In researching for Needled News, my Monday SG column on the weeks tattoo headlines, I found a story on hypnosis being used to alleviate the pain of tattooing. I was skeptical, that is, until I received an email from tattoo artist, Matthew Amey of Independent Tattoo in Delware, linking the same article and telling me of his own success hypnotizing tattoo clients.
Now, Ive known Matthew for a few years; hes been tattooing since 1991 and for the past five years, weve been bumping into each other at US and European tattoo conventions. Matthew knows not to toy with me when it comes to exciting tattoo news, so my skepticism was gone, and my interest peaked.
Pain-free tattooing via hypnosis could be revolutionary to the tattoo community, both good and bad. Matthew and I talked about the process and its implications.
Photo of Matthew by Lisa Tossey.
Marisa DiMattia: How did you get involved with hypnosis and tattooing?
Matthew Amey: In early December, Don Patterson of Maryland Family Hypnosis contacted the studio via telephone and said he was doing a study to see if hypnosis could help clients cope with the pain from being tattooed. Don spoke with Tres Denk, one of my partners, and he thought it was a joke so he told Don to come by the studio and speak with us in person. After discussing the phone call with Tres, we figured it was a prank call and forgot about it. The following Saturday, Don showed up and explained what he had hoped to accomplish: essentially he wanted to hypnotize one of our clients to see if he could reduce their discomfort.
MDM: What was your initial reaction after Don explained what he wanted to do?
MA: When Don arrived at the studio, we spoke for about 45 minutes before my appointment showed up. I was apprehensive at first because what I knew of hypnosis was from television, and what I had seen wasn't very appealing to me. When my regular client, Mike, arrived, we asked him to be our guinea pig and he was a willing subject.
MDM: Had Mike been hypnotized before?
MA: Mike had never been hypnotized and was a little apprehensive at first. Once he spoke with Don for a few minutes, he relaxed and was easily put into trance.
MDM: So it didnt take much convincing.
MA: "Anything to help with the pain" was what Mike said.
MDM: Tell me about the process of hypnosis before, during and after.
MA: Hypnosis is a three-step process, sometimes four. You start with relaxation, then you induce the hypnosis, and then you deepen the relaxation until the client is comfortable and in a state of somnambulism. Sometimes you need to test for suggestibility, especially if the person has never been hypnotized. Once the client is in this state, you can help them to control certain aspects of their consciousness. Pain being the most relevant for what I'm doing.
MDM: How did Mike do under hypnosis?
MA: I admit I was skeptical all the way until I put needle to skin and when Mike didn't even flinch, I was shocked. Mike has a tendency to fidget a lot when getting tattooed and the fact that he didn't move allowed me to get more work done in less time.
MDM: When Mike woke up from the hypnotic trance, did he then experience pain?
MA: Mike was given the suggestion that he would not feel any discomfort from the tattoo process. When he returned from the trance, he only felt tightness and a little warmth but no pain. A few days later, I spoke with him and he still hadn't felt any pain, only tightness of the skin and warmth around the tattooed area.
MDM: Thats amazing! What have the general results been with other clients?
MA: The results are fantastic. We've had 100% success with every client so far.
MDM: You said that Mike was a regular client. On repeat clients, do you have to go through the whole process over and over again or could you just give a suggestion that puts them back instantly in a hypnotic trance?
MA: With consecutive hypnosis it gets easier and easier to put them "down". Once someone experiences hypnosis, it becomes easier to induce it. As the hypnotist, while my client is in trance, I can also suggest that the next time they get hypnotized they will go deeper, faster.
MDM: This brings me to my next questions on you learning hypnosis. What inspired you to try your own hand at it?
MA: I was so impressed with the results and was also surprised at how quickly it happened that I wanted to learn how to do it immediately.
MDM: How difficult is it to learn? What is involved?
MA: I've been given some guidance by Don and I've also read a book on the subject. So far I've been lucky and I've had a few private lessons. I believe Don is planning a two-day seminar sometime this spring, which will cover everything needed to perform these techniques.
MDM: Is there a certain client who is better suited to hypnosis?
MA: Ninety-eight percent of the human population can be hypnotized. People who are high strung, nervous and hyper have a more difficult time relaxing so it makes the process take longer but it is still possible. The more intelligent someone is, the easier it is to hypnotize them.
MDM: Do you think this will revolutionize tattooing?
MA: If getting tattooed didn't hurt anymore and you weren't using drugs or alcohol to achieve this, hmmmm...I don't know, what do you think? I know that I plan on getting tattooed as soon as I learn to self-induce hypnosis. I think you'll see a change in the overall size of tattoos coming out of studios that utilize hypnosis to help people cope with the pain.
MDM: Do you think that pain is the biggest factor that stops people from getting tattooed or from getting larger work?
MA: Most definitely. A majority of people are scared of the pain associated with tattooing. One of the issues that we artists have at the moment is that most large tattoos don't always get finished. A lot of people will not come back for the final session because they're happy with how the tattoo looks and they're not too thrilled about feeling the needles again. I know that I will be able to finish those tattoos now because I can count on my client sitting through whatever I put them through to get the job done.
Just last week I worked on this guy's ribcage for two hours and he didn't even notice I was there. I was able to complete the tattoo the way I had envisioned it because he just laid there. While he was in trance, I suggested that he wouldn't feel any discomfort from the tattooing and when he came out of it he was amazed at the results.
MDM: Some people believe that pain is an integral part to tattooing. What are your thoughts on this?
MA: I agree. I believe that someone getting their first tattoo should experience the full effect of the process. But as an artist working on skin, if I can have my canvas just sit there and not move while I work, it means that my tattoos will look better and my clients will be happier.
Read more about Matthew Amey's tattoos and other artwork on Needled.com.
Now, Ive known Matthew for a few years; hes been tattooing since 1991 and for the past five years, weve been bumping into each other at US and European tattoo conventions. Matthew knows not to toy with me when it comes to exciting tattoo news, so my skepticism was gone, and my interest peaked.
Pain-free tattooing via hypnosis could be revolutionary to the tattoo community, both good and bad. Matthew and I talked about the process and its implications.
Photo of Matthew by Lisa Tossey.
Marisa DiMattia: How did you get involved with hypnosis and tattooing?
Matthew Amey: In early December, Don Patterson of Maryland Family Hypnosis contacted the studio via telephone and said he was doing a study to see if hypnosis could help clients cope with the pain from being tattooed. Don spoke with Tres Denk, one of my partners, and he thought it was a joke so he told Don to come by the studio and speak with us in person. After discussing the phone call with Tres, we figured it was a prank call and forgot about it. The following Saturday, Don showed up and explained what he had hoped to accomplish: essentially he wanted to hypnotize one of our clients to see if he could reduce their discomfort.
MDM: What was your initial reaction after Don explained what he wanted to do?
MA: When Don arrived at the studio, we spoke for about 45 minutes before my appointment showed up. I was apprehensive at first because what I knew of hypnosis was from television, and what I had seen wasn't very appealing to me. When my regular client, Mike, arrived, we asked him to be our guinea pig and he was a willing subject.
MDM: Had Mike been hypnotized before?
MA: Mike had never been hypnotized and was a little apprehensive at first. Once he spoke with Don for a few minutes, he relaxed and was easily put into trance.
MDM: So it didnt take much convincing.
MA: "Anything to help with the pain" was what Mike said.
MDM: Tell me about the process of hypnosis before, during and after.
MA: Hypnosis is a three-step process, sometimes four. You start with relaxation, then you induce the hypnosis, and then you deepen the relaxation until the client is comfortable and in a state of somnambulism. Sometimes you need to test for suggestibility, especially if the person has never been hypnotized. Once the client is in this state, you can help them to control certain aspects of their consciousness. Pain being the most relevant for what I'm doing.
MDM: How did Mike do under hypnosis?
MA: I admit I was skeptical all the way until I put needle to skin and when Mike didn't even flinch, I was shocked. Mike has a tendency to fidget a lot when getting tattooed and the fact that he didn't move allowed me to get more work done in less time.
MDM: When Mike woke up from the hypnotic trance, did he then experience pain?
MA: Mike was given the suggestion that he would not feel any discomfort from the tattoo process. When he returned from the trance, he only felt tightness and a little warmth but no pain. A few days later, I spoke with him and he still hadn't felt any pain, only tightness of the skin and warmth around the tattooed area.
MDM: Thats amazing! What have the general results been with other clients?
MA: The results are fantastic. We've had 100% success with every client so far.
MDM: You said that Mike was a regular client. On repeat clients, do you have to go through the whole process over and over again or could you just give a suggestion that puts them back instantly in a hypnotic trance?
MA: With consecutive hypnosis it gets easier and easier to put them "down". Once someone experiences hypnosis, it becomes easier to induce it. As the hypnotist, while my client is in trance, I can also suggest that the next time they get hypnotized they will go deeper, faster.
MDM: This brings me to my next questions on you learning hypnosis. What inspired you to try your own hand at it?
MA: I was so impressed with the results and was also surprised at how quickly it happened that I wanted to learn how to do it immediately.
MDM: How difficult is it to learn? What is involved?
MA: I've been given some guidance by Don and I've also read a book on the subject. So far I've been lucky and I've had a few private lessons. I believe Don is planning a two-day seminar sometime this spring, which will cover everything needed to perform these techniques.
MDM: Is there a certain client who is better suited to hypnosis?
MA: Ninety-eight percent of the human population can be hypnotized. People who are high strung, nervous and hyper have a more difficult time relaxing so it makes the process take longer but it is still possible. The more intelligent someone is, the easier it is to hypnotize them.
MDM: Do you think this will revolutionize tattooing?
MA: If getting tattooed didn't hurt anymore and you weren't using drugs or alcohol to achieve this, hmmmm...I don't know, what do you think? I know that I plan on getting tattooed as soon as I learn to self-induce hypnosis. I think you'll see a change in the overall size of tattoos coming out of studios that utilize hypnosis to help people cope with the pain.
MDM: Do you think that pain is the biggest factor that stops people from getting tattooed or from getting larger work?
MA: Most definitely. A majority of people are scared of the pain associated with tattooing. One of the issues that we artists have at the moment is that most large tattoos don't always get finished. A lot of people will not come back for the final session because they're happy with how the tattoo looks and they're not too thrilled about feeling the needles again. I know that I will be able to finish those tattoos now because I can count on my client sitting through whatever I put them through to get the job done.
Just last week I worked on this guy's ribcage for two hours and he didn't even notice I was there. I was able to complete the tattoo the way I had envisioned it because he just laid there. While he was in trance, I suggested that he wouldn't feel any discomfort from the tattooing and when he came out of it he was amazed at the results.
MDM: Some people believe that pain is an integral part to tattooing. What are your thoughts on this?
MA: I agree. I believe that someone getting their first tattoo should experience the full effect of the process. But as an artist working on skin, if I can have my canvas just sit there and not move while I work, it means that my tattoos will look better and my clients will be happier.
Read more about Matthew Amey's tattoos and other artwork on Needled.com.
VIEW 10 of 10 COMMENTS
marisa_dimattia:
Matthew just told me that he can also add a suggestion to intensify the pain. How many people would sign up for that?
rain08:
Intriguing. I am not sure my inner control freak would allow me to cede that much personal control. Weirdly I have never experienced that much pain from any of my tattoo sessions.