Where Does It Hurt Most and Should You Use Numbing Creams?

“How much will it hurt?” — this is the first question we hear at Tattooed from every first-timer. The fear of pain is often the only thing standing between a client and their dream tattoo. As a studio with a decade of experience, we’ve prepared an honest breakdown of what you’ll actually feel and why “magic numbing creams” aren’t always the best solution.

What Determines the Pain Level?

Pain is subjective, but it generally depends on three factors:

1. Placement: Areas with thin skin or those close to bones and nerve endings are more sensitive.

2. Session Duration: By the 3rd or 4th hour, the body’s natural endorphin supply depletes, and even “easy” spots start to feel tender.

3. Your Condition: Fatigue, hunger, or a hangover can amplify pain sensations significantly.

The Pain Map: From “Bearable” to “Eyes Watering”

We categorize body areas into three levels of discomfort:

Green Zone (Minimal Pain): Shoulders, forearms, outer thighs, and calves. The skin here is thick, and muscle or fat acts as a natural cushion.

Yellow Zone (Moderate): Shoulder blades, back, abdomen, and front of thighs. It feels like intense scratching—perfectly manageable for a long session.

Red Zone (Maximum): Ribs, sternum, elbows, knees, armpits, feet, and fingers. In these areas, the skin is thin, and the machine’s vibration travels directly into the bone or nerve clusters.

The Truth About Anesthesia: Why We Don’t Recommend It

Many clients ask for numbing creams (typically lidocaine-based). However, in the professional industry, we approach them with caution for several reasons:

1. Skin Texture Alteration: Numbing creams can make the skin “rubbery” or overly saturated. This makes it harder for the artist to saturate the pigment correctly, which can lead to unnecessary trauma and longer healing times.

2. The “Rebound” Effect: When the cream wears off (usually after 60–90 minutes), the pain returns abruptly and often feels much more intense than if you had started without it.

3. Impact on Pigment: The chemical composition of some creams can react with the ink, potentially causing the tattoo to look duller or “muddy” after it heals.

How to Stay Comfortable Without Chemicals

Your best anesthesia is proper preparation. The Tattooed standard for a smooth session:

Sleep: Get a full night’s rest. A rested nervous system is your best shield against pain.

Eat well: Have a hearty meal 1–2 hours before your session. Stable blood sugar helps your body produce endorphins.

Hydrate: Well-hydrated skin accepts ink better and heals faster.

Dress comfortably: Wear loose clothing that doesn’t restrict movement or apply pressure.

Tattooed Standard: Your Comfort Matters. We know how to make the process as gentle as possible. Our modern equipment and refined techniques minimize discomfort. Remember: the fear of the pain is almost always worse than the pain itself.

Last updated: March 12, 2026

5 Key Difference

A common misconception is that Permanent Makeup (PMU) is just a “face tattoo.” At Tattooed, we treat these as two distinct disciplines. While both involve pigment and needles, the technology, chemistry, and biology behind them are worlds apart.

Here are the 5 fundamental differences that determine how your art will look today—and ten years from now.

1. Depth of Insertion: The Crucial Millimeters

This is the primary technical distinction.

Traditional Tattoo: Pigment is injected deep into the dermis. This ensures the design stays forever, as cells at this depth do not regenerate like surface cells.

Permanent Makeup: We work in the upper layers of the dermis, near the dermal-epidermal junction. It is precision work: go too deep, and the color turns blue or ashy; stay too shallow, and it disappears within a month.

2. Pigment Composition: Particles and Bases

Under EU REACH regulations, all our pigments meet strict safety standards, but their structures differ:

Tattoo Inks: Contain larger particle sizes designed to “lock” into the skin permanently. They are formulated to withstand decades of UV exposure.

PMU Pigments: Feature a smaller, more finely dispersed particle structure. They are designed to be gradually broken down and carried away by the immune system over time. This allows the color to fade gracefully rather than becoming a permanent stain.

3. Longevity: Eternity vs. Transformation

Tattoo: Created for a lifetime. While it may require a touch-up every 10–15 years, the base remains.

PMU: Designed to last 1.5 to 2 years. Why is this a benefit? Your face changes—skin tone shifts, features migrate, and trends evolve. PMU that fades allows us to adjust the shape and shade to match your aging process and current style.

4. Equipment and Trauma Levels

Tattoo Machines: Powerful devices built to penetrate thicker skin on the body, often using large needle groupings (up to 45 needles).

PMU Devices: Much gentler and quieter. They are engineered for ultra-fine lines and soft shading on delicate facial tissue (eyelids, lips). Trauma is minimal; there is often little to no swelling after the procedure.

5. Healing and Color Stabilization

Tattoo: Once healed, the color becomes slightly more matte as it sits under the skin, but the hue remains stable.

PMU: Goes through a complex “stabilization” phase. Brows may look too dark on day three, disappear on day ten, and finally “bloom” to the true shade by day thirty. This is because the thin layer of healing epidermis significantly affects how the light reflects off the pigment.

Tattooed Standard: Expertise in every layer. At Tattooed, we use only certified, next-generation pigments that guarantee a predictable fade without shifting into unwanted hues.

Last updated: March 12, 2026