Having had my first tattoo placed a few months ago, it really wasn’t that bad. It was on my arm, though, so maybe other places hurt more, such as the ankle or behind the ear or the neck. I also do laser tattoo removal and use the anesthetic cream on just about everyone. It does help, it wipes off easily, and has no odors or other annoying properties. The only thing to be careful of is lidocaine toxicity. You should not leave it on a large area (say 150 square centimeters), especially for a while, as it can build up in your blood and make you sick. Small amounts are fine, though.

It’s actually true, there are some inks that are “resistant” to laser treatment. If your ink contains metal oxide pigments, then it’s much harder to remove than organic-based ink, such as India ink. It is not clear why that is – I don’t think that enough research has been done. However, it is known that in cosmetic tattoos, iron oxide is often used. When that is treated with the laser, it converts from brown to black. In the case reports available out there, it is still removable but requires much more than the usual number of laser tattoo removal treatments. Some artists that I’ve talked to are aware of this phenomenon and specifically use metal oxide ink because it’s harder to remove. If you don’t know what’s in your tattoo, you may as well keep going for now, since you’ve had at least some fading. Otherwise, try to find out from your tattooist, if possible.

It could be that you have an allergy to one of the inks used in the tattoo. Are you itchy on the whole tattoo or just in certain colors? Try to find out what ink was used, and you should probably go see a dermatologist. If you have a serious allergy, you might need to get the tattoo removed, probably not with a laser. You might need some steroid injections there also.