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Can you feel a tattoo on your skin?

Quick Answers

Yes, you can definitely feel a tattoo on your skin. When a tattoo is first done, you will feel some pain and soreness from the needle penetrating your skin. As the tattoo heals over the next few weeks, it will feel like a scab before becoming smooth again. Even after the tattoo has fully healed, you will be able to feel it on your skin. The tattooed area may feel slightly raised or bumpy compared to the surrounding skin. With very heavy black ink, some people report being able to feel an extra thickness in that area.

What Does a Tattoo Feel Like When It’s First Done?

Getting a new tattoo is not a pain-free process. You will be able to feel the tattoo needle as it repeatedly pierces your skin and deposits ink under the surface. Most people describe the feeling as a sharp, stinging sensation. Certain bony areas like the ribs or ankles can be more sensitive and painful to tattoo.

Here’s a quick rating of how much a new tattoo hurts on a pain scale of 1 to 10:

Tattoo Location Pain Level
Outer arm 3/10
Wrist 4/10
Ankle 6/10
Ribs 8/10
Sternum 9/10

As you can see, pain levels can vary significantly depending on where on the body you get inked. Areas with lots of nerve endings and thin skin over bone will hurt the most. The outer arms and calves are generally the least painful spots for a tattoo.

Healing Sensations in a New Tattoo

In the first few days after getting a tattoo, you will feel some swelling, hotness, and tenderness around the site as it begins healing. Your skin will be extra sensitive during this time. The tattoo may feel sore, itchy, and mildly irritating. You may feel what seems like sunburn or a bad scratch in the area.

After about a week, the severe irritation dies down. A scab will form over your new ink during the second week. At this point, you’ll stop feeling much pain, but the area will feel rough and cracked. You can feel the slightly raised scab texture when you run your finger over it.

In the third and fourth weeks of healing, the scab falls off to reveal fresh ink underneath. The tattoo transitions to feeling smooth, a little leathery, and slightly bumpy or uneven compared to your natural skin. Now 2-4 weeks post-tattoo, you can clearly feel the presence of the ink when you touch the area.

Can You Feel a Tattoo Years Later?

Years after getting a tattoo, when it is fully healed, you will still be able to feel it under your skin. Here’s why:

The Ink Sits in the Dermis

When a tattoo needle injects ink, it penetrates deep through the epidermis outer skin layer down into the thicker dermis layer underlying it. The ink particles settle permanently in the dermis, which also contains the hair follicles, sweat glands, blood vessels, and collagen fibers that give skin its texture. Since this is deeper than a surface scratch or scar, you can feel the presence of the foreign ink when you touch your tattoo. An easy way to understand this is to pinch the skin on the back of your hand lightly between two fingers. The deeper dermis layer feels thicker and denser compared to the thin epidermis layer on top.

Scarring from the Needle

In addition to depositing ink in the dermis, the tattoo needle causes trauma by piercing the skin hundreds of times per minute. This damages the dermis and causes scar tissue to form. Although the scarring is minimal due to artists using precision needles and techniques, it does alter the feeling of your skin. Tattooed skin may feel slightly raised, bumpy, or textured compared to surrounding skin.

The Ink Has Weight

Even though ink is liquid, it still has weight once injected under your skin. With heavy black ink or dark shading, some people report being able to feel an extra “thickness” or density in the tattooed area. Solid black blocks in particular can feel heavier. You may not notice it visually, but you can feel a slight change compared to regular bare skin. This effect is more prominent on smaller tattoos rather than large elaborate pieces.

Factors That Affect Tattoo Sensitivity

Certain factors affect how noticeably you can feel a tattoo on your skin:

Tattoo Location

Areas like the fingers, palms, ribs, and stomach have many nerve endings close to the surface, so tattoos there feel more pronounced. Ink on meatier areas like the biceps, thighs, or back feels less obvious in comparison.

Tattoo Size

A small tattoo may feel like a raised bump or patch. Large tattoos cover more surface area so you feel their presence less distinctly.

Amount of Heavy Shading

Lots of solid black or dark shading makes a tattoo feel thicker and denser. Light colored ink does not have the same heaviness.

Your Skin Type

If you have very supple and sensitive skin, you will likely feel tattoos more noticeably. Thick or calloused skin makes it harder to feel changes from ink and scarring.

Tattoo Age

Brand new tattoos feel much more raised and distinct. Over time, they seem to flatten out and settle better into the dermis. Older tattoos generally blend in more with the natural skin.

Conclusion

In summary, the presence of foreign ink deposited deep in your dermis along with scar tissue from the tattooing process means you will always be able to feel a tattoo to some degree. Right after getting inked, the area will feel sore and tender as it heals. After a month, the sensitivity dies down but you can still notice the texture of the new tattoo under your skin. Even years later, tattoos do not disappear from sensation. You can outline the edges and contours of the artwork by touch. With heavy shading and ink-rich areas, some thickness and density is perceptible. So while the feeling of a tattoo does diminish over time, it will remain slightly raised and textured compared to bare skin throughout your life.