06/06/2026
THIS IS A BLOG POST: THE TEXT IS LONG, BUT I HIGHLY RECOMMEND READING IT TO THE END!
Through Decades of Experience: Time Limits, Craftsmanship, and Respect for Art in Tattooing
Hello,
Today, I am penning this article based on the experience gathered from decades dedicated to this profession and working on thousands of different skins. My intention is neither to praise myself nor to form fancy sentences; it is simply to lay bare the realities behind the scenes of the tattoo process from an artist's perspective, in a clear and understandable language. I believe that anyone who wants to have a lifetime signature put on their body should know these dynamics.
The Real Counterpart of the Question "When Will It Be Finished?"
Let's come to that impatient question we hear most often during a tattoo, sometimes even appearing as "Brother, isn't it finished yet?". Working on a living tissue, I certainly understand this question humanly at moments when the pain threshold is pushed. However, the answer a professional artist can give to this question can never be a definitive hour.
To speak frankly: During a session, an operation which we say "15 minutes left" just to get through the moment, sometimes takes another 1 to 1.5 hours when we return to reality. This is not stalling; on the contrary, it is a requirement of the respect felt for that body and the work being done. Because that extra time is needed for that work to finish properly and with depth. That extra half hour or one hour of patience you will show on that table means that the mark will remain constant and flawless on your body for years to come.
The Phenomenon of Pain and the "Break" Myth: Why Taking a Break Actually Hurts More?
Most people want to take frequent breaks during a tattoo to escape the pain. Although the logic of "Let me stop for 10 minutes and relax my mind" sounds nice, I am telling you based on my decades of experience: Taking frequent breaks does not reduce the pain; on the contrary, it multiplies it.
During a tattoo, the body and mind get used to that stable, rhythmic level of pain after a while. When you get up and take a break, that stability is reset, your adrenaline level drops, and the tissue that has begun to get irritated cools down. When you sit back down at the table 10 minutes later, your pain hurts two or even three times more when the needle re-enters that irritated area for the first time.
Therefore, the fewer breaks the process has, and the more it goes in blocks and fluently, the more bearable the pain remains. When your pain truly reaches an unbearable point, you can already express this; besides, an experienced artist senses your situation even before you say it from the reactions of your body, the structure of the skin, and your contractions. However, taking refuge in casual breaks just to escape the pain will make the process much more difficult for you.
No Need to Push the Boundaries: Splitting the Tattoo into Sessions
What if, despite everything, your pain threshold is completely worn out and you can no longer endure it? That is exactly where one must know how to stop. There is absolutely no need to push yourself incredibly hard or contract excessively on the table. There is a threshold, and the moment that threshold is crossed, the ground slips away. The person already feels this within themselves, and an experienced artist clearly understands from the body's reactions that the situation is starting to get out of control.
The body losing control and contracting means that the skin becomes excessively deformed, preventing healthy work. When it comes to this point, the right thing to do is to leave the work half-done for that moment. We spread the process over time so that the area can completely heal and the cells can regenerate. We wait for the tattoo to heal fully, then plan a new session to enter the area again. Extending the tattoo into sessions is not a loss; it is the most professional decision for both your health and the quality of the artwork.
The Aura of the Tattoo: Escaping Pain vs. Embracing the Artwork
Lately, methods completely aimed at distancing from pain, such as temporary numbing creams or completely putting people to sleep to cover their entire body, have cropped up in the industry. Although they seem to work in the short term, we have seen repeatedly that these methods provide no lasting benefit in the long run.
According to my own philosophy and professional thinking, a tattoo should not be reduced to something this simple. There should be a sensation, a lived experience during the production phase of something that will remain on your body for a lifetime. That controlled pain felt at that moment actually allows the person to embrace that artwork, builds an unbreakable bond between them and the tattoo, and keeps it strong in the mind in terms of its permanence. A tattoo has its own unique aura, and this aura cannot exist without that process being experienced. Just as a welder's work loses its soul and "authenticity" without that light, that heat, and that roughness produced while welding; a tattoo also remains just a flat paint without the sensation of the moment that needle meets the skin. The nature of this business has always been like this, and it should remain like this.
Contrary to What is Thought: Why Does the Pain Threshold Drop as the Number of Tattoos Increases?
Another sentence of astonishment that I hear very often from guests sitting at my desk is this: "Brother, my first tattoo didn't hurt this much, why does it hurt more now?"
Yes, getting older over time may also have an effect, but there is one certain fact: As your number of tattoos increases, your pain threshold gradually drops down. There is a very serious difference in pain between the first tattoo and the 20th tattoo.
The reason for this is entirely our psychological and hormonal defense mechanism. In the first tattoo, a person sits on the chair with incredible excitement, unfamiliarity, and high expectations. Because the body does not know what it will encounter at that moment, it creates an intense hormonal shield, keeps itself tight, resistant, and goes on the defensive. When the needle is struck and it encounters a pain less than expected, the person feels as if "it doesn't hurt at all". In other words, the pain you experience in your first tattoo is actually one of the lowest pains you will receive in your life (although it changes depending on the area made, the basic rule is this). In subsequent tattoos, because the mind already knows the process and that first wave of excitement—that hormonal protective shield—is gone, the body perceives the pain much more nakedly, directly, and sharply.
The Big Reality on the Table: Pain Comparison of Female and Male Anatomy
Since we have entered the subject of pain, I also want to touch upon another reality that I have clearly observed during the sessions: Women are much more resistant to pain and long tattoo sessions than men.
This is not just my opinion; it is an anatomical and biological reality. The creation, nature, and structure of the skin and fat layers of women are much more resistant to these kinds of fine, minimal, and continuous needle pains. When I compare them with men, there is a serious endurance ratio of almost five to one between them.
Up to this day, there has not been a single female client who got up from my table saying "I can't stand it" and left it halfway. There were those who suffered pain, those who struggled, and those with whom we took breaks, but they did not flee from that chair. However, I unfortunately cannot say the same for men; I have seen many men who left the session halfway and fled the studio without looking back.
The most interesting and ironic part of the matter is this: Those who come to the studio and panic the most are usually women. Especially from women who will have their first tattoo, I frequently hear sentences like "My life is very sweet, there is no way I can stand it, I am very sensitive". They sit on the chair with tremendous mental stress. However, the moment the needle touches the skin, they are surprised and say "Oh, was this reaction just this much? I was expecting something much worse", and they complete the session for hours without a peep. In men, they usually sit on the chair with great self-confidence, and a state of surrender is experienced as the duration extends. (Of course, there is a small exception for women here; their pain thresholds may be slightly lower than their normal times during their special periods when they are hormonally more sensitive, it is necessary to state this as well.)
Cheaply Rushed Jobs or Lasting Art?
If I wanted to, I could reduce those extending processes to 15 minutes. I could pass over the paints superficially, skip the fine details, and finish the job by quickly slapping it together. Today, unfortunately, there are many tattooists in the market who work in this way, focusing only on delivering the job hurriedly. However, my priority as an artist has never been to "finish quickly".
What is essential for me is that the artwork I make looks beautiful just like the first day for many years, receives praise when looked at from the outside, and that the person carrying that tattoo feels valuable whenever they see a quality piece of art on their body.
The Fundamental Principle: Empathy and the Struggle for the "Best"
While working, I always act with this fundamental sense of empathy: "If this tattoo were to be on my own body, how would I want it to be done?"
I put myself entirely in your shoes. Whatever the best tattoo that can be done in that area, in that style, and on that idea is, I struggle for it. This is why I process the depths, the subtleties, and the smallest details one by one. Because a job of a quality that I would not carry on my own body has no place on your body either.
For a signature that you will carry with pride for long years, that time to be spent and endured on the table loses you nothing; on the contrary, it gains you a lifetime of quality. Do not limit your artist with time; let the work finish when it should, with the value it deserves.
Sincerely,
Musa Dükel
