Less hurt tattoo areas depends on a lot of different things, including placement, style, and even age and gender.

The more accurate answer to “does getting a tattoo hurt?”, though, is that it’s complicated.

Not all tattoos or body placements cause pain equally, and there are a lot of factors that affect the amount of pain you experience.

This article will explain everything you need to know about tattoos and pain.

6 Places That Hurt the Least to Get a Tattoo

#1 Less hurt tattoo – Upper back

The upper back is the perfect canvas for a large tattoo because it’s not nearly as sensitive as the rest of the body. As long as you avoid the spine, an upper back tattoo will go smoothly. The only rough part about a tattoo here is sleeping for the first few days.

#2 Less hurt tattoo – Outer Arm

The upper arm and shoulder are large, meaty areas that don’t have a lot of sensitivity. That’s why sleeve tattoos are very common here, the arm can withstand quite a bit of pain and will recover quickly.

#3 Upper Outer Thigh

Our thighs have thick skin, lots of fat and muscle, and not very many nerve endings, making the upper outer thigh the least painful place to get a tattoo. Most people report feeling low to medium pain here.

#4 Less hurt tattoo – Butt

The butt is relatively painless to get tattooed. There’s plenty of fat and muscle to absorb the pain of the needle, and there aren’t any bones that will get in the way. The only tricky part about a butt tattoo is the healing process, since it’s difficult to air it out.

#5 Forearm

Your forearm has very thick skin and not that many nerve endings. This is a good place to get a tattoo if you don’t want to go through so much pain, however, don’t go down to the wrist because that’s one of the most painful places.

#6 Calves

Our calves have a good amount of fat and muscle, and not very many nerve endings. Calf tattoos aren’t that painful, and you’ll have a relatively easy healing process.