For years, people have gotten tattoos to symbolize their individuality, and it’s been a way to show self-expression and love for the art.
Most times, you tend to go to the tattoo shop with a good idea in mind on what type of tattoo you’re looking to get, or you hope the artist can help you accomplish the artwork you have in mind. However, there are many cases where individuals go without knowing what they want and choose spontaneously without thinking things through.
In doing so, this tattoo can become a thing you regret later on in life since it doesn’t have any real significance to you, leaving you wanting to remove it over time. Tattoo removal can be quite painful and expensive, and not many people enjoy the hassle of going to the sessions required. Luckily, there are a few remedies that we found to help you remove tattoos at home!
Removing tattoos at home has pros and cons, but some methods can be dangerous and harmful to the skin. Doing some research is highly suggested before attempting to do any of these remedies to avoid infections and complications. Getting a professional’s opinion on the matter is a great way to weigh out your options and see which method is better for you.
With so many home remedies to choose from, it can be tricky to know which one will remove your tattoo without causing you any damage to your skin. There are several products that state they will remove your tattoos, but the FDA has not approved them to be efficient or safe to use, so making sure you do the proper treatments for removal is essential.
There are so many options that you find on the internet, and you must remember that not everything you read online is safe or proven by any professional to be efficient. So please be aware of what you search for and read all the possible outcomes before you regret making the crucial decision of risking your health.
Here are some of the remedies that people use to remove tattoos:
- Professional laser treatment removal
- Salt and lemon juice
- Aloe
- Permanent tattoo removal creams
- DIY Laser removal at home
- Dermabrasion
Professional Laser removal
If you decide on letting a professional help you remove your unwanted ink, you can choose to get laser tattoo removal done to achieve your goal. Every tattoo and skin is different in each individual, so knowing the exact number of sessions is tricky for laser removal. The sessions can typically range between six to eight sessions for small tattoos and up to ten sessions for larger and more complex designs.
This method is safer since it is done with a licensed professional and in a sterile atmosphere. You can expect to pay anywhere between $200- $500 per session. So while it is the safest option, it can leave a dent in your budget since the number of sessions you’ll need will be pricey.
Salt and Lemon juice
One of the more popular home tattoo removal methods involves using a salt and lemon soak. It works to a degree and involves things you can find in your kitchen. It works by mixing a little bit of lemon juice with 100mg of salt and mixing until it becomes a paste. You then grab a cotton pad, soak it in the mixture, and apply it to the tattoo for about 30 minutes, rinsing off the mix with warm water.
Since salt is high in chlorine and sodium, and lemon juice contains bleaching properties, it’s proven to be an effective method of removing tattoos at home. The salt perforates the skin, helping the ink fade out, and the vitamin c found in lemon juice helps restore the skin.
The only downside to trying out this method is that the lemon juice can only brighten the epidermis layer of your skin, not reaching the full tattoo ink that lies in the lower layers of your skin. Also, rubbing the salt on your skin is painful and leaves some scarring since it removes the epidermis layer in the process.
Aloe Vera Gel
Using aloe to remove tattoos is one of the safer routes to take when removing a tattoo at home since it is painless and gives your skin some significant benefits in the process. With aloe, many individuals apply about one tablespoon with two vitamin E capsules, mixing all the ingredients and soaking the area for ten minutes, rinsing it off with warm water up to four times a day.
You can continue to apply the mixture for a couple of weeks until you reach your goal. Although this remedy uses natural ingrediants and painless, no actual proof or research shows that aloe helps remove tattoos. Some individuals have tried mixing aloe with yogurt to remove the tattoo pigment from their skin, but this method is another one where there is no documentation to state that this works. Aloe is great for treating rashes and reducing inflammation in your skin but remains a myth regarding tattoos.
Tattoo removal creams
Many creams claim to help fade away tattoos, and some just state that they make your tattoos less noticeable. Not effective when trying to remove your tattoos permanently. Most creams also have negative adverse side effects that can cause burning and scarring of the skin.
These creams work by bleaching away the top layer of your skin, which we already learned isn’t adequate for tattoo removal since the pigment lies in the bottom layers of the skin. The most it will do is leave your tattoo looking distorted and leave you regretting trying out the cream in the first place.
They aren’t the safest methods to try when removing tattoos. They contain chemicals such as trichloroacetic acid, the peeling agent used in most of these creams, and can be dangerous to use at home without any professional supervision.
These chemicals can cause redness, inflammation, scarring, rashes, and a burning sensation that can be pretty painful to go through and leave your tattoo looking more unpleasant and your skin damaged. This method would be at the bottom of ways to remove tattoos at home since you can hurt your skin and get an adverse reaction to the chemicals.
DIY Laser removal at home
The great thing about doing laser removals at home is that it can be cheaper than going to a professional location and paying for several sessions. It’s more convenient for homebodies such as myself who rather stay home and remove it in their comfort.
However, there are some cons to this tattoo removal method regarding getting laser removal at home. If you don’t have the experience of adequately using the laser machines, it can take you a long time to get started on your sessions at home since you will need to learn how to use the laser machine properly. You also won’t have much use for the device once you accomplish removing the unwanted tattoo.
If your tattoo is on your backside or a difficult place on your body for you to reach, you might want someone helping you remove these tattoos, which can be difficult as not everyone will be willing to help you with such a sensitive task. They can hurt you if they don’t know how to work with the machine properly, so it’s not good to use this method if you or the person you choose to help do not have the proper experience needed.
Not having the right experience and training with these machines can damage and burn the skin. It can cause blistering, crusting of the skin, and scarring, leaving permanent damage to the area.
Dermabrasion
Some individuals prefer using dermabrasion to remove tattoos. Dermabrasion is a technique that uses a sand-like device that buffers away the outer layer of your skin in a controlled manner.
This technique has a high risk of leaving you with permanent scarring in the tattoo location and can take months to heal fully, sometimes not healing at all. While seeking professional help, it is not an effective way to remove an old tattoo, as it only removes the epidermis layer (the top layer of skin). It leaves the tattoo pigments under the skin which will cause inflamed, red skin that can be painful for some.
Conclusion
So whether you prefer choosing a professional method or a DIY remedy at home, you should look into all the side effects and decide which is the correct method for you to try. It doesn’t hurt to ask for a professional’s opinion on the matter rather than regretting the choice you chose spontaneously.