WHIPPETS AND TATTOOS: WHAT’S THE CONNECTION?

Little metal cartridges you can order online and plenty of whipped cream can selections to choose from at your local grocery store intended to top off your desserts at home, have developed over decades as personal laughing gas parties.

They’re called whippets. Same spelling as those little fast ass dogs, but I’m not writing about them.

What do whippets have to do with tattooing? Well, nitrous oxide, commonly called laughing gas, has legitimate medical applications for reducing pain and anxiety. But there’s a huge ass difference between a trained medical professional, and I mean licensed by the state, administering it with proper equipment and a guy you just met that’s treating his shop’s whipped cream stash as though he’s running a pain management clinic. He tells you all is good cause he worked for 3 weeks as an intake counselor at a methadone clinic.

Recreational nitrous oxide misuse has been linked to serious neurological problems. It interferes with vitamin B12 function and fucks up your nervous system. And I don’t know what’s going on in Michigan, but the CDC has documented an increase in related medical emergencies there, so this isn’t a harmless get lightheaded, laugh your ass off, pull my finger kinda fun.

In 2025, the American Society of Anesthesiologists issued guidance addressing the use of anesthesia for lengthy tattoo sessions. Sitting for eight hours getting your skin worked on has inspired people to investigate alternatives to biting down hard and pretending all is Kool & the Gang. And, as far as I know, Bali is the only place that has a legit anesthesia assisted tattoo shop. For me, I’ll take the pain, I’m no bitch!

There’s also medical research into nitrous oxide for reducing pain during laser tattoo removal but removing a tattoo and getting one are two entirely different procedures. And for the record, I’m not saying that whippets are a widespread practice inside tattoo shops or conventions. Have I seen that shit out there? Fuck yeah, have I tried it, YES!! Do I recommend it? Fuck No! I don’t recommend shit, except downloading the Inker app!

If you’re planning a long ass tattoo session, have the conversation about pain management before you’re sitting in the chair wondering whether your nervous system thinks you’re a dumbass. And if anesthesia is involved, that conversation belongs with a qualified and licensed medical professional in a properly equipped facility, not with the guy who happens to know where the whipped cream cartridges or cans are stored.

Inker gives collectors a place to discover tattoo artists, examine their work, and begin finding the right fit for a project. The artist handles the artwork. Medical professionals handle anesthesia. I prefer keeping those job descriptions separate, especially when needles and consciousness are involved.

J Gekko
Staff Writer, Inker