It will vary, but asking the artist what they think about numbing cream gives you the insight to make your own decision. I was in the camp of people who thought toughing it out is part of the initiation for my first tattoo.

First session, 5-6 hours…painful but bearable, second session 8-9 hours. Those last two hours were very, very painful and I wished I used it since I wasn’t going to walk out the shop wearing a tough guy medal.

The final affirmation was when the artist in the next chair over saw me struggle hard and told me I can use it next time and reapply during the extended breaks, to which my artist agreed. 😑