My SO and I want to get tattoos to replace our wedding rings. We’ve never had any tattoos so I’m just curious if anyone knows if that would be a painful area?
A tattoo on your ring finger? Yeah, that’ll hurt. Unless, of course, you have these gigantic fleshy fingers, or something.
Anytime you get a tattoo on a bone, chances are good that it’ll hurt.
Yeah, the less “cushion” there is, the greater the pain.
That said, it won’t kill you. If you seriously like the idea, I say grin and bear it.
Thats an interesting idea. Of course you can opt to have the tattoo’s done on a different body part. Can I ask, why did you decide to do this? It is cheaper I suppose…yet more permanent of a decision than just not wearing the ring if a divorce (heaven forbid) happens.
A tattoo of a ring? or getting rid of the rings and getting tattoos somewhere else?
Generally the more meaty the area the pain is slightly less. I just got a sleeve finished last year, and I must say although meaty the inside of the upper arm gets tender pretty quick. The elbow is pretty bad too. You will get acclimated quickly, and feel free to chug a Guiness or too before you go in. ( make sure the place is cool with that, some won’t ink you if you have had a drink )
It totally depends on your pain tolerance. I don’t know if Severian and dantheman have tattoos, but I have 12 of 'em, and I can tell you that while the ones I have over muscle and bone (arms, back, calf) felt a bit like a sunburn, the ones over fleshier areas (hips, lower back reachng around to my belly area) hurt like a motherf***er. I know other people for whom it was the opposite. Sorry, but the only way you’ll know for sure is to do it.
I will give you one bit of advice though, and this is the same standard advice I have given everyone who’s asked since I got my first tattoo at age 19. Once you decide what you want, do not do anything about it for at least one year. If you still want it just as bad as when you first thought of it, go ahead and do it. Nothing in life is guaranteed but you’re less likely to regret it later that way. The only thing I regret is that some people can’t accept that I’m the same person whether I’m wearing long or short sleeves.
Well, I can understand how the pain might be exaggerated owing to nerves under the skin, but I dunno how it could be more painful than taking a needle to skin barely covering bone, like on a finger. Maybe it’s just a level-of-tolerance thing, but maybe it’s something more.
Yes, I do have one. On my shoulder. Hurt. 
I have one. A celestial arm band (called a “Lucky Charms” band by some of my friends. Funny guys.). It hurt, but not as much as I thought it would.
In general, I agree with Wolfgrrl’s advice on a waiting period. In this specific situation though, (He’s (she?) commemorating a marriage here, one hopes he’s already put some thought into it.), I’d say go for it!
I’ll third the waiting period advice and also add that tattoos on the hands and feet, and elsewhere the flesh is thicker / thinner / put to use more often will not look as good as perhaps you’d like.
Tattoos on the hands and feet especially are subject to more wear and movement of the flesh, and the skin does not hold ink as well. Go to BME and check out some pictures of hand, finger, and wrist tattoos to get an idea of what is possible.
I’ve got a few tattoos, two of which are on my ankles. I agree that tattoos over bony areas are definitely a pain. I’d do it again in a heartbeat, though, but that’s just me.
Not that anyone’s asked, but my own rules regarding tattoos (from experience and research):
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Wait at least a year once you’ve settled on a design (ditto Wolfgrrl)
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No words or letters (I’ve seen far too many cases of regret in this instance)
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No faces or portraits (unless you know your artist to be truly established and very talented, and have seen them do portrait work on others. Far, far too many times I’ve seen portraits that just don’t come out quite right, and you really don’t want to be scrutinizing over something like that for the rest of your life.)
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Steer clear from any area that might change shape/sag/shift a great deal over time. That is, unless the design is fairly abstract, in which case it might not be an issue. Time and aging can do horrible things to beautiful art.
All that said, I think the idea of matching tattoos is really great, and my husband and I are thinking of something similar. We both want to get similar designs in white ink on our forearms. That way it wouldn’t be incredibly noticable, but would still be visible.
I figured you both probably did, but since I didn’t know that for a fact… My first tattoo was on my shoulder blade, didn’t hurt a bit. That was followed by my upper arms, full back, and lower arms in more or less that order, with very little pain involved. Except, as stated, when the back got around toward the sides. My calf wasn’t bad, being fairly muscular, but I can honestly say if I’d remembered how bad the right hip hurt I wouldn’t have done the left one a year later. I’ve seen a lot of other people get tattooed on various parts of their bodies, some in pain and some not. I also always tell people not to go by my experience because this is the same person who got back on a horse immediately after breaking a collarbone. (Well that’s what you’re supposed to do when you fall, right?) I have a really high pain tolerance. The tattoo experience seems highly variable based on what I’ve seen. That’s why I put the first one where I did - I didn’t know how much it would hurt, so it went in a place that wasn’t usually visible in case I couldn’t finish it.
Severian, I considered your point before adding my advice to wait a while and figured they probably have been thinking about it a while. But Pam Anderson and Tommy Lee did the same thing after knowing each other for what, three days? I’d rather have dreamer come back and say they’ve been thinking about this for years than see another post six months from now asking if laser removal techniques are painful too.
I also second XJETGIRLX’s advice on portraits, lettering, etc. I’d extend the advice about the quality of portrait work to include any highly detailed work. I’ve seen some gorgeous portraits, and I’ve met a woman who has what was meant to be a rose but more closely resembles a deformed penis. Not to mention the all-too-common problem of having to remove someone’s name or face because you just don’t want it there anymore.
Geez, I dunno, dreamer… I never would have figured you for a tattoo person.
Wolfgrrl gave great advice. I have a few friends who have tattoos on their fingers as well as other places. I wouldn’t personally do a tattoo there unless you have a very simple design (a classic band maybe) because the more complex the design the trashier it looks in that location judging by the friend who has a friend who has a bearhead tattooed on his ring finger (he normally wears business suits etc and it really sticks out) compared to the other friends who did a classic band design (those two did it as part of a commitment ceremony and dress more casually and it doesn’t stick out).
Talk to the tattoo artist about topical anesthesia.
I have one tatoo, and I am a big wimp, I am very much scared of pain. My tatoo guy refused to use topical anesthesia so people would know there is pain involved and think twice about getting a tatoo.
My tatoo is on my lower back, on the left side, basically right above my butt cheek and it didn’t hurt as much as I thought.
If you really want it, you;ll do it, pain or not.
As said above, wait a while. I waited several years to find the exact shape/art/drawing I wanted, and now I don’t regret a thing.
No way, the pain (oh and it will hurt) is a right of passage. The day people get numb to get ink is a dark day indeed.
Well, a lot of them (unfortunately) get numb by way of alcohol… 
Another reason they don’t like to tattoo drunk people (on top of the impaired judgement issue) is that you bleed more heavily with alcohol in your bloodstream afaik.
Well going in completely bombed is bad for a few reasons.
- The blood is thinner, so it doesn’t coagulate as quickly
- More bleeding due to thinner blood, which makes the “canvas” tougher to work with, because you are wiping it more.
- Drunk people don’t sit still (this is the #1 reason I think)
Having a couple of beers to soothe the nerves a bit usually doesn’t involve getting completely wasted, YMMV.
Now I wonder why on earth you would think that?! 
My husband and I have been married for 7 years this month and there are a few reasons we are considering tattoos.
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I lost some weight recently and lost my diamond ring one day. Thankfully I went back to where I was and it was right there on the ground, but from then on I have not worn it again.
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My husband is a guitarist and it bothers him to wear it when he plays.
Instead of getting the rings resized or getting new ones we just thought it would be easier to have tattoos and also it might be kinda cool too. We’re definately still on the *thinking about it side and haven’t gone to a tattoo shop yet but it still seems like a good idea to me, though I hate pain
I’m afraid I’m going to hijack the post now. I want a tattoo on my upper back and the design I’ve settled on will take up most of it. I’m definitly taking the year wait thing into consideration, but my question is: Will a large tattoo put off guys? I know it sounds rather shallow, but it is a bit of a concern. Its a feminine design and it does mean something to me. But I don’t want something that may impare meeting people. People fall in love because of personality, but people meet because of appearances.