Areas of the body that have greater concentrations of nerves and bone tend to be the most sensitive for tattooing. The popular ankle happens to be very painful due to the lack of fat and thick muscle tissue. Shoulders and upper arms are popular not only for the ease with which the art can be shown, but the muscle padding makes it a bit easier to get skin art there.

According to Hudson (1999), the most painful areas for men are considered to be the abdomen, spine, and chest. The most painful areas for women are considered the spine and ankle. The least painful areas for men are the buttocks and arm, and the least painful areas for women are the abdomen, buttocks, thigh and shoulder. In general, the areas near joints will hurt more because there are more nerves located there.