The Why: A Note from Our Founder
I received my first tattoo at the age of 17, and 20 years later, I still find myself spending long hours in the chair. From a young age, I have been enamored with tattoos, and through my various professions; longshoreman, EMT in Los Angeles, special operations in the Marines, and most recently licensed pharmacist/pharmacist clinician in New Mexico, I constantly find myself buddying up to fellow tattoo lovers and talking about getting inked. One topic of discussion that always seems to come up is pain, with the question "where did it hurt worst?" being very common.
So, where does it hurt? If we are honest, everywhere. It is often a point of pride if you can "sit well" or be bold enough to do a specific location. Recently, I was 12 hours into one of my latest tattoo, as my artist was spraying me with a numbing agent for the 30th time – I thought to myself, "there has got to be a better way!"
Of course, there are products designed to help with the pain of tattoos. Numbing creams help, but they only last for an hour and must be applied a half-hour in advance. Sprays work, kind of, but they are only used once the skin has been broken and leave a burning sensation. After 1 - 5 minutes, they take effect but only last a half-hour after each application. Lastly, your artist may use ointments that have some products to decrease the burn or swelling, but these are costly and not often used.
Our team spent countless hours pouring over research and clinical trials to create a patent-pending formulation in the INK that works from that first contact to that last bit of shading. From testing, we have seen a subjective decrease in pain from 30-50%. Pain is tolerable, even minor.
So what does that mean for you? As an end-user, that means you can get that larger tattoo you always wanted in that one spot you heard would hurt. Or maybe you have undergone a medical procedure like a mastectomy and received implants—restorative procedures like micro-pigmentation and a nipple tattoo can be done with minimal pain. If you're an artist, Apothecary Ink opens up entirely new markets by removing pain barriers. It also allows your clients more chair time. If you are a manufacturer, you can use the same pigments and produce the same colors with the added benefit of pain relief, decreased redness & irritation, and reduced bleeding.
In closing, thank you for looking at our product and joining us on this journey to make tattoos a less painful process.
About our Founder Dr. Dave Arnold.
The inventor of Apothecary Ink, Dr. Dave Arnold, received his BS in pharmaceutical sciences, an MBA, and his doctorate in pharmacy from the University of New Mexico. He started in the medical field working EMS in Los Angeles and used his skills to train others while in the Marines. He deployed once with the Marines and started college immediately after returning from overseas. He has been a licensed pharmacist for two years and is also a licensed pharmacist clinician and a pharmacy preceptor in the state of New Mexico.
Dr. Arnold has completed additional coursework from the American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists to receive a certification in Pain management. Having several tattoos himself, he came up with the thought that "there has to be a better way" 12 hours into a session on his latest leg sleeve.