Lower back tattoos are one of the sexiest forms of body art, but with that, comes the pain that you have do endure for this privilege. People ask all the time if it's going to hurt, how much it will hurt, and how long it will hurt. Some areas will feel like a sharp pain, others like a sunburn, and yet others like a cat scratch or bee sting.
Yes, getting a lower back tattoo design hurts, as any tattoo will. Imagine being poked by a needle just once. That would hurt, right? Now think about being poked thousands of times repeatedly... you get the idea.
A tattoo machine works similar to a sewing machine, in that a foot pedal is used to turn the needle off and on. While the needle will only need to go 1/16 of an inch into the skin to be sufficient, it can be very painful in certain areas.
The first part of the tattoo, the outline, is usually the most painful. Perhaps that's because this area takes the longest. Or maybe because it's the first session of needle penetrations, and your natural endorphins haven't had a chance to kick in yet to cause you do get a little numb.
During the Process of getting the outline of a lower back tattoo, the vertebrae area is very painful because of the thin layers of skin over the bone, which feels just like what it is, a sharp poking pain. Just outside of the bony area is a different kind of, and less pain. At first it feels like a constant deep cat scratching session on the same spot. But after a few minutes, the area becomes a little numb, and therefore much more tolerable.
Toward the outside of the lower back tattoo design, the love handle area, is yet another kind of pain. This area is less painful than bony areas, and feels like a bunch of bee stings. This area will eventually become more tolerable also.
The worst of the pain instantly stops once the needle stops; you will feel like you have a sunburn though. Just let the tattoo artist know when you need a break, and he/she will stop.