Use a magnifying glass to get those buggers out & remember to wash with alcohol. Generaly if you don't get the tiny ones, they will fester and then you can pop them out easily. Sorry, but it's not a fun or easy task!

When my kids were little, I bought a great little tool at my local drug store. It's a short,very sharp tweezers with a magnifier attached. Great for splinters,bug stingers, cactus thorns. Soaking in water,even showering, also helps dislodge the tiny tiny thorns you can't see.

Very gently place adhesive tape on them and then lift them out.

Bob

Different cacti have different thorns. Some have hooks, which make removal harder. I use tweezers & duct tape. Make sure you are in a good light so you can see them.
Make sure you get them out of your clothes or they can go to other clothes in the laundry.

scotch tape & if that doesn't work, duct tape.

I used to put white glue on my childrens hands if they touched the neighbors cactus, let it dry and peel off. Worked every time, plus, it gave the kids something to do themselves = control = no pain.

clay dirt, very dry, sprinkle on and wait a bit, then dampen, wait a bit more then shower off, the clay sucks up pretty much everything superficial, hope the thorns aren't too deep

Elmer's glue work great Pour it on let it dry lift it off and out

Well hopefully after 6 years the problem has been remedied!