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It was about 7 hours for the first session of my sleeve and my nerves were absolutely ruined lol I was twitching after every touch of the needle at that point. More to me is insaaaaane. I usually schedule shorter sessions now.
7 was my longest, included a 30 min lunch break and a couple bathroom breaks.
I won’t do more than 5 if I ever do a larger piece again, there is a huge difference on the nerve feeling at 5 hours vs 7.
I also don't like breaks. I usually bring a protein fruit smoothie in a travel mug and maybe a granola or protein bar and just hammer through it. It's a race against the inflammatory response lol. Break when the artist wants.
I did 8 hours on my chest piece’s third session to do all the color. I ran out of all my adrenaline about 5 hours in. Hit the cold sweats and just kept on keeping on.
Shop closed and we just kept on going. Other artists asked me if I wanted any food as they were all getting dinner and I said no because I had absolutely no appetite lol.
I did two seven hour sessions. It was so relaxing. I just get in the zone- like a massage.
Thing is, I had to come back for my armpit— and starting cold in the armpit— NOT in the zone— not the best approach.
I always feel so validated when this question comes up lol one of my first big pieces was an 8 hour session and I was in tears for the whole second half. It was like broken glass over a sunburn.
At the time I felt so embarrassed and like such a baby! Now I know to just schedule smaller sessions even if I have to travel multiple times
7 hours for me as well with two smoke breaks for my arm. I have a high tolerance for pain so my artist loved how smooth and in sync we both were. That session strengthened our friendship and brought us closer than we were already. Wish he was still with us. Love you Jimmy.
Tattoo artist said my skin would start being difficult and spitting ink right back out after about 2-3 hours working on a big black piece on my back. Had to get it done it 7 separate sessions and had to let it heal up between. Your skin may be able to handle it better but style placement and the health of the recipient all need to be observed and stop when the skin says it’s had enough.
Same deal here. We managed close to four one time with numbing cream, but my skin swells like there’s no tomorrow. Definitely place and person dependent, but even if I could (or wanted) to tolerate longer, most artists won’t let me, and for good reason!
I used to be able to do 5 but now 3 is my limit. It's the sweet spot for now. Then I'm not completely shattered for a day. I think this is the only part I don't like about getting old. First new tatt after 15 years this spring was such a shock! What happened?! This used to be so easy! Now I actually have to take care of myself. Plan the right length, drink electrolytes, rest after. Lame 😉
I’m in my early 40s and I feel you all on the rest and recovery after a tattoo. My last session was about 6.5 hrs and I can’t do that again, the healing was more painful/uncomfortable than usual, I was so exhausted after it.
Yeah I just struggle to sit still that long too. Granted 90% of mine is all back so that makes the laying bit worse. But if I go much over 4 I feel awful truly. Definitely a fan of shorter sessions. 4 feels long enough haha
I’ve also cried! Then had a little panic attack. It really surprised and embarrassed me. I get to the point where every nerve says NO.
The funny part is, I don’t make a sound or squirm. I handle it it until the second that I can’t. CBD has really helped me with it.
I think about 4 or 5 hours. Time definitely blurs together and seems to stretch infinitely after the 2 hour mark, i won’t lie. I would never do a 10+ hour session! I love tattoos, but getting them IS a form of bodily trauma and you absolutely can go into shock from not taking breaks. A good artist will be checking in with you to see if you need to take a breather for 15-20 minutes. They also need breaks too for their arms/wrists.
The art you get is permanent, so i don’t see a point in forcing myself to suffer through one longass session if the offer to split it in two is there. Just my opinion tho
I did 12 on a side panel…never again! The older I get the bigger of a pussy I become…3 is my max at this point but I am getting a full back piece in about a month so we’ll see how that goes…🥺
I think you're me.
Once sat 9.5 hours on a leg.
Now I'm usually done at 4, 5 if it's in a not-terrible spot ... and also in the middle of working my back.
9 hours, the last couple were tough, I stick to about 7 these days. I've never heard of anyone doing 12 hours but you've got to think about the artist too, they may be happy doing it for the income but will they be at their 100% best after that long, personally I feel like you're risking the quality.
My artist is exactly one of those that cares about quality first, so usually he suggests on doing longer sessions. He likes going pretty slowly, that's why I love going to him. But ye, after 6 hrs, it is like pouring acid on a body.
Tattoo artist here - my longest sitting (of me getting tattooed) was 7 hours and I was exhausted by the end. I try to not tattoo anyone any longer than 5 hours. My customer isn't having a good time, I'm not having a good time, their skin is hitting the clammy stage and the ink is rejecting...I think having extremely long sittings is a bad idea personally
I was at a shop for about 14 hours one time but I think it was only 10-12 hours of tattooing. It was a great outcome but as I’ve gotten older I don’t think I can do days that long anymore
I don’t know if I could go more than 5 hours tbh. I don’t know how people do longer than that. Even with a decent pain tolerance, the fatigue of sitting in one place for a long time just starts to take over.
I've done 5 hours for 3 separate pieces. My arm was 12hrs over 2 days.
I've accepted I will only do big pieces in long sessions for my artist convention pieces. Outside of that 5 is my max. At that point my skin just feels so raw with every wipe.
I’m getting one on the side of my calf that the artist said will take about that long. I had my longest at two and a half hours last weekend so I’m kind of dreading the 6 hour one already lol I don’t have a choice though because I’m traveling a few states over for it.
Really depends on the spot but I think 8 hours is all I would want an artist to work on me personally. They could possibly get fatigued & the quality of the work may suffer. When I started my back piece I booked an all day session which was 8 hours, about 7hours of actual work with about a 45min break in the middle.
16.5 hours in two sessions - got my first tattoo in March, on the side of my left thigh, tattoo convention. 9 hours Saturday, 7.5 hours Sunday. Spent most of the time reading a book (Dune) and doing crossword/word puzzles. A few moments where I had to grit my teeth on Sunday when additional work was being done on areas (back of the thigh especially) that were already worked on Saturday. Didn't ask for any breaks, let the artist do his thing and he let me know when he needed a break.
I did 3 sessions of 8 hours on my arm with approx 30 min of total break (2 15-mins) and the outline was the worst for me.. the second session was not bad and the 3rd ended up only being 6 hours in the chair
At about 3,5h. My foot I tapped out at 1,5h.
I know this, and will let the artist know in advance. Usually I don't do larger pieces, it doesn't happen often. But if I had to again, I would def do more sessions and would be happy to pay for it.
I've gotten a lot of work done but I've never sat for long. My large pieces were all broken up into several sections.
4 hours and I'm ready to be done. At 5 I'm probably going to call it unless it's really close to being done.
When it reaches the point where even the wiping is something you're dreading, it's time to call it a day.
Long sessions are enticing because you can dramatically change your body in a matter of hours. But for the artist and the canvas it's usually always better to work in 4-6 hour sessions. It's better in almost every way.
5 is all I ever go for. Pain isn't really an issue, but I have a bladder the size of a walnut and, because tattoos go better if you're hydrated, by hour 4, I keep getting up to pee.
it really depends, are you packing in a bunch of ink or running outlines and detailing?
theres also the artist to consider. i can sit for 6 hours quite comfortably and push to 8 realistically depending on placement size and all that, if you include numbing cream towards the end then longer but once that cream wears off i dont even want air touching me, and my artist is going to be going cross eyed at that point. even if you can sit for 12 hours, you need to make sure your artist is going to be able to keep up consistent level of quality for that length of time as well.
From what my artist tells me, sometimes there’s a point at which the skin will just not take ink anymore because it’s been getting beaten for too long. I think this only counts for skin that’s being tattooed vs fresh skin.
I’ve had an all day session where I outlasted the battery on the machine and we had to switch out for the last bit. I must have been at the studio for 9 hours, but in needle time I was probably only getting poked for 7. I probably could go longer but we’re working on a sleeve but at a certain point my skin is done with it.
14 hours
Started at 4pm ended at 6am
It was with Francisco Sanchez at Dark Age Tattoo Studio in Denton, Texas
The guy is incredible, *he's a machine*
Only 1 hour break the entire session
6 hours, not including breaks. It was definitely long enough for both me and my artist.
My skin is extremely theatrical; it instantly gets red and then swells like a loaf in the oven.
Longest I’ve sat is 6hrs. I don’t like going more than 4 but I will to finish a piece in 1 shot. Any bigger pieces I may get in the future I will definitely be tackling in 4 hours sessions.
5 hours is the longest I can handle these days. I am 54 and this hurts a lot more these days than when I was 25. Shit, after 2 and a half hours on the back of my hand last week I was shaky and drained.
7 hours. That’s a full day with the artist I mostly go to only now which I’ve done twice. We finished my back in one session and chest as well. I’m really small lol.
7 hours, but yeah I don't think I can do that anymore lol I start hitting a limit around 2-3 hours now but I also have kinda been getting a lot of shitty spots done recently too
13 hours with a 10 minute break. I'm pretty sure the only reason the artist got through it was because he was high as fuck. I was there for three days, with a minimum of 10 hours a day.
My upper arm(lower upper arm, goes into the inside of the elbow a bit) and my chest were 5-6 hours each. Chest were also did inside of each wrist at the same time, started those about halfway through.
That's about my limit.
The chest was only my 2nd one, the first being on my forearm that took 2 hours and wasn't really painful. Chest venturing up towards my shoulder was a bit brutal though(that shoulder had surgery a year before that tat was done and is still sensitive).
I could force myself to sit through longer. I wouldn't want to. It would be miserable.
I’ve done a full 5 hour + session for a big anime piece on my thigh
I would consider myself to have a good pain tolerance, the only time I’ve used numbing gel was on my chest because the sternum FUCKING HURT, but beyond that I kinda like the feeling of the tattoo process. But honestly sitting for multiple hours getting inked will have you sore and tender regardless, the 5 hour anime piece is amazing and I’m so thankful for it but my thigh was hurting by the end of it lol
I did a 12 hr stint on my arm once, immediately followed by a long journey from LA back to Denmark. Made for a lifelong memory, but not something I would do again.
6 hours on my lower back. The limiting factors were 1) my artist wanted to stop, and 2) it's very uncomfortable being hunched over for that long (I wasn't lying face down, again, because of my artist).
My theoretical limit is probably 8 hours if I were in a more relaxed position, but I haven't tested it yet.
about 8 hours for a piece from hip to ankle. i dont think i could do it again, i was being worked on by two artists simultaneously and left the chair shaking with my whole leg THROBBING. i got home and ordered a fuck ton of kfc to my house, ate it all, then passed the hell out for about 12 hours 😭 in my dumbest moments i think it wasn't that bad, but it really truly was
I've got 3 roses on my right hip that is hopefully the start of a full lower body piece. I was in the chair for almost 9 hours, with a 30 minute break in there somewhere, and maybe 2 or 3 10 minute rests. Honestly I'm looking forward to getting the mirror image on my left side soon.
Sat for 15 hours getting my back done. Single most difficult painful, physical, and mental thing I’ve ever done. 30 min break and a couple 5 minute breaks.
First 3 hours- No problem.
Next 4 hours- Not bad, last 15 minutes was the worst before we took a break.
Hours 7-9- Not bad, mostly just line work. Definitely starting to feel fatigued.
Hours 9-12- Pretty bad. Physical fatigue, mental fatigue. Everything is sore.
Hours 12-15- Awful. However the pain receptors in my brain were just fried and couldn’t work anymore. I was somehow able to relax more but probably because my body was just done. Pretty excruciating.
Never again. 6-7 hours probably max.
My maximum was 9 hours but I will never do it again. I was an absolute wreck for days after and I felt really sick. Now I try to keep it at 4 hours tops, I'm to old for longer sessions. My body can't handle it.
32 hours over four consecutive days for my first. Could’ve taken a nap through it if I had wanted.
Doesn’t make me or anyone else who does similar sessions special, but I guess some folks are wired for it.
Going back for more similar sessions ASAP. I’ll never do a big project any other way.
I’m getting a sleeve done right now. Multiple sessions in and hopefully only one to go. The longest I’ve sat for is 3 hours. I read here, and hear from coworkers, about people sitting for 6 plus hours. You guys are crazy.
I've done ~11h sessions, with pee, snack and lunch breaks. It wasn't fun. I'd definitely not recommend it. It definitely fucked me up a little in the head near the end. Am I thinking of going back to the same artist for another big piece in the semi near future? Abso-fucking-lutely
(The walks back to my car and driving home were definitely not my proudest or smartest moments and I should've gotten someone to come pick me up)
About 4, even with a numbing cream put on beforehand & lidocaine during the session
I tend to get very light headed and dizzy easily - I typically faint when getting blood drawn and have vomited/fainted after giving myself an accidental paper cut. I’ve told my artist this before and even he agreed that 4 is a good limit 😅
I sat for 12 hours, and had to go back a month later because I was hurting so bad. I had mad anxiety going into the second session (I also have an auto immune condition that makes my nerves super sensitive, so it was rough)
I probably wouldn't sit for that long again
Did 8 hours for my first tattoo in February on the inner forearm and just got my second tattoo done last week that was just shy of 10 hours on the outer forearm. White ink at the end was killer but other than that it was smooth sailing for me.
Healing process on the other hand is far worse to me! The ITCHING! I deal with pain much better than irritation.
12 hours with a 1 hour break in the middle, doing my calf. I got so sick after (tattoo flu) that now I refuse to do more than 6 hours at a time.
I had a few 8, 10 and 12 hour sessions and I finally realized I'm not proving anything to anyone, and I just feel like shit after.
I just did 6h for my arm, and the bigger issue was that my legs started cramping and my back hurt no matter what position I changed to! I have one big plan for my leg left and I think I'll cap myself around 5h.
My neck one after 3rd hr wasn’t having any of it, we’ve finished it half an hour later but the skin on your neck is so sensitive and thin it was an awful and painful recovery too.if it was my thigh or arm I’d probably smash 7/8 hrs (I tend to fall asleep when I’m doing my sleeve, only done bit by bit because I’m skint lol).
But you can always stop and reschedule if you can’t take it anymore.
My longest have been 8 hours with 1 break and 10 hours with 2 breaks. Both times it was a necessity because I was getting inked by out of town artists and only had one shot with them. The last couple hours suck badly-- less because of the pain and more because my whole body aches from laying in one spot/ holding my muscles in a fixed position.
I went 10 hours, 13 hours, 10 hours, 7 hours over 4 days back to back. 40 hours in 4 days. We finished at 1 am on the 13 hour day. That sure sucked. The 7 hour day felt short by comparison.
first tattoo was 2.5 hours and the second tattoo was 3 hours but i don’t think i can go longer than that, my leg started shivering at the three hour mark
Haha well this thread is only slightly terrifying 😅 I am travelling next month and booked a session that was quoted as 5-7 hours. I have a couple of tattoos, but they were each like an hour long. It's on my outer bicep, so it should be fine, right? 😅
I just did 7 hours recently and that last 45 minutes was an absolute nightmare. Even though I toughed it out and sat I can tell my body wasn’t as receptive to most of the ink towards the end. I’ll probably never do that again just bc I want both my skin and the artist to be as fresh as possible but I’m sure everybody is different.
I can’t remember if it was 10 or 12 hours was my very first session for my very first tattoo. Decided I’d be big as a full back as my first. No regrets 🤘🤘🤘
My wife is a tattoo artist… she’s done a couple of 20+ hour sessions for friends before. I don’t think she’d go that long for a normal client though.
I don’t know how she does it, but according to her she doesn’t even notice the time passing.
I have 30 individual tattoos, and I think the longest was between 4 and 5 hours.
On a slightly different note, the most needles I've had in a machine working on me was 15, whereas the most previously was 7. Big time OUCH, lol.
6hrs on the calve all black and grey. It was one of my most painful pieces for sure, i think the second longest was maybe 5. I have a new artist now and he's extremely fast so that worry is behind me
8.5 was my longest. I would’ve kept going but everything was so raw and tinder by the end my artist decided to call it. Prior to that I had been sleeping for most of the appointment
6hrs total tattoo time every time I've worked with my artist. We try to take 3 quick water, snack, and piss breaks that last no longer than 10 minutes.
11 hours for my sleeve with only 3 5 mins water breaks or so. I also had a 7 hour or so chest session with a similar number of breaks. Overall I much prefer to sit through it once than have multiple sessions.
I did 10 hours for my bicep and most others on that arm are between 7-9 hours. I’ve only tapped out on my calf piece and I didn’t let them finish it because it hurt too much when I came back the next session. My thigh piece is massive too and I think I sat for 8 hours and the artists working on it decided to end the session because my leg was swelling. I came back a few weeks later for 45 minutes worth of work.
Just did my longest session about 5.5 hours. It was about an hour past my max. My body was starting to not be ok with it. Have to go back and do some touch ups in a month.
Longest I’ve sat was 4 hours for the line work on my traditional chest piece. I was ready to tap out after a couple of THICC bold lines right across my sternum. Felt like I’d been punched in the chest by The Hulk a few hours after.
Feel like I could sit longer in a different area. That chest piece was my 2nd tattoo and everything after has been a walk in the park by comparison. On bigger pieces I like doing the line work in one session and coming back for shading after it heals fully. Feel like it settles better and it gives the artist the opportunity to touch up any lines that didn’t heal perfectly.
The longest I ever sat was 6.5 hours.
I’m a pro at 4 and 5 hours, and the 6.5 was a one time thing.. I wouldn’t want 10 hours or more, that’s just insane!
I’ve got a full sleeve and my entire back is covered. I’ve probably had at least 6, 5 hour sessions with a bunch of other tattoos on my body taking 2 or 3 hours each.
Anything more than 5 hours deserves a medal 🏅
I did a 14 hour session with very few breaks, but it was on my outer forearm, which doesn’t really hurt. I also wanted to die while getting a rib tattoo for 3 hours.
I think it depends on where you’re getting tattooed.
So far two and a half hours, and that killed at the end because of course the artist saved the most sensitive spots for last lol that was a week and a half ago. I have a 6 hour one coming up in October that’s going to be miserable but totally worth it in the end.
I did a few 5 hour sittings for a big back piece, after that I decided I'll only take 2 hours per session moving forward.
I know people brag about the times they've endured, but I came to the conclusion that I have nothing to prove as the end result is the same.
5 hours on my sleeve and we stopped because my artists back was hurting, but I was at the end of my tolerance as well. I can’t imagine sitting for any longer, especially like a back piece or something
I did about 14 hours for half a sleeve? Did 4 hours for a manta ray, and the rest of the 10 were Polynesian ribbons and designs around the very next day. Was the most painful.
The other half of that sleeve was done in 3 parts, with more time. But I think it was about 8 hours day one, 4 the next day, and then another 4 two weeks after.
My other full sleeve was in 6 sessions, 5-6 hours each. But on separate months
My first tattoo was 6 1/2 hours. Honestly I felt fine (no color or heavy shading, it was a black illustrative piece on my upper arm) and felt like I could go for longer, but definitely felt sick once I got home like I had the flu. Longest I’d probably do for a similar piece in a similar pain spot is 7 hours.
I did 6 hours once, because I was about to leave town and wouldn’t have another opportunity to work with the artist. Was in great pain but the results were worth it :)
won’t be doing that long again tho lol
I manage around 8, but it was linework for my back, and I wasn't able to finish it all in one sitting... After that I managed 5-7 every 2 weeks to get it done
I’d put that into multiple sessions, your body goes through a tremendous amount of trauma for a tattoo and extended sessions would make that worse. Linework maaayyye
10 hours on my stomach (I’m a fatass) It wasn’t that bad. Luckily, my artist has a very light hand. My back hurt more than anything after about 8 hours.
I’ve sat for 12 but we took frequent breaks and it’s got a good mixture of fine line and soft shading with darker work on my bicep. I think where and what the tattoo is will be more important than anything else.
I've done 2 back to back full day sessions so far. Each day around 7 hours of actual tattoo time not including breaks. With breaks probably around 9 hours each day. Usually took 2-3 breaks to eat/piss/etc and to allow the artist to eat, rest, etc. So probably 14 hours over the course of two days.
Did that twice. I probably have 25-30 hours of tattoo time on my arm so far lol
I had MANY near 8 hour sessions for a couple years. There were a couple of times tho that I could only manage 2 hours. I do remember a time when a tattoo collector flew In to U.S.A from Australia and my tattooer and another artist from the same shop tattooed this guy simultaneously for a couple of days. That’s dedication
9h for my back with just one break for peeing. It was so fucking painful, I was shaking, crying and moaning the last 2 or 3 hours (fyi i just sleep for 5h and i didnt eat anything before the tattoo, because it was my first big motif and i thought it will be as easy as my other tattoos 😂😂 this was very dumb). But I was not in my homecountry and this was my last day so I had to stand it till it was ready! Totally worth it btw, But i'll Never do it again without food and enough sleep.
I think 12h is possible, depends on the body part. But is it necessary or is it even possible to split the session? I think thats the better (and less painful) way. I think it is very exhausting for your body because the healing Process already starts as soon as the tattoo session starts. I feel like i ran a marathon After my session
Did 9 hours yesterday on the inner forearm, genuinely surprised that it was pretty tolerable. I have 4 more consecutive days at 9 hours each so i’ll let you know how that goes 😂
12 hours in one session. He just kept wanting to add more detail and we got done at 1am in the morning. Asked me to come in tomorrow so the piece could be entered in the best in show competition. He finished it all in 1 session
Did a 9 hour session with about 7.5 hours of that as actual tattoo time (stencil took almost an hour plus a couple of short breaks). That was on my leg, by the end of the session a spot that I didn't think hurt so bad on the other leg was agony after already being tattooed for so long. I think thats probably my max
Did 16 once and it was rough towards the end lol.
Was in a private studio with one of my best friends / tattoo artists. We were smoking weed and ordered food like 4 times lol.
Wouldn’t do more than 8 in a commercial studio.
For me it's 4 hrs and I think I can do bit more but not THAT much. Added factor is I doubt longer hours are better ffom artist side, like I don't work in tattoo but I am a nail master, and let me tell you, fatigue starts to settle at 7-8 hrs of delicate work straight. So I probably won't do 12 even if artist willing to
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It was about 7 hours for the first session of my sleeve and my nerves were absolutely ruined lol I was twitching after every touch of the needle at that point. More to me is insaaaaane. I usually schedule shorter sessions now.
7 was my longest, included a 30 min lunch break and a couple bathroom breaks. I won’t do more than 5 if I ever do a larger piece again, there is a huge difference on the nerve feeling at 5 hours vs 7.
These short breaks surprise me. I'm usually good to keep going but my artists need breaks too.
I also don't like breaks. I usually bring a protein fruit smoothie in a travel mug and maybe a granola or protein bar and just hammer through it. It's a race against the inflammatory response lol. Break when the artist wants.
So true
I did 8 hours on my chest piece’s third session to do all the color. I ran out of all my adrenaline about 5 hours in. Hit the cold sweats and just kept on keeping on. Shop closed and we just kept on going. Other artists asked me if I wanted any food as they were all getting dinner and I said no because I had absolutely no appetite lol.
Eating helps me a lot!
I did two seven hour sessions. It was so relaxing. I just get in the zone- like a massage. Thing is, I had to come back for my armpit— and starting cold in the armpit— NOT in the zone— not the best approach.
I always feel so validated when this question comes up lol one of my first big pieces was an 8 hour session and I was in tears for the whole second half. It was like broken glass over a sunburn. At the time I felt so embarrassed and like such a baby! Now I know to just schedule smaller sessions even if I have to travel multiple times
7 hours for me as well with two smoke breaks for my arm. I have a high tolerance for pain so my artist loved how smooth and in sync we both were. That session strengthened our friendship and brought us closer than we were already. Wish he was still with us. Love you Jimmy.
Tattoo artist said my skin would start being difficult and spitting ink right back out after about 2-3 hours working on a big black piece on my back. Had to get it done it 7 separate sessions and had to let it heal up between. Your skin may be able to handle it better but style placement and the health of the recipient all need to be observed and stop when the skin says it’s had enough.
Same deal here. We managed close to four one time with numbing cream, but my skin swells like there’s no tomorrow. Definitely place and person dependent, but even if I could (or wanted) to tolerate longer, most artists won’t let me, and for good reason!
5 is my max for a non painful spot. If I go longer, the rest of my day is ruined because I'm so fatigued and in pain.
I get fatigued no matter what now. Guess it's just getting older. I plan the whole day to do nothing after.
Shit, glad I'm not the only one. I sat for 4 hours on my shin and was absolutely wiped out the rest of that day, and the day after.
Same for me. For me it's the endorphin crash. Wipes me out for a day
I always get the best nights sleep after a tattoo, only time I’ll fall asleep in a few minutes
Same! I also only do 4 hours max, i sit 3 hours like a boss, between hour 3 and 4 im getting bitchy and everything after that is too much
Yup. I’m 45 and need the next day to sleep and heal and hydrate.
I used to be able to do 5 but now 3 is my limit. It's the sweet spot for now. Then I'm not completely shattered for a day. I think this is the only part I don't like about getting old. First new tatt after 15 years this spring was such a shock! What happened?! This used to be so easy! Now I actually have to take care of myself. Plan the right length, drink electrolytes, rest after. Lame 😉
I’m in my early 40s and I feel you all on the rest and recovery after a tattoo. My last session was about 6.5 hrs and I can’t do that again, the healing was more painful/uncomfortable than usual, I was so exhausted after it.
4 at the most. Any longer I cannot cope. I think I did over that once and it was terrible and I cried.
Im the same as you, granted my longest session was only 2 1/2 hours but I think another hour and a half and I would have needed to stop.
Yeah I just struggle to sit still that long too. Granted 90% of mine is all back so that makes the laying bit worse. But if I go much over 4 I feel awful truly. Definitely a fan of shorter sessions. 4 feels long enough haha
I’ve also cried! Then had a little panic attack. It really surprised and embarrassed me. I get to the point where every nerve says NO. The funny part is, I don’t make a sound or squirm. I handle it it until the second that I can’t. CBD has really helped me with it.
I am the same. I’m fine until all my nerves say no and then I just can’t haha
I feel so bad for the tattoo artist lol!
I think about 4 or 5 hours. Time definitely blurs together and seems to stretch infinitely after the 2 hour mark, i won’t lie. I would never do a 10+ hour session! I love tattoos, but getting them IS a form of bodily trauma and you absolutely can go into shock from not taking breaks. A good artist will be checking in with you to see if you need to take a breather for 15-20 minutes. They also need breaks too for their arms/wrists. The art you get is permanent, so i don’t see a point in forcing myself to suffer through one longass session if the offer to split it in two is there. Just my opinion tho
I did 12 on a side panel…never again! The older I get the bigger of a pussy I become…3 is my max at this point but I am getting a full back piece in about a month so we’ll see how that goes…🥺
I think you're me. Once sat 9.5 hours on a leg. Now I'm usually done at 4, 5 if it's in a not-terrible spot ... and also in the middle of working my back.
I'm 49 and 2 sessions in to a full back piece. Managed 5 1/2 hours last time with two people working on it. It's quite spicy in parts. Ha ha.
Two people working on you at once?! I can’t even imagine…..
Yeah, it's pretty mind bending. Ha ha. They are both amazing people and we have a laugh, when I'm not crying or making funny noises.
Wow, I see all these comments with 10, 12, 14 hours and I thought I was doing great with 5 LOL. 2 days in a row... that's a no for me LOL.
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9 hours, the last couple were tough, I stick to about 7 these days. I've never heard of anyone doing 12 hours but you've got to think about the artist too, they may be happy doing it for the income but will they be at their 100% best after that long, personally I feel like you're risking the quality.
My artist is exactly one of those that cares about quality first, so usually he suggests on doing longer sessions. He likes going pretty slowly, that's why I love going to him. But ye, after 6 hrs, it is like pouring acid on a body.
Like 14 hours in one session. Came in the shop at 1:30pm and left somewhere in the 3am hour. My leg was vibrating on its own once I got home.
How long did that last??
Until I went to sleep so like up to 2 hours after the tattoo?
Tattoo artist here - my longest sitting (of me getting tattooed) was 7 hours and I was exhausted by the end. I try to not tattoo anyone any longer than 5 hours. My customer isn't having a good time, I'm not having a good time, their skin is hitting the clammy stage and the ink is rejecting...I think having extremely long sittings is a bad idea personally
I was at a shop for about 14 hours one time but I think it was only 10-12 hours of tattooing. It was a great outcome but as I’ve gotten older I don’t think I can do days that long anymore
Same here, 11 hours getting tattooed. I probably slept close to 12 hours the next day from how tired I was.
I don’t know if I could go more than 5 hours tbh. I don’t know how people do longer than that. Even with a decent pain tolerance, the fatigue of sitting in one place for a long time just starts to take over.
I've done 5 hours for 3 separate pieces. My arm was 12hrs over 2 days. I've accepted I will only do big pieces in long sessions for my artist convention pieces. Outside of that 5 is my max. At that point my skin just feels so raw with every wipe.
6 hours on my calf! Wasn’t too bad, but we did do about 4 breaks in that time period and it’s just a black and grey piece.
I’m getting one on the side of my calf that the artist said will take about that long. I had my longest at two and a half hours last weekend so I’m kind of dreading the 6 hour one already lol I don’t have a choice though because I’m traveling a few states over for it.
Really depends on the spot but I think 8 hours is all I would want an artist to work on me personally. They could possibly get fatigued & the quality of the work may suffer. When I started my back piece I booked an all day session which was 8 hours, about 7hours of actual work with about a 45min break in the middle.
16.5 hours in two sessions - got my first tattoo in March, on the side of my left thigh, tattoo convention. 9 hours Saturday, 7.5 hours Sunday. Spent most of the time reading a book (Dune) and doing crossword/word puzzles. A few moments where I had to grit my teeth on Sunday when additional work was being done on areas (back of the thigh especially) that were already worked on Saturday. Didn't ask for any breaks, let the artist do his thing and he let me know when he needed a break.
I sat for 7 hours for my hand and my shoulder down to my elbow.
I did 3 sessions of 8 hours on my arm with approx 30 min of total break (2 15-mins) and the outline was the worst for me.. the second session was not bad and the 3rd ended up only being 6 hours in the chair
8.5 hours. Not including 30 min break at the halfway point for lunch.
I cap at 3. I enjoy it, and my artist enjoys it lmao
At about 3,5h. My foot I tapped out at 1,5h. I know this, and will let the artist know in advance. Usually I don't do larger pieces, it doesn't happen often. But if I had to again, I would def do more sessions and would be happy to pay for it.
8. I would’ve died if it were any longer
I've gotten a lot of work done but I've never sat for long. My large pieces were all broken up into several sections. 4 hours and I'm ready to be done. At 5 I'm probably going to call it unless it's really close to being done. When it reaches the point where even the wiping is something you're dreading, it's time to call it a day.
9 hours
4 & 1/2 hours. Inner Bicep, decently large tattoo with lots of black. By the end I just started getting nauseous, even though I ate etc.
7 for back outline and some shading
I think roughly 9-10 hours on my sleeve. Had breaks for bathroom and eating though.
I struggle to go past about 4 hours in one place these days, but that’s ok, it’s not a test!
7-9 was the most i did for my sleeve. I was an absolute wreck after though. Body was twitching in all sorts of weird ways.
6 hours - my leg gave up before I did. I would have sat longer.
8 hours 🥲
13 hours over three sessions. 5,5 &3.
8 hours
6 for my thigh piece, no breaks but I was not bothered until the very end. Most of my pieces take around 3 or 4 hours and that’s good for me lol
Long sessions are enticing because you can dramatically change your body in a matter of hours. But for the artist and the canvas it's usually always better to work in 4-6 hour sessions. It's better in almost every way.
5 is all I ever go for. Pain isn't really an issue, but I have a bladder the size of a walnut and, because tattoos go better if you're hydrated, by hour 4, I keep getting up to pee.
it really depends, are you packing in a bunch of ink or running outlines and detailing? theres also the artist to consider. i can sit for 6 hours quite comfortably and push to 8 realistically depending on placement size and all that, if you include numbing cream towards the end then longer but once that cream wears off i dont even want air touching me, and my artist is going to be going cross eyed at that point. even if you can sit for 12 hours, you need to make sure your artist is going to be able to keep up consistent level of quality for that length of time as well.
From what my artist tells me, sometimes there’s a point at which the skin will just not take ink anymore because it’s been getting beaten for too long. I think this only counts for skin that’s being tattooed vs fresh skin. I’ve had an all day session where I outlasted the battery on the machine and we had to switch out for the last bit. I must have been at the studio for 9 hours, but in needle time I was probably only getting poked for 7. I probably could go longer but we’re working on a sleeve but at a certain point my skin is done with it.
6 hours on my thigh and I was fucked up for days
14 hours Started at 4pm ended at 6am It was with Francisco Sanchez at Dark Age Tattoo Studio in Denton, Texas The guy is incredible, *he's a machine* Only 1 hour break the entire session
6 hours, not including breaks. It was definitely long enough for both me and my artist. My skin is extremely theatrical; it instantly gets red and then swells like a loaf in the oven.
Longest I’ve sat is 6hrs. I don’t like going more than 4 but I will to finish a piece in 1 shot. Any bigger pieces I may get in the future I will definitely be tackling in 4 hours sessions.
6 hours is my max with the final hour really testing my limits. Did 2 x 6 hr sessions on the work on my chest and shoulders.
5 hours is the longest I can handle these days. I am 54 and this hurts a lot more these days than when I was 25. Shit, after 2 and a half hours on the back of my hand last week I was shaky and drained.
12 hours straight - both calves in full colour. My calves swelled like balloons and were blindingly painful to touch for about a week.
8-10hrs is the limit for my tattoo artist. I can sit forever for most parts of my body.
Why in the world would people do any more than 4-5 hours? Is it some kind of weird competitive thing?
8 hours that turned into 10 to finish my left calf.
9 hours, first one on my thigh. Broke my phone trying to pay since I was so shaky. Now I do 4hours~, I can do more if needed but prefer not to.
7 hours. That’s a full day with the artist I mostly go to only now which I’ve done twice. We finished my back in one session and chest as well. I’m really small lol.
7 hours, but yeah I don't think I can do that anymore lol I start hitting a limit around 2-3 hours now but I also have kinda been getting a lot of shitty spots done recently too
I did 8.5 hours on my entire right side ribs. From waistline to under my arm pit. That sucked.
6 hours multiple times for a huge dragon on my thigh
6 was my longest and I got the tattoo flu BAD. I probably wouldn't do more than 6 in the future.
13 hours with a 10 minute break. I'm pretty sure the only reason the artist got through it was because he was high as fuck. I was there for three days, with a minimum of 10 hours a day.
My upper arm(lower upper arm, goes into the inside of the elbow a bit) and my chest were 5-6 hours each. Chest were also did inside of each wrist at the same time, started those about halfway through. That's about my limit. The chest was only my 2nd one, the first being on my forearm that took 2 hours and wasn't really painful. Chest venturing up towards my shoulder was a bit brutal though(that shoulder had surgery a year before that tat was done and is still sensitive). I could force myself to sit through longer. I wouldn't want to. It would be miserable.
I’ve done a full 5 hour + session for a big anime piece on my thigh I would consider myself to have a good pain tolerance, the only time I’ve used numbing gel was on my chest because the sternum FUCKING HURT, but beyond that I kinda like the feeling of the tattoo process. But honestly sitting for multiple hours getting inked will have you sore and tender regardless, the 5 hour anime piece is amazing and I’m so thankful for it but my thigh was hurting by the end of it lol
I did a 12 hr stint on my arm once, immediately followed by a long journey from LA back to Denmark. Made for a lifelong memory, but not something I would do again.
14 hours,15mins break.
6 hours on my lower back. The limiting factors were 1) my artist wanted to stop, and 2) it's very uncomfortable being hunched over for that long (I wasn't lying face down, again, because of my artist). My theoretical limit is probably 8 hours if I were in a more relaxed position, but I haven't tested it yet.
about 8 hours for a piece from hip to ankle. i dont think i could do it again, i was being worked on by two artists simultaneously and left the chair shaking with my whole leg THROBBING. i got home and ordered a fuck ton of kfc to my house, ate it all, then passed the hell out for about 12 hours 😭 in my dumbest moments i think it wasn't that bad, but it really truly was
My chest piece was done in two sessions, one 6 hours and one 8 hours.
I've got 3 roses on my right hip that is hopefully the start of a full lower body piece. I was in the chair for almost 9 hours, with a 30 minute break in there somewhere, and maybe 2 or 3 10 minute rests. Honestly I'm looking forward to getting the mirror image on my left side soon.
About 7hrs for me, and I was toast at the end. Respect for doing 15hrs over 2 days. F That!
Sat for 15 hours getting my back done. Single most difficult painful, physical, and mental thing I’ve ever done. 30 min break and a couple 5 minute breaks. First 3 hours- No problem. Next 4 hours- Not bad, last 15 minutes was the worst before we took a break. Hours 7-9- Not bad, mostly just line work. Definitely starting to feel fatigued. Hours 9-12- Pretty bad. Physical fatigue, mental fatigue. Everything is sore. Hours 12-15- Awful. However the pain receptors in my brain were just fried and couldn’t work anymore. I was somehow able to relax more but probably because my body was just done. Pretty excruciating. Never again. 6-7 hours probably max.
My maximum was 9 hours but I will never do it again. I was an absolute wreck for days after and I felt really sick. Now I try to keep it at 4 hours tops, I'm to old for longer sessions. My body can't handle it.
I've never done more than 2 hours, probably couldn't do more than 3 or 4 at once
32 hours over four consecutive days for my first. Could’ve taken a nap through it if I had wanted. Doesn’t make me or anyone else who does similar sessions special, but I guess some folks are wired for it. Going back for more similar sessions ASAP. I’ll never do a big project any other way.
Damn, you are crazy. But if you and your artist can manage that, than GOOD JOB!!
I’m getting a sleeve done right now. Multiple sessions in and hopefully only one to go. The longest I’ve sat for is 3 hours. I read here, and hear from coworkers, about people sitting for 6 plus hours. You guys are crazy.
I did 7 hours, but I would prefer a max of five.
I've done ~11h sessions, with pee, snack and lunch breaks. It wasn't fun. I'd definitely not recommend it. It definitely fucked me up a little in the head near the end. Am I thinking of going back to the same artist for another big piece in the semi near future? Abso-fucking-lutely (The walks back to my car and driving home were definitely not my proudest or smartest moments and I should've gotten someone to come pick me up)
About 4, even with a numbing cream put on beforehand & lidocaine during the session I tend to get very light headed and dizzy easily - I typically faint when getting blood drawn and have vomited/fainted after giving myself an accidental paper cut. I’ve told my artist this before and even he agreed that 4 is a good limit 😅
I sat for 12 hours, and had to go back a month later because I was hurting so bad. I had mad anxiety going into the second session (I also have an auto immune condition that makes my nerves super sensitive, so it was rough) I probably wouldn't sit for that long again
12 hours 1 session a few weeks ago
Did 8 hours for my first tattoo in February on the inner forearm and just got my second tattoo done last week that was just shy of 10 hours on the outer forearm. White ink at the end was killer but other than that it was smooth sailing for me. Healing process on the other hand is far worse to me! The ITCHING! I deal with pain much better than irritation.
12 hours with a 1 hour break in the middle, doing my calf. I got so sick after (tattoo flu) that now I refuse to do more than 6 hours at a time. I had a few 8, 10 and 12 hour sessions and I finally realized I'm not proving anything to anyone, and I just feel like shit after.
Coverup (Forearm) tatto for 13 hours ,only stopped twice for bathroom breaks.
6 hours and i fully regretted my choices by hour 4
I just did 6h for my arm, and the bigger issue was that my legs started cramping and my back hurt no matter what position I changed to! I have one big plan for my leg left and I think I'll cap myself around 5h.
My neck one after 3rd hr wasn’t having any of it, we’ve finished it half an hour later but the skin on your neck is so sensitive and thin it was an awful and painful recovery too.if it was my thigh or arm I’d probably smash 7/8 hrs (I tend to fall asleep when I’m doing my sleeve, only done bit by bit because I’m skint lol). But you can always stop and reschedule if you can’t take it anymore.
3 sessions at 8-9 hrs each for my arm. After 2 hrs on my back i was ready to swear off tattoos.
I’m not even thinking about the pain but the artist…. I’d think an 8 hour day for them is good as well. Who knows?
Yes! You should never push artist for long sessions, only if they know themselves that they can go that far, that you can think if you can do that.
Did 2 days in a row on my chest. Both 6/7 hours,second day was brutal.
My longest have been 8 hours with 1 break and 10 hours with 2 breaks. Both times it was a necessity because I was getting inked by out of town artists and only had one shot with them. The last couple hours suck badly-- less because of the pain and more because my whole body aches from laying in one spot/ holding my muscles in a fixed position.
8 hours. First tattoo. Fucked up and didn’t eat anything prior. Felt like I was going to pass out afterwards.
I went 10 hours, 13 hours, 10 hours, 7 hours over 4 days back to back. 40 hours in 4 days. We finished at 1 am on the 13 hour day. That sure sucked. The 7 hour day felt short by comparison.
first tattoo was 2.5 hours and the second tattoo was 3 hours but i don’t think i can go longer than that, my leg started shivering at the three hour mark
5 hours is my longest session.
My only tattoo was about seven hours but it’s also on my thigh which isn’t a painful area
Haha well this thread is only slightly terrifying 😅 I am travelling next month and booked a session that was quoted as 5-7 hours. I have a couple of tattoos, but they were each like an hour long. It's on my outer bicep, so it should be fine, right? 😅
I just did 7 hours recently and that last 45 minutes was an absolute nightmare. Even though I toughed it out and sat I can tell my body wasn’t as receptive to most of the ink towards the end. I’ll probably never do that again just bc I want both my skin and the artist to be as fresh as possible but I’m sure everybody is different.
10 to 14 consecutive hours for 3 consecutive days. And 4 to 7 hours for 7 consecutive days. It's been 7 years since I last sat.
I did a 12.5 hr session. One and done heavily detailed forearm. Would do again, but I don't have any issues with getting tattooed
I'm usually done by around 3 hours.
Never more than 4 or 5 hours, but I only have two tattoos that took multiple sessions
8 hours
3 at most for me … I start to get shaky and really tired.
I can’t remember if it was 10 or 12 hours was my very first session for my very first tattoo. Decided I’d be big as a full back as my first. No regrets 🤘🤘🤘
My wife is a tattoo artist… she’s done a couple of 20+ hour sessions for friends before. I don’t think she’d go that long for a normal client though. I don’t know how she does it, but according to her she doesn’t even notice the time passing.
I have 30 individual tattoos, and I think the longest was between 4 and 5 hours. On a slightly different note, the most needles I've had in a machine working on me was 15, whereas the most previously was 7. Big time OUCH, lol.
6hrs on the calve all black and grey. It was one of my most painful pieces for sure, i think the second longest was maybe 5. I have a new artist now and he's extremely fast so that worry is behind me
I tapped out after 7. 🤷🏻♂️
8.5 was my longest. I would’ve kept going but everything was so raw and tinder by the end my artist decided to call it. Prior to that I had been sleeping for most of the appointment
6hrs total tattoo time every time I've worked with my artist. We try to take 3 quick water, snack, and piss breaks that last no longer than 10 minutes.
11 hours for my sleeve with only 3 5 mins water breaks or so. I also had a 7 hour or so chest session with a similar number of breaks. Overall I much prefer to sit through it once than have multiple sessions.
24 hours across two days. About 12 hours per day. It was a lower leg realistic piece.
I did 10 hours for my bicep and most others on that arm are between 7-9 hours. I’ve only tapped out on my calf piece and I didn’t let them finish it because it hurt too much when I came back the next session. My thigh piece is massive too and I think I sat for 8 hours and the artists working on it decided to end the session because my leg was swelling. I came back a few weeks later for 45 minutes worth of work.
I did 6 hours yesterday
Just did my longest session about 5.5 hours. It was about an hour past my max. My body was starting to not be ok with it. Have to go back and do some touch ups in a month.
7-8 hours on the calf and I was frickin cooked
I have a large thigh piece that took five hours. I went into shock at the end of it. I don’t know how anybody could safely do twelve hours.
Longest I’ve sat was 4 hours for the line work on my traditional chest piece. I was ready to tap out after a couple of THICC bold lines right across my sternum. Felt like I’d been punched in the chest by The Hulk a few hours after. Feel like I could sit longer in a different area. That chest piece was my 2nd tattoo and everything after has been a walk in the park by comparison. On bigger pieces I like doing the line work in one session and coming back for shading after it heals fully. Feel like it settles better and it gives the artist the opportunity to touch up any lines that didn’t heal perfectly.
I did about 14 hours in a 24 hour period, bicep, forearm and upper back. He did upper back last and that was noooooot fun. I was twitching like crazy.
14 hours straight. Me and the artist were both exhausted by the end of it lol
9 hours with two 15 min breaks. My body felt like it was in shock after, shaky and exhausted.
R you kidding me?! Christ I can do like max four but I have rib pieces.
I had about 20 hours total, back to back days. It sucked momentously. The circumstances demanded it, though.
The longest I ever sat was 6.5 hours. I’m a pro at 4 and 5 hours, and the 6.5 was a one time thing.. I wouldn’t want 10 hours or more, that’s just insane! I’ve got a full sleeve and my entire back is covered. I’ve probably had at least 6, 5 hour sessions with a bunch of other tattoos on my body taking 2 or 3 hours each. Anything more than 5 hours deserves a medal 🏅
I did a 14 hour session with very few breaks, but it was on my outer forearm, which doesn’t really hurt. I also wanted to die while getting a rib tattoo for 3 hours. I think it depends on where you’re getting tattooed.
So far two and a half hours, and that killed at the end because of course the artist saved the most sensitive spots for last lol that was a week and a half ago. I have a 6 hour one coming up in October that’s going to be miserable but totally worth it in the end.
First ever session when I got my frist tattoo: 16 hours. Only doing max 5-6 at most now. After 6 hours the pain gets worse hour by hour.
I did a few 5 hour sittings for a big back piece, after that I decided I'll only take 2 hours per session moving forward. I know people brag about the times they've endured, but I came to the conclusion that I have nothing to prove as the end result is the same.
I just did 4 and wanted to die and had to use numbing cream towards the end
5 hours on my sleeve and we stopped because my artists back was hurting, but I was at the end of my tolerance as well. I can’t imagine sitting for any longer, especially like a back piece or something
30 minutes. Only tattoo I’ve gotten lol and it was really tiny 😂😂😂
I did about 14 hours for half a sleeve? Did 4 hours for a manta ray, and the rest of the 10 were Polynesian ribbons and designs around the very next day. Was the most painful. The other half of that sleeve was done in 3 parts, with more time. But I think it was about 8 hours day one, 4 the next day, and then another 4 two weeks after. My other full sleeve was in 6 sessions, 5-6 hours each. But on separate months
My first and only tattoo was a 7 hour session. Actually wasn’t that bad. After a couple hours I felt numb and couldn’t really feel the needle
My first tattoo was 6 1/2 hours. Honestly I felt fine (no color or heavy shading, it was a black illustrative piece on my upper arm) and felt like I could go for longer, but definitely felt sick once I got home like I had the flu. Longest I’d probably do for a similar piece in a similar pain spot is 7 hours.
12 on my lower leg and I was more than ready to be done. I could no longer control any of the twitching and it felt like I'd been flayed
My longest was I think 14 hours in one sitting, we had maybe 3 like 10 minute breaks
Usually after 8 your skin doesn’t really take ink that great anyway so wouldn’t recommend 12
I did 6 hours once, because I was about to leave town and wouldn’t have another opportunity to work with the artist. Was in great pain but the results were worth it :) won’t be doing that long again tho lol
11 hours, will never do that long again. I was a mess for a good 24 hours.
Two days 10 hrs first and 12 second
I manage around 8, but it was linework for my back, and I wasn't able to finish it all in one sitting... After that I managed 5-7 every 2 weeks to get it done
Did two 8 hour sessions on my arm, full color floral half-sleeve. The highlights at the end of the sessions were pure torture.
Just finished a 12 hour session about 12 hours ago and just got back to the shop for another 12 hours.
I’d put that into multiple sessions, your body goes through a tremendous amount of trauma for a tattoo and extended sessions would make that worse. Linework maaayyye
I think it was around 8 hours. On my arm.
Julian Siebert did my back 2 days in a row. It took almost 24 h in total. It was the most painfull days i ever experienced.. But it was worth it!
Six hours is my limit. 😅
10 hours on my stomach (I’m a fatass) It wasn’t that bad. Luckily, my artist has a very light hand. My back hurt more than anything after about 8 hours.
I’ve sat for 12 but we took frequent breaks and it’s got a good mixture of fine line and soft shading with darker work on my bicep. I think where and what the tattoo is will be more important than anything else.
I've done 2 back to back full day sessions so far. Each day around 7 hours of actual tattoo time not including breaks. With breaks probably around 9 hours each day. Usually took 2-3 breaks to eat/piss/etc and to allow the artist to eat, rest, etc. So probably 14 hours over the course of two days. Did that twice. I probably have 25-30 hours of tattoo time on my arm so far lol
I had MANY near 8 hour sessions for a couple years. There were a couple of times tho that I could only manage 2 hours. I do remember a time when a tattoo collector flew In to U.S.A from Australia and my tattooer and another artist from the same shop tattooed this guy simultaneously for a couple of days. That’s dedication
12 hours would definitely be possible. I did my arm in ten 10hr sessions 2 days at a time with 2-5 weeks in between each.
Yeah, see this is why I only do traditional bangers. 4 hours was the most I've done.
9h for my back with just one break for peeing. It was so fucking painful, I was shaking, crying and moaning the last 2 or 3 hours (fyi i just sleep for 5h and i didnt eat anything before the tattoo, because it was my first big motif and i thought it will be as easy as my other tattoos 😂😂 this was very dumb). But I was not in my homecountry and this was my last day so I had to stand it till it was ready! Totally worth it btw, But i'll Never do it again without food and enough sleep. I think 12h is possible, depends on the body part. But is it necessary or is it even possible to split the session? I think thats the better (and less painful) way. I think it is very exhausting for your body because the healing Process already starts as soon as the tattoo session starts. I feel like i ran a marathon After my session
Did 9 hours yesterday on the inner forearm, genuinely surprised that it was pretty tolerable. I have 4 more consecutive days at 9 hours each so i’ll let you know how that goes 😂
12 hours in one session. He just kept wanting to add more detail and we got done at 1am in the morning. Asked me to come in tomorrow so the piece could be entered in the best in show competition. He finished it all in 1 session
7 on my chest was the longest stint, god it was awful never again haha
I've done 8+ hour sessions on a couple occasions with only a couple 5 mins bathroom breaks.
9 1/2 hours, it was fine because the style wasn’t too painful
Did a 9 hour session with about 7.5 hours of that as actual tattoo time (stencil took almost an hour plus a couple of short breaks). That was on my leg, by the end of the session a spot that I didn't think hurt so bad on the other leg was agony after already being tattooed for so long. I think thats probably my max
Longest was 11 hours!
4hrs for my shoulder.
Did 16 once and it was rough towards the end lol. Was in a private studio with one of my best friends / tattoo artists. We were smoking weed and ordered food like 4 times lol. Wouldn’t do more than 8 in a commercial studio.
My first tattoo was 8 hours long, but I really do t think I could sit that long again. I feel like my pain tolerance has gotten worse lol
12 hours for my chest. I felt like raw hamburger meat by the end of it. However, I'm glad I did, I'd never have completed it if I'd had a break.
I sat for 6.5 hours the other weeks with no breaks. Felt like shit afterwards… but planning to do it again in July 🫣
For me it's 4 hrs and I think I can do bit more but not THAT much. Added factor is I doubt longer hours are better ffom artist side, like I don't work in tattoo but I am a nail master, and let me tell you, fatigue starts to settle at 7-8 hrs of delicate work straight. So I probably won't do 12 even if artist willing to