How to correlate your cycle with your tattoo sessions.

If you’re like me, you’ve been getting tattooed for years and never even thought to correlate your period cycle with when to schedule your tattoo sessions.

Maybe - however - you’re in the group of people who have had the experience of going through a tattoo session while on your period, or while pms-ing, and noticed a difference firsthand.

I’ve personally never been through a tattoo appointment while actively on my period, so this was something that felt like a lightbulb moment when one of my clients mentioned to me that she was towards the end of her cycle and feeling more sensitive - so she apologized if she was a little twitchy with the pain.

After the session I found myself not being able to put this idea out of mind - it sounded completely obvious yet mysterious at the same time. What exactly causes us to be more sensitive to pain on our periods?

Of course - pain thresholds vary wildly from person to person, but I really wondered if there was some scientific explanation.

Here’s what I found from around the internet, so you won’t have to:

“According to Dr. Melissa Kanchanapoomi Levin, during your period, your hormone levels are shifted and you generally have more swelling throughout your body, which can cause a heightened sensation threshold and result in more pain during something like a tattoo.” Source

“Sex hormones – ie oestrogen and progesterone – are implicated in moderating pain. Oestrogen is lowest during a period when pain is perceived as highest." Source

“But this study – pain perception across the menstrual cycle phases in women with chronic pain – for example showed there were phase differences in pain ratings during the menstrual cycle. Women rated pain significantly higher in the menstrual and premenstrual phases than in the mid-menstrual and ovulatory phases of their cycle.” Source

All in all, everyone is different. You know yourself the best - but, if you’re curious to see if there’s a difference - then I might take this newfound information and schedule my tattoos with my cycle in mind. As modern people we try not to let our period get in the way of our everyday lives, but if we can avoid some added discomfort then why not?