To Ink or not to Ink?

I just got my 7th a few months ago. I can't lie and say they didn't hurt, but then again I have a few in very painful places (my ribcage, the inside of my finger, the inside of my ankle, down the side of my forearm). My first didn't hurt, though. My cousin works at a tattoo shop so I get almost all of my work at a very discounted price which makes it hard to convince myself I don't need anything new done.

As for the family thing, my mom has a bunch of tattoos so she doesn't care. I don't think anyone else is particularly happy I'm tattooed but what can they do?

I just got my first one last week and I didn't feel anything worse than a cat scratch the whole time (I got it on the back of my shoulder) though I almost passed out due to the adrenaline rush.

My mom actually got a matching one with me the same day, but asides from her 90% of my family is against the idea of any form of tattoos that don't wash off within a day or two. I'm terrified to tell my grandmother....

After I got a Henna tattoo a couple weeks ago, I've thought more of how I wanna get a tattoo when I turn 18. I have two ideas. I want the words "hope" and "love" chained together above my ankle. My other idea is a book and guitar laying together because books/knowledge and music are very important to me. After reading through this thread and talking to my friend who has tattoos, I'm excited to turn 18 to get them.

Oh my gerrrrd, I want a couple of small simple tattoo's. My mom is completely okay with it, she's even going to take me when I'm ready. I'm just waiting to make sure that if I still them in a couple of months, I'll get them. I just do not want to regret what's going to be permanant on my body.

For the longest time, I had no interest whatsoever in tattoos because my pain threshold seemed like it would be really low but the more I thought about it as time went on (and as more and more of my friends started getting them after high school), the more I liked the idea and started coming up with really simple ideas.

The longest idea I've had - albeit a rather lame one - was of some sort of organic chemical compound because the science is very near and dear to me. The caffeine one is a suggestion that keeps coming to mind, but I'm not sure. There's another one that I want on the inside of one of my wrists/forearms (I've heard those can hurt though; does anyone have any experience with those?) with UV ink (again, anyone have experience with this?) of the luminol molecule. It hits multiple birds with one stone: luminol is a well known molecule for its chemiluminesence and its use in detecting traces of blood in forensics, plus is the title of a song by Steven Wilson, who has time and again proven to be significant in my life in some way or another.
I have others that I want that reference some other loves - a leminscate/infinity symbol with a quote from The Fault in our Stars by John Green written in cursive in part of it for my interest in maths and my love of that book, the words "inni mer syngur vitleysingur" in Jonsi's handwriting for how much I relate to that lyric, etc - but none wanted nearly as much as I want the luminol one.

Luckily I have friends who have been inked many times at professional places so it's just a matter of preparing the picture, visiting the places for quotes, and saving money at this point.

My mom got a tattoo on her leg and the needil wasn't clean and it gave her hepitice C and killed her...I plan on getting the same tattooi the same spot because it will be kind of like closher for me. But unlike my mom I'm not letting a beginner do it.

I just got my first one a few weeks ago. It is right under my left breast along my ribcage. I love how everyone always says that the ribcage is one of the most painful places but for me it really wasn't all that bad.

My latest tattoo and it's being used as a portfolio piece for the artist when he goes to conventions across the UK and Ireland.

One
Two
Three

These photos are just after it was finished, it was a four hour sitting and I passed out when I got home, still so worth it.

I'm considering getting 'strong' on me. I want it to be different, so I'm thinking about getting it in my mother's handwriting.

I'm going in for my third next week.
I have "strong" on my wrist as a tribute to someone very important to me who passed away.
My decision to get it was based on the fact that she had one on her wrist that said the same thing. I got the same font and placement and everything. Her name meant 'strong' so when I get in a weird mood it's nice to be able to look down and think of her.

On my left arm I have a pop art version of The Creature from the book Frankenstein.
It covers my forearm and I love it.

In all honesty, I've never had a tattoo that actually hurt.
I do have angelbites and I had had them a few years ago and let them grow up due to work so when I went and got my Frankenstein tattoo done, I got them re-pierced and I will say that the piercings hurt worse than the tattoo. Given, that's probably due to the scar tissue that had built up, but to me, getting inked just feels like vibrating. At the most, it's no more painful than a cat scratch.

@ Forgotten Feelings
I really love the dark shadowing around it! I could see why he would use it as a piece for his portfolio.

I got my second tattoo almost three weeks ago -- so in love with it. The first half put me to sleep, almost, but the left side (the edges wrapped and came up on my sides and over my ribs just a little) didn't just hurt, it burned. But I'm so in love with. Can't wait to go plan out my third/fourth one (one for each foot).

On that note, what do you guys consider expensive for a tattoo?

I have nothing against tattoos, but I will probably never get one. I'm way too indecisive. I don't want to get one unless I am more sure of it than anything else, like I want to settle on one definite awesome idea, but I just can't actually settle on that one idea. I have, instead, like 80 different possible ideas. I also worry about what kind of tatts I can have and still get jobs and such because I still don't know exactly what I want to do with life.

I got my first back in November. It says "You'll make it" in my mommom's handwriting from one of the last Christmas cards I got from her before she passed away the day after Christmas in 2006. After her death, everything that could have went wrong, went wrong, causing me severe depression. I'd struggled with what I was going to get to honor her, but when I was looking through the cards, it clicked and I knew that's what I wanted.

Since I'm planning on trying to do the Disney College Program, most of my tattoos are going to have to wait since they are visible but I am hoping to get an anchor on my rib cage for my grandfather who was in the navy sometime soon. I have about 18 planned as of right now. It's a good thing I'm going to become a makeup artist so it's not really frowned upon to be inked up.

 there is no "expensive tattoo" unless you are paying for a name. better quality comes with a bigger price and if you aren't willing to save up for it, then you shouldn't be getting a tattoo. some advice would be to always respect the artist and be willing to work with him/her on the design. an experienced tattoo artist will give you outside advice on more effective placement, font size/style, how it will age, etc. plus if they like you, they may charge you less :D most importantly, don't over-think a design too much in advance, or you will be bored with the outcome.

as of current, I have three tattoos but they're all pretty decent in size and I definitely do not regret any of them.

covering my calf I have a stylized nautical star with each of my family members' birth colors incorporated into it and it was done in such a way that more colors can be added in the future without looking unfinished. the phrase "mar thoradh ar gach bóthar do bhaile" is tattooed right beneath the star and means "all roads lead to home" in Irish, one of my many ancestral roots. 
the lyrics to Flogging Molly's "If I Ever Leave This World Alive" scroll down from my neck to my lower back. I did not get this tattoo because I like the song, but rather the symbolism that in face of devastatingly dark and alone times, things will always get better. this song struck me most right after my great grandmother passed, when I had a not-so-ideal coming out, and when all of the people I associated myself with essentially forgot about me.
on a lighter note, haha, my sister and I got "matching" tattoos. they're chickadees with the phrase "Oh, The Places We'll Go" somewhere with it. the words are based off of a book by Dr. Seuss; a book that my sister's mom gave her when she graduated and the book that my sister gave to me when I graduated. as for the chickadees, when we were little, we always thought that the chickadees were calling our name just because we both have two syllable names and we were all narcissistic at that age. mine covers the entire inside of my forearm with a flying chickadee and her's covers the top of her foot with a sitting chickadee that has a fleur de lis shadowed in it's back.
as for future tatts, I would like to get half sleeves with two horses on each arm that are colored to match the four horsemen. behind them, there will be the cemetery from Metallica's third album and the lightning from their second album. that band has taught me so much and allowed me to grow into myself, for myself. 
I also want the chemical structure for the gliadin protein in the gluten compound tattooed on my upper right abdomen to symbolize my Celiac Desease.
Aaaaaaaand, lol, on the backs of my forearms I would like the flowers and leaves of different spices and flavorings, especially vanilla and cardamom, to represent my passion in patisserie and baking.

I apologize for the length of comment, lol, I'll be done now.

@ the world to come.
About the forearm/wrist tattoos, I've got two on each arm - one on my forearm and one on my wrist. The wrist one hurt quite a lot, especially the shading, but the fact that it was painful for me doesn't mean it'll be painful for you - my best friend got the same tattoo on her wrist as well and she says it didn't hurt that much... though I think she's lying haha.
The one on my forearm didn't hurt at all, I could barely feel it.
The closest the skin is to the bone - the more it hurts.

I have five tattoos, and I regret none of them. I have plenty of ideas for more as well, just need the money first.

My first tattoo reads "Memora nos omnes morimur," which roughly translates to remember we all die, or explain that we all die exactly. It's my own way of reminding myself to cease the day.

I got my second tattoo in a very go big or go home sort of way. It's a chest piece of a geisha with half of a new school zombie face. There are purple anemone flowers on both sides. It's truly a piece I got to resemble all of the women in my family. As grotesque as it sounds, I've watched most of my idles be beautiful and inspiring, but as I grew older I began to realize a lot of things about them that changed my opinion. There are two sides, both beautiful and grotesque, and my tattoo reminds me of that struggling reality.

My third ended up being a mario star behind my left ear that I got on a whim. It's something that I planned on getting for a while, but when I went off to college it became a bonding experience for me and a roommate. I learned how to blow bubbles with bubble gum the same day I got my first Mario star as a child, my cousin taught me, and it reminds me of how close the two of us are.

My fourth has to be the one I hold closest to my heart, it's my son's birthday in roman numerals across my wrist. I got matching tattoos with my fiance, his includes our son's astronomical sign.

Lastly, I got my most recent tattoo for my birthday in January. It's my Harry Potter tribute tattoo. It's a pretty skull with a golden key with wings behind it, a banner reading "There's no such thing as magic," around it. I look at it and smile, because Uncle Vernon was very wrong. There was magic, and Harry Potter was a hero.

I plan on getting another matching tattoo with my fiance as soon as we have $260 to spare, haha. Gonna get anatomically correct hearts with a clock in the background, instead of the hands pointing to a roman number it's gonna point to an infinity symbol. The design is pretty sick, comes with being friends with your tattoo artist I suppose haha.

Just felt like sharing. :)

My mom hates them. She told me I could go and sandpaper my chest piece off right after I got it done. She said I better do it while I still had the chance, haha. She's gotten use to the fact that I use my body as a canvas though. She just shakes her head and smiles at me whenever I get a new one.

@ Masha Mikhailovna
The one on my wrist felt "uncomfortable" when I could feel the needle over the bone, but it was not my most painful.


That was my back. When he went over my spine, I cried a little (silently). When I saw how bad he fucked up the heart, I got pissed, too. I'm getting that fixed. I'm thinking of getting the world in it. I'm hoping it's easy enough to cover. It was supposed to fade in from dark to light pink. Fucking incompetency.

For painful tattoos, the first tattoo I got was My Chemical Romance lyrics on my forearms:

And my first words were "Wow, that's not as sore as I thought." and my brother (who was paying for it for my birthday) and the tattoo artists burst out laughing. It felt more uncomfortable than sore for me.

My second tattoo was my chest piece (which I'm going to add more to):

That was agony when it got to the middle of my chest and I swear I came close to just telling the woman to stop, even if it meant I was walking about with half a tattoo. That's the reason I'm hesitant to add more, because I know it'll hurt! But it's gonna be a disney/ghibli piece and I want some soot sprites and a mickey and minnie symbol but I'm hoping to get them after my trip to Disney World next year.

My third was the first part of my half-sleeve on my left arm:

It took three hours and the first two hours were fine but oh sweet baby jesus was the third hour agony. I was bleeding quite bad so he had to keep going over bits because the ink was getting pushed out so my skin was really raw and I was worried we'd need to stop and I'd have to come back but thankfully we pushed through and I now absolutely love it, though I'd like to get colour added in the future.

I'm getting my next tattoo on Tuesday, which is going to be a multi-coloured feather quill with the words 'Don't Let It End' and my mums booked me a slot at a really popular tattoo place for my 20th in January and I'm going to get the start of my half-sleeve on my right arm, which is going to be a compass surrounded by roses and flowers with the words 'I Am Where I Need To Be'.

I personally think it's your own decision whether to or not you want a tattoo. I don't think tattoos should cause as much controversy as they do. They are a form of self expression and usually have personal meanings to the person. I don't think they should restrict job opportunities or cause problems.
But I know, judgement is just part of reality, and I truly wish it wasn't.
I personally think tattoos are wonderful and I love learning about the meanings behind them. I'm all for artistic expression.
And I know that in many cases people regret their tattoos, but again, it's their decision. Before getting a tattoo, it's up to you to think about the consequences.
The only thing I don't really support is the whole getting your boyfriend or girlfriend's name tattooed. Don't get me wrong, it's sweet, but there have been far too many cases where couples break up and their stuck with their ex's name permanently on their body. I would personally wait until marriage, or when you both feel truly committed to each other in a relationship before getting matching tattoos for each other.

@ amber extermination.
I wouldn't even do it in marriage. I have my ex's initials inked on me. Marriage isn't a guarantee you won't get divorced. My mom has been married to the same guy twice. They're getting corresponding tattoos together. (But people can put whatever ink they want on their body. I wouldn't get a face tattoo, but I wouldn't stop anyone either.)

I've decided that if I want to get a tattoo with significance with a significant other, we'll just go get our own ink done at the same time. That's more of a bonding experience, I would think.