Numbing creams & Anesthetics

What are anesthetics?

Anesthetics are substances that block nerve stimulation to the brain. They block the nervous reaction that causes the sensation known as pain.

There’s a lot of numbing creams out in the market, and it’s just a matter of preference and what you’ve learned in PMU school. Whatever numbing cream you choose or use, make sure it’s approved by your country’s food and drug administration. Also, always purchase on registered and legit drug stores and PMU shops. 

Keep in mind that numbing creams have a lot of substances such as lidocaine, benzocaine, tetracaine, epinephrine, etc., and there might be clients that are allergic to any of them. I suggest asking clients during the consultation if they are allergic to numbing creams or any substance in your products/tools to prevent reactions.

The effect of the numbing creams also depends on the clients’ pain threshold. Some clients have higher pain tolerance than others so the effect may stay longer or shorter.

There are also some PMU artists who don’t use numbing creams for some procedures. Just like me, I don’t normally use primary numbing for shading/powder brows as my technique is really light and soft. 

As for my preferred anesthetic, my primary numbing (before doing PMU procedures) is EMLA LIDOCAINE. For this numbing cream, you need to wait at least 30 mins for the anesthesia to kick in. I like this one the most because aside from its efficiency,  it’s available over the counter.

For secondary numbing (during the procedure, broken skin), I use Tattoo Soothe Topical Anesthetic. For this one, you only need to wait 2 minutes. I order this one online, and I submit documents to customs before they allow me to receive it. 

Both numbing creams can be used for brow and lip procedures.

I’ve also learned before that there are restrictions about numbing creams in other countries. Have you heard about it? Does your country also have numbing cream regulations?

👉  I heard that in the UK, they only allow numbing creams that have a certain percentage of compounds (5%). So for example, EMLA is legal because it only contains just 2.5% Lidocaine & 2.5% Prilocaine. They also don’t give clearance to imported anesthetics as they contain higher than permitted levels of compounds.

👉 In Australia, they classified numbing creams/anesthetics into 2. First is “Pharmacy medicine” which are numbing creams for topical use that contain more than 2% but less than 10% lidocaine. Second is the “Prescription-only medicines” which you can only get with a doctor’s prescription. These are the numbing creams with more than 10% lidocaine. 

How about you, guys? What numbing creams and anesthetics do you prefer to use? 

I’ll be discussing more about anesthetics in my upcoming Lip Blush course so please follow my Instagram account @beautyslesh for upcoming announcements. 

Lip Blush Waitlist: https://beautyslesh.ck.page/lipblush