What is numbing cream?

Numbing cream is applied to the skin surface at the tattoo placement before tattooing. The active ingredients in anesthetic creams work by temporarily blocking nerve endings from sending pain signals to the brain, resulting in a reduction or elimination of pain in the area where the cream is applied.

While numbing cream has a pain-relieving effect, it does not completely eliminate pain, typically reducing it by 70-80%. However, the effects of numbing cream may still influence other factors during the tattoo process.

Affects skin texture

In some cases, using cream may affect the skin’s surface, altering its texture. This could lead to uneven stretching, mushiness, or the formation of raised hive-like bumps.

These changes also affect the artist’s tattooing process. While the cream may reduce pain by 70-80%, it can also diminish the sharpness of the tattoo’s color by 20-30%. The skin’s altered state affects ink spread, skin tension, and ink absorption, disrupting the normal tattooing process and preventing the tattoo from being executed as desired.

Everyone’s body is different

Every individual’s body reacts differently to numbing cream, so it may not be effective for everyone. While it works well for some individuals, others may experience allergies or adverse reactions.

Additionally, for some people, it may have no effect at all. Therefore, it’s important to consider these factors before deciding to use numbing cream.

Time-consuming to work

Numbing cream takes time to work, and it would be a waste of time and money for both the artist and the client to just sit there waiting 20 minutes to an hour for the cream to take effect. Not to mention whether the cream can fully work on each person’s skin or not.

Use numbing cream on large or complex tattoos.

Large or complex tattoos often require more time to complete. However, the effects of numbing cream cannot last throughout the entire tattooing process. Additionally, we do not recommend continued use of anesthetic cream on skin that has not been tattooed, or on skin that was damaged during the process.

When the numbing cream wears off during the tattooing process, the nervous system becomes active again, and the sensation of pain may suddenly return. Experiencing sudden pain in the middle of a tattoo session can lower your pain tolerance. Furthermore, as the tattooing process progresses, changes in pain and skin sensitivity may occur, potentially increasing discomfort.

Compared to using numbing cream from the beginning, allowing your body and mind to gradually acclimate to the sensation of pain throughout the process can help reduce stress and discomfort.

Pain caused by tattoos

Moreover, art is a trade-off. It will be worth it if you endure hours of pain and have a piece you love that lasts over time. And if you want to minimize the pain, no problem; the first criterion when getting a tattoo is loving yourself.

In short, numbing cream is not recommended, but each person and each case is different. If you have very sensitive skin, low pain tolerance, and really need to use it, talk to your tattoo artist for more professional support and advice.

Potential impact on the future

For clients: when the use of numbing cream is too common, we will always set the standard for painless tattooing, and that will gradually lose the tradition of tattoo art.

For artists, numbing cream diminishes the customer’s ability to feel pain, resulting in minimal feedback during the tattoo process. This makes it challenging for the tattoo artist to adjust their technique, speed, and needle penetration depth required for a successful tattoo.