-15T06:05:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jinwicked \* > \*\* > Stop assuming the motives for why people do things. \*\* No, that is silly. You could barely function in society if you did not constantly guess at peoples motives for their actions. And that does not change the fact that you should not do something like this litely, and that it looks ugly and lowbrow. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/38 "2003-06-15T06:06:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muad’Dib \* > \*\*However I should add that I do agree that getting some stupid little butterfly on your hip is more obnoxious than someone who actually goes out and gets a _real_ tattoo. \*\* My mom has a butterfly tattoo on her hip. Had it for thirty years now. No regrets. She’s even thinking of getting it re-inked, since it’s faded pretty badly. Incidentally, you’re an ass. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/39 "2003-06-15T06:08:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BadBaby \* > \*\ ***Muad’Dib** , what are you trying to accomplish here? **Fizzes** has already had the tattoo put on her body, it’s a done deal. Anything else you have to say is just hurtful and why do you feel compelled to hurt a lovely young woman like **Fizzes**? \*\* Sorry, I really don’t want to hurt her or anyone else. I have only kept posting because people have kept responding to my posts, ---
**Author:** ![butter\_pie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@butter\_pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butter_pie)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740/40 "2003-06-15T06:13:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muad’Dib \* > \*\*And that does not change the fact that you should not do something like this litely, and that it looks ugly and lowbrow. \*\* How is it ugly and lowbrow? I wear tanktops maybe twice a year. The only person that ever sees it is who-ever I’m sleeping with, and if someone asks about it and they pull my shirt collar down to see it. I got it for ME, so I’d look in the mirror and see it and remember why it’s there every day for the rest of my life. **fizzestothetop** , do not listen to this idgit, please. Your tat is wonderful and I think you made an excellent choice. I personally don’t live my life and make decisions based on a me 30 years from now that might not even exist. I have a tat now to remind me how I should live now, that I enjoy and that I’ve never gotten anything but compliments for (from the people that _have_ seen it.) I drew it myself and it’s the only one in the world like it. When I’m 90 years old I’m going to be covered in wrinkles, wearing false teeth, and have a head full of grey hair. What’s the difference if I have a bloody, faded picture on my back or not? Good god, man. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-my-first-tattoo-tell-me-how-much-it-doesnt-hurt/181740.md?page=3)