THink Tech Talk #8 – Anaesthetics: Did You Know?

Most cosmetic tattoo professionals are now well aware that the topical anaesthetics that are legal in Australia and work effectively need to be obtained from a compounding chemist. They contain between 5 and 10% anaesthetic (e.g. lidocaine (also called lignocaine), tetracaine, prilocaine or benzocaine). With less than 5% your client is likely to suffer.

At THink we’ve been working closely with a compounding chemist to come up with the best possible topical anaesthetics, including pre-treatment cream, in-treatment gel, and different formulations for eyeliner (need to be very careful due to pH levels and possible chemical burns to the eyes), and eyebrows and lips.

Each of the anaesthetics (lidocaine, tetracaine etc.) work differently, so you usually need a combination to give fairly quick relief and then throughout the treatment.

The type of cream or gel base is also very important, and getting that right can make a big difference in the anaesthetic working well or not.

We’ve made big steps forward in recent months and the compounding chemist we use (Tugun Compounding Pharmacy on the Gold Coast) has been super helpful. We’ll continue to work with them on the formulations until we’ve got the best possible results. Look out for our next upcoming Tech Talks for our recommended formulation !

Syringe of topical anaesthetic from TUGUN Compounding Pharmacy
(individual client)