BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Body Art Emla

Hey guys,
i was just wondering if many tattooing parlours let you use Emla cream? Because im getting one soon, just a really small one, but id rather not be able to feel the needles. I called one place and they said u cant use it and i was wondering if this was the case for all places or not, and why.
Thanks

Lexy,

You asked about this on July 9, in case you have forgotten...

http://www.bellaonline.com/code/ubb/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=25;t=000092

I'm not sure what you didn't get from that discussion, but to recap....

This is a medically prescribed product that is not meant to be used for this purpose. It's meant to numb a teeny, tiny area for a single needle stick for babies and small children who have to undergo lots of medical procedures. It is not for use on broken skin, which you will have a lot of with tattooing, and use of it over a large skin area can cause serious medical problems.

If you are that worried about it hurting when you get tattooed, DON'T GET TATTOOED. It's really that simple. Tattoo machines make about 3000 punctures a minute and there is no way to numb the skin for that.

What i didnt get from that discussion was WHY it couldnt be used. I only asked if it could be used and how effective it was.
Youre saying its meant to numb a small area, but im only going to get a small tattoo anyway.
Yes im worried about it hurting but ive wanted it for years so im getting it anyway, the only reason im asking about the cream is because, if i had the option of being able to feel thousands of needles and not feeling them, id choose not to feel them!

Lexy,

I'm sorry you didn't get why it couldn't be used, as I copied that info right off the manufacturer's web site. To explain it very simply, applying it generally to the skin surface versus the very, very tiny area that a single injection can involve can make it so that your body can't absorb oxygen from your blood stream.

This product was not designed to do what you are wanting it to do. There is a big difference between a single needle stick that makes a subcutaneous injection and thousands of needle sticks that only go down as far as the dermal layer.

Basically, you have to accept the fact that there is no way you can get tattooed without feeling anything. Tattooists are not licensed doctors and any sort of topical (skin-surface) anesthetic that would numb you that much is only going to be able to be available as a prescription medication and administered by a physician.

You're either just going to have to face your fear of pain or not get tattooed. Every single person who ever got tattooed in the history of human beings had to endure whatever it took to get the art work. There's no way around it.

Alright, thanks anyway! see, thats all i wanted to know =)

Sorry if you didn't get that in my first set of answers to you back on July 9th. Basically I said all this back then.

Think of it this way... if tattooing hurt that badly, why would people keep doing it for thousands of years?

you have a good point there!
Im going to get it done anyway =)But can i just ask ONE last thing...? Can you tell me TRUTHFULLY, does it actually feel like needles piercing ur skin? Because some people have said it doesnt and i just wanted to know. Thanks

Lexy,

Your one last question is the one you've been asking all along, the one we all keep telling you we can't really answer for YOU. How your body and nervous system works, and how your own pain tolerance is, is what is primarily going to effect how you think tattooing feels. Just like how intense hot food seems, or how hot or cold weather is different to individuals. There's a LOT of variance in what people perceive.

I know people who think being tattooed was the worst pain of their lives and would never do it again, although they did manage to sit through that one tattoo. I know people who claim it's "nothing" and say they could sleep through being tattooed. That pretty much runs the entire sensation gamut, eh?

Personally, I think it both sounds and feels amazingly like using one of those Epilady hair removers, the ones that yank the hairs out using a rotating coil.

omg... i have never used an epilady... but i'm so glad getting my tattoo was not as bad as plucing a nose hair or eyebrow hair.. that [censored] hurts.

for me it was like a beesting... yes I'm trolling... sorry.

[if tattooing hurt that badly, why would people keep doing it for thousands of years?]

LOL!
Childbirth also hurts like H=LL and people keep doing that <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Carrie
http://www.hatelatefees.com