I have two so far, and one still needs probably 2 more sessions to complete it.
1. Pain level of your tattoo, 1 to 10, 10 being the worst pain possible.
At the beginning I'd rate it a 5ish, but then you get used to it and it's not so bad, probably a 1-2. But anything close to bone is pretty rough.
2. How long did it take? To outline? To fill in? To completely heal?
My ribbon took 45 minutes of needle work total, for outline and coloring. It took a week to heal. The outline for my Nightmare one took 2 full hours, and a little over a week to heal. The second session was about 1.5 hours, and it's still healing.
3. Is there anything to numb the area, before getting stabbed to death?
I didn't use anything. The pain isn't that bad, it's mind over matter.
4. Are you happy with your results? Regrets?
I love my Nightmare one so far. I'll probably get my ribbon touched up at some point.
5. Cost?
Ribbon was $60...very cheap. You get the quality you pay for... My Nightmare tattoo is definately in the triple digits. Plus tips.
6. How do I know the right place to get it?
I saw a good tattoo I liked and I asked her where she got it. And I had heard of that shop before from other people, so I figured it was a good one. Note I got both my tattoos at 2 different shops.
7. Did you have any excessive redness/infections/irritation?
It's always going to be swollen and puffy and red right after. And I describe the day after being tattooed as just having a couple layers of skin grated off!
A couple of tips I could share may seem straight forward, but be sure to eat food and drink water before. You should bring a bottle of water to the shop with you even, because I always get light headed right at the beginning and need a 3 minute break, drink some water, then I can sit for 2 hours. Also, don't forget to breathe!
My first tattoo was a purple awareness ribbon, which represents Alzheimer's that my grandpa, and the pancreatic cancer which took my uncle. It's not a tattoo I got to show off. I got it for me, close to my heart, so I'll always remember them.
And my second, which is still in progress, is for Nightmare Before Christmas which is one of my favorite movies and I thought it would make a very neat tattoo.
P.S. - All those pics are right after I took the bandage off pretty much. The blood and extra ink did wash away.
And here's sort of where it's at now, after the second session.
Back view.
Side view.
After the first session, front view.
Here's the first..kind of hard to tell, but it is purple.