As a pre-emptory statement, I have two tattoos, both on my back, one done in NJ and one done in NYC. I found a great place in NYC that I love, which is where I want to get my 3rd tattoo done.
My question is – has anyone ever gotten a tat on the inside of their wrist? The first two didn’t hurt at all, but I’m wondering if there’s a pain factor/blood factor near the veins?
Thanks, guys!
What I’ve seen is that it’s safe to do, but the healing can be annoying as your wrist moves a lot, and sleeves can rub on it while it heals. Expect more color loss than usual and a somewhat prolonged heal time because of the rubbing and moving.
Thanks for the response. I do a LOT of typing – that is making me reconsider where I want the new tat.
And if anyone was wondering, I’m getting a tattoo that reads
Dirait-on
which means "so they say"in French.
I don’t have any experience with the inner wrist, but do know the area around the ankle bone & achilles tendon, where there isn’t much “meat,” is a lot more painful to have tatooed than thicker areas (like the lower calf). I’ve a feeling you’d be in for an unpleasant time getting that tatoo done, depending on your pain tolerance level. The healing process wasn’t any more painful or troublesome on the thinner areas though, so once the needle-work is done, it probably wouldn’t be too bad.
That aside, typing won’t necessarily cause problems; if you keep your wrist straight and not resting on the keyboard/desk, you shouldn’t have too much pressure there. Also, if you wait 'til warmer weather and can avoid wearing long sleeves, you’ll avoid the problem with rubbing.
Is that a colloquialism, NWR? I figured dirait-on would mean “so it will say.” But then again, the gist is still the same.
A tattoo feels like a mild sunburn that just got scratched when you got it. I have a friend who has tattoos on the underside of his wrists. He was an English major in college when he got them and he said it killed him to type because the tattoos are where he rests his wrists when typing.
If dirait-on doesn’t mean anything to you specifically, I wouldn’t suggest getting a tattoo of words. Every friend (but one) who has had words tattooed on them has since regretted it. And no, that isn’t just names. Actually, the one person who didn’t regret it has a tattoo with his brother’s name on a tombstone as a memorial to him. It is quite well done and has tons of meaning.
I hope that the words have meaning to you and that you enjoy the tat. It will be tougher to keep it clean than other tats I would think but that shouldn’t really be a major problem.
My girlfriend has a tattoo on the outside of her wrist, and I think it was one of her first. In photos, it looks kind of like a wristwatch. It seems to hold up pretty well; I know this isn’t the exact spot you were asking, but I haven’t heard her mention any trouble with it except that she always has to wear long sleeves at work to cover it up.
I just spent all of last summer getting my sleeve worked on every weekend. Basic rule of thumb, where theres no meat it will hurt more. The tat stops about an inch and a half from the wrist, but I’ll tell you it gets fairly tender. I wouldn’t worry though, it’s not too bad, and if you’ve already gotten a few under your belt, you know what you’re in for.
Now the elbow, that starts to get the teeth clenching a bit.
BTW what place are you going to?
My brother has some ink down the inside of one forearm, and he said it was tender.
But nothing compared to the “OW!” factor while getting his Celtic armband done. That area on the underside of your arm near your armpit hurts a lot, he said.
I also heard that getting a tattoo on your nose is the worst, as the skin is very thin and there is nothing else between the needle and the bone.
Well after getting every square inch of my arm inked from wrist to top of shoulder (spilling onto chest and my back), here’s the score.
Yes underside of arm near pit = Ouch
Elbow = OWWWW!
Top of the shoulder = Ouch
Near collarbone = Ouch
It also depends on the artist, some are more “heavy handed” then others.
Have a tattoo around my whole left wrist. Have also got one on my left bicep, so I have a comparison. It hurt more on the underside of the wrist, but not much more. My healing went very quickly, despite the fact that I (yes I know, stupid) went out partying in a mosh pit that very night. My artist is a goddess, and my now 10 year old tat looks like it was put on yesterday 
The only “special care” I would offer is to keep it lightly covered during the healing period, I had a bandana wrapped loosly around the wrist for the period to prevent chafing and damage.
http://www.nokiafame.com/my-tat.jpg - Check it out
Dirait-on means, “Would one say…?” or, “…, so one would say.”
I ended up getting it done on my right ankle, due to the fact that I wear short sleeves to work a bunch, and didn’t want to have any problems!
Got it done at “Diva” Tattoo down on Christopher, great artist.
It hurt a little bit, more than my other tats, but not excrutiating.
And “Dirait-on” has substantial meeting to me It’s also the title of a poem by Rilke.
oh good. tattoo knowledgeables.
help me.
i’ve got one on my thigh, and am considering one on the small of my back…sort of two inches above the tailbone.
will it really, really hurt? i’m not squeamish, but i don’t want to ask for trouble, either.
(the reason i ask on the SDMB is because a girl asking a tattoo question on most other forums gets propositioned. for crap’s sake, tell me about the tattoo and keep your monkey luvin’ to yourself already.)
When I got my last tattoo a girl was getting one done there. It went most of the way across and was quite nice looking. She cringed a little bit when it went over her spine but didn’t seem to notice the rest of it at all.
aasna, it will hurt more than on the (I am assuming) fleshy part of your thigh. Bearing in mind that the outline of the tat always hurts more (thicker needle), it will probably be far from unbearable anyhow. YMMV. No pain, no gain.
A female acquaintance of mine who’s a bit of a wuss got a large, 1" thick, solid black pattern done on the small of her back. If she could handle it, I’m sure you’d do alright, aasna.
