Numbing cream can reduce sensation for some people, but tattooing is not only about pain. It is also about how the skin receives ink, how the artist reads the skin, how the tattoo settles, and how it heals afterward. At Roy Tattoo Art and Classique Ink and Aesthetics studio near Halifax, Nova Scotia, we look at numbing cream through the lens: not as something “good” or “bad,” but as something that can affect the tattoo process and should be discussed before the appointment. D

Beautiful Scar cover-up on forearm done by Roy Tattoo Art, Nova Scotia, Canada Short version: You don’t have to live with past ink or...