I was 21 when I got them. I'm 29 now.
As for the pain factor, it's hard to say. I kinda have a high threshold for pain. I mean there was discomfort, I'm not gonna lie to ya, but it wasn't that bad.
When I did the face tattoo, it took 6 straight hours. The artist took a 30 min. break in the middle. When he went back to work on it, I gotten some feeling back, and it felt like someone grinding on a bad sunburn.
As for the tribal, that was done in 2 sessions. The most uncomfortable part about that was when he got up to my neck.