Can I use an anaesthetic cream/gel for having a tattoo done?

I wanna have a tattoo done but I'm afraid of the pain... My friend who will do my tattoo told me that he'll use an anaesthetic cream/gel so that it won't hurt that much... This would be a good solution but I heard that this will affect the tattoo - that it won't look nice! Is it true?Can I use an anaesthetic cream/gel for having a tattoo done?
It's true don't do it, it thins the blood so you bleed more, which means it doesn't heal as easily and is more likely to be blotchy and faded.





The pain is not that bad and is all part of the experience, if you want a tat that is going to be there for the rest of your life then you should want it enough to go through the pain, if your not willing to go through the pain how much do you really want it.





If your tattooist is saying to use anaesthetic cream then they aren't a good tattooist go somewhere else.Can I use an anaesthetic cream/gel for having a tattoo done?
Helen is wise. If you want ink, you will just have to go through it and deal with the pain. I have 9 pieces and I stuck through them all with no real big problems.





Her advise is sound, I would follow it.
If the pain was so bad, you'd never see people with more than one tattoo. You'll soon realise it's all part of the fun! It's not an unbearable pain at all, and the numbing creams etc make the skin harder to tattoo.





Have something to eat/drink before you go, remember to breathe, and you'll be just fine.
bob dont do it, it can affect the skin which will in turn affect the way the tattoo looks.


It feels like a cat scratch or a bee sting ... is that too much pain for ya????


Honestly if it hurt that bad do you think so many of us would have tattoos?? Take your headset to listen to music, take your phone and play a game. Take friends and talk to them !!!! All ways to distract yourself thru the tattoo.





If your artist is offering to use a numbing creme .. find another artist. If your friend just does them out of his house.. run and find a respectible shop to do the tattoo for you.
There is some fairly good stuff out there made for exactly that called Tat Numb and some stuff called Deaden. Other manufacturers have similar products... their active ingredient is benzocaine 20%, the same as ora-gel, but about four times the price.