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That time my friend said to use dish soap for numbing before a tattoo

So a buddy of mine who's done a few home tattoos told me to rub Dawn dish soap on my skin before starting. Said it'd numb it up like lidocaine. I tried it on my forearm last month and let me tell you, it did absolutely nothing except make my skin feel weird and slippery. The needle still hurt just as much and the soap dried out my skin so bad it flaked for a week after. Has anyone else fallen for a bad tip like that or am I just gullible?
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2 Comments
terry_wood51
His skin flaked for a whole week? That's insane.
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elizabethtaylor
Dish soap won't numb anything, it's just a degreaser that strips oils. People confuse the tingling from soap irritation with actual numbing, but that's not how lidocaine works. Stick with real tattoo numbing creams or just tough it out like everyone else.
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