In Reply to: had one done last thursday posted by goodguy on Tuesday, 18. September 2007 at 12:23 Bali Time:
I had one done in Bali last thursday too, and I also found it hurt much less than the last one I'd had done in Australia.
From what I've been able to find out, most tattooists don't like you to use numbing cream because it softens the skin a lot and can cause issues with doing the tattoo.
If you want to have an idea of how it'll feel, get a sharp knife out of your kitchen drawer - turn it upside down and drag the tip over your skin. Sure it's not exactly pleasant, but not necessarily painful either.
My other suggestion is if you wish to use pure vitamin E cream on your tattoo, you probably won't find it in Bali (I tried for 2 weeks) so best to take it with you. You can get Bepanthen over there though. I think it cost me around Rp50,000-ish for the tube.