Tattoo Pain vs. Healing Pain: What’s Normal and What’s Not
Tattooing will be painful. Curing will also heal it, albeit in a different way. However, knowing the difference between normalcy and abnormality can save you, reassure you, and help you connect with your tattoo.

There is a catch to Tattoos: everlasting art tattoo on your body. The process, however, is accompanied by pain and what follows. You might be a new tattoo maniac or be ready to make a serious tattoo session, but it is important to know the difference between the pain that you may feel in the process and during healing.
Being aware of how discomfort, which occurs as a part of the normal post-tattoo process, differs from the discomfort as a result of some issue, like an infection or allergic reaction, will allow you to treat your new tattoo responsibly and not panic at every itch or sting, which should be gone shortly. Tattoo artists from the Gold Coast or other locations are skilled in pain reduction techniques.
- What Tattoo Pain Feels Like During the Session?
Tattooing uses needles that probe your skin approximately 50-3000 times per minute. So intense, you say, and very likely it is, but the pain itself is in most cases described as a constant feeling of scratching, burning, or stinging, according to the locality and distribution.
Factors that affect pain in the course of doing tattoos:
- Position: Hind parts, like the rib cage, the ankle, and the back region, are more painful than fleshy parts, like the thighs and upper arms.
- Time and length: The longer and the bigger it is, the more annoying.
- Shading vs. lining: Shading might produce a dull, burning sensation, whereas lining is of a crisper character.
- Just how much you can take: How much you sleep, how well you stay hydrated, and how anxious you feel all come into play.
The pain of a normal session stops when the machine stops. You may experience some soreness, mild sunburn, or post-gym soreness right away.
- What Normal Healing Pain Feels Like (Days 1-14)
When the tattoo is complete, it starts to heal appendix and with it, another form of pain.
During the first two days after getting a tattoo, you should:
- Be warm or tender to the touch
- Be red or swollen on the edges
- A normal part of healing leak clear plasma or ink (a normal part of healing)
And this is your body fighting in a natural inflammatory reaction, not an infection. It can be compared to controlled wound healing, since that is what a tattoo is.
Between day 3 and day 7, your tattoo can:
- Scab up a little at a time
- Peeling sunburn flakes
- Do not scratch, soak, or apply greasy ointment. Maintain a mild regime of cleansing and moisturising as recommended by your artist.
By day 10-14, a majority of the healing on the surface is finished. The region can still be drying up or a bit tight, but little pain should be present by this time. Here comes the tattoo artist from the Gold Coast or from another place who can work towards reducing the pain.
- Signs of Healing Pain That Are Not Normal
Although this is to be expected, sharp, progressively deteriorating, or systemic pain following a tattoo is not. This is what you need to watch out for:
- Serious swelling, progressive reddening, or pus (What may be symptoms of infection)
- Chills or fever (an indication that your body is trying to fight something more serious)
- sharp, throbbing pain, which aggravates even when the illness passes on day 3 (ungainly in the healing process)
- Poor smell or much oozing
- Raised bumps, welts, or rashes (potential allergic reaction)
Medical attention is necessary for these symptoms. Don’t attempt to wait it out or apply additional ointments.