My Tattoos: Meanings, Designs and Pain!

If I'm being honest, I've wanted to write this post since I got my very first tattoo what seems like an age ago (it was actually only a matter of months but it feels like ages!) but I just didn't feel right only writing about one or two. I wanted to wait until I'd had a few more tattoos before I shared them in detail with you guys and I think that now, with five different inkings on my body, is the time to do so. Now, I'll confess that I am no tattoo pro, having only got my first one early this year but they are part of my body that I love and the time is right to talk about my experiences. Obviously tattoos are not everyone's cup of tea and I appreciate that but they are most certainly my cup of tea and if you are not a fan, then please just move along and keep any negative comments to yourself. Ain't nobody got time for that, not today, no thank you.

Deathly Hallows Symbol

Location: Right-side ribs

Time taken: 15-20 minutes

Pain rating: 6/10

So, my first ever tattoo was of course, Harry Potter related. If you know me at all, you could have probably guessed this considering I read the first book when I was 5, have watched every movie back to back a million times, know literally everything about the Wizarding World and still get sad when I remember that scene with Dobby (*sobs*) - yup, Harry Potter has been a big part of my life since I was a very, very small child. Obviously this tattoo is meaningful to me; the Deathly Hallows symbol is very central to the entire story of Harry Potter and Voldemort and although I have seen some stunning Harry Potter tattoos with a lot more detail, I'm a fan of small and simple tattoos so the Deathly Hallows symbol was all I needed. 

Obviously the ribs is quite a notoriously painful place to get tattooed so it's safe to say I went all in for my first one. Tattoos are painful in general (a needle is getting dragged across your skin - of course it's not going to tickle) and the only way I can describe it is that it feels like someone is dragging little tiny scalpels across your skin over and over again. This particular location was pretty painful but it was bearable and stung a lot more than other locations. Every tattoo place has given me a different type of pain and this one was more scratchy/stingy - it hurt a lot but was bearable and didn't really hurt at all during the healing process.

Flower Outline

Location: Left forearm 

Time taken: 35-40 minutes

Pain rating: 4/10

My second tattoo is this cute little flower piece on my forearm. I got this one done at the same time as my first one (keen bean or what?!) and I loved it from the moment I saw the design. Like I said, I'm a huge fan of simple tattoos and I don't think I'd personally get any colour or too much shading in any of them so I wanted to keep this as simple as possible, hence why it is literally just an outline. Flowers are admittedly quite a "generic"or cliche thing to get tattooed but I love floral designs and I'm actually planning more floral ones because I think they're so pretty. What does this tattoo mean? Absolutely nothing. I just liked it. I'm not a fan of the idea that tattoos have to mean something very deep and personal - they are pieces of art and if I like it, I'm going to get it even if it means less than nothing. I like flowers. I like tattoos. That's the only meaning it needs for me. 

Pain wise, this was relatively painless for a tattoo. The closer to the crease in my arm that the needle got the more intense the pain was but it was never too bad and I could easily watch the tattoo get done. This is definitely the least painful out of all of my tattoos.

Mountain Landscape

Location: Right thigh

Time taken: 40-45 minutes

Pain rating: 5/10

My third tattoo was this itty bitty mountain landscape on my thigh and this was something I'd had in mind for a while. Again, there is no specific or deep meaning to this tattoo. I like to travel, mountains are one of my favourite things to see (Iceland and Montenegro have some of the most beautiful mountainous landscapes!) so in a way I guess that it's significant in that way. It's the same style as my arm tattoo with the simple outlining design but this one has some dot work added into it which turns it into a real piece of art in my opinion. 

I didn't expect this tattoo to be painful at all but oh boy I was wrong. This was very painful and I'm not sure if it was because I wasn't expecting it to be but it felt so tender and ached all the way through. It healed relatively quickly though and the pain wasn't so bad I couldn't look but do not discount this as a painful area!

The Creation of Adam

Location: Top inside of right arm

Time taken: 20 minutes

Pain rating: 7/10

My fourth tattoo is probably my favourite out of them all. It's one of those that I can't stop looking at because I love it so much and I will never, ever get tired of seeing it. This tattoo is of the hands of God and Adam in Michaelangelo's painting The Creation of Adam which is in the famous Sistine Chapel in Rome. I saw this very painting in Rome a couple of years ago and it just took my breath away. The artwork in that building is just mesmerising and although I am an atheist who does not identify as religious in any way, I just loved the way the hands were reaching out to each other and how iconic the painting is - it is a truly beautiful piece of art and I love that part of it is replicated on my body.

Pain wise, this area was very painful. The pain was kind of deep and felt like it was right under my skin (duh, it's a tattoo!) and it was extremely intense towards the top of my arm. It wouldn't put me off getting a tattoo in the same place on my other arm though so although it was painful it certainly wasn't unbearable but I imagine a larger, more detailed tattoo would hurt a lot. It might be worth me saying here that I have quite a high pain threshold and deal with pain quite well and I know that tattoo pain is different for literally everyone so this is just my experience!

The World Map

Location: Upper back

Time taken: 90-120 minutes

Pain rating: 8.5/10

My most recent tattoo is the biggest, the most detailed and the most complicated out of all of them and it is basically the world on my upper back. Again, this doesn't have a specific meaning but I love travelling and experiencing the world so it is symbolic to me in that respect. I did originally want it smaller but my tattooist who did the design made it larger and I'm so glad he did as the detailing can be seen so much more and it extends slightly up my neck which I love. It's kind of old style, the kind of style you'd expect to see on an old map and that's exactly what I wanted to go for.

This was undoubtedly the most painful tattoo I can imagine. Like my thigh I thought it was going to be a doddle after I'd had tattoos in the most infamously painful places like the rib and upper inside arm but oh my god, this flipping hurt. It was almost unbearable in some places and the only way I can describe it is that it felt like someone had a huge drilling and was drilling into my bones for 2 hours. It was one of the worst pains I've ever felt and I am no quitter and put up with most things quite well but this one very nearly made me ask for a break. I did manage to soldier through it but I would never get a back tattoo again because it was so painful, it was honestly very unexpectedly awful. However I do love my tat so it was worth the pain in the end! 

So that's my five tattoos so far! I have a lot more planned but probably won't be getting any more for a while yet but I just love having such wonderful pieces of art inked onto my own skin. All of my tattoos are done by James at Fat Panda Tattoo Studio in Bishop Auckland for anyone who is local and looking for recommendations. He designed all of them for me and does an amazing job every single time so I'd highly recommend the studio to anyone!

Amy x