honestly i fell asleep while my artist was doing it, so it was for me. i also would seek and artist who will work with numbing cream. i used it for my side/rib tat but not my spine. it helps some but doesn’t take away most the pain, i will say some artists use a spary that makes everything comfortable but you have to have broken skin for it and when it’s applied it stings kinda bad for 2-3 minutes