I don't have any (yet) due to my fear (yeah, I'm man enough to admit it) of the mighty needle.
Nino, if you've ever had a shot, a cat scratch, or any open wound/cut, you've had worse.
Tattoos are basically "dermal pigmentation," a.k.a. introducing synthetic pigment into the pigment layer (part of the epidermis).
Compare this to getting a shot, giving blood, or any cut in which you're bleeding: the needle goes into the much-deeper subcutis layer (below the dermis; two layers below the epidermis) and actually pierces and/or enters a vein.
A tattoo needle, in theory, will not draw blood (blood vessels first appear in the dermis, definitively underneath the epidermis). In fact, if your skin were 10 inches thick, you would have to go 4 inches down before you get to the same depth as a needle goes when you're getting a shot or giving blood, versus only 1 inch deep for a tattoo. In reality, sometimes tattoos will bleed a little bit, because of 2 reasons: 1) There are very small capillaries and other miniature blood vessels in the epidermis, although these are beneath the pigment layer, and 2) your skin is
not 10 inches thick, and tattoo artists sometimes dig the needle in a little too far. By a little, I really mean a *little* - your thickest skin is on the soles of your feet, and it's only 4mm thick there. On your arm or chest, you're looking at closer to 1-2mm.... a tattoo needle correctly applied only goes 0.1 to 0.2 mm into your skin. It's a weird thought, but I give the artists a lot of credit for being able to consistently keep the depth perfect... Imagine carving a bass inlay, but instead of wood, you've got something as soft and squishy as human skin, and you're doing it freehand, and if you accidentally go an extra 0.5 mm too deep, it starts bleeding, haha.... oops! LOL
Hope this helps! It's really not as bad as it sounds... It feels like a cat scratch on a sunburn, but only for a few seconds as the needle is actually in contact with your skin, and then you're sore for a few days, and that's it! It's really a lot of fun, and it's true what they say: Tattoos are addictive. I started out just wanting one (wanted it for years and years, since I was about 14), got it when I was 19, and now that I'm 24, I have 3, the 3rd of which is going to cover my entire right shoulder when it's done
It might help you to go observe a tattoo artist, if you have a friend who's getting a tattoo, or even if you just ask an artist, if he and the customer would be willing, just to see what it's like and realize it's not so bad. Reputable artists are as sanitary as some surgeons I know, and unbelievably talented... their dexterity, skill, creative vision, and work ethic are really amazing, in the case of many artists who I know.
Hope this helps
