Many people have seen ads that claim: “Remove your tattoo quickly and easily at home!” or “DIY: Tattoo Removal Solutions.” You might’ve even seen the viral TikTok last year where a man claims he removed his hand tattoo with a salt scrub and water (it was fake); but the truth is there are no “do it yourself” alternatives that are safe or effective for removing your tattoo.
Here’s why at-home tattoo removal can cause more harm than good. Follow along with Tatt2Away for the inside scoop.
Is at Home Tattoo Removal Effective?
When people consider removing a tattoo at a removal studio, med spa, or doctors office they may be deterred by pricing or time it takes to remove a tattoo. Internet sites claim that you can remove a tattoo by yourself at home with little to no cost, and in no time at all. This may result in a person purchasing at-home removal kits and attempting to remove a tattoo at home.
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To Save Money:
While prices vary between tattoo removal methods and removal companies, on average it costs more to remove a tattoo than it costs to get a tattoo. This is one reason many people search for at-home tattoo removal methods.
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To Save Time:
In a similar vein, tattoo removal can often take longer than getting a tattoo as well, with many larger tattoos needing 3-5 sessions with Tatt2Away or 10-15 with laser tattoo removal. Some people hear that you can remove a tattoo in as little as one to two sessions or within a certain time frame while in the comfort of their own home, and decide to try DIY tattoo removal.
While it may sound enticing to remove your tattoo quickly and cheaply, you should always use a trained professional to remove any unwanted ink. There can be serious and permanent consequences to using at-home DIY tattoo removal methods. As the largest organ, your skin is an important part of the body, protecting and regulating many critical aspects of your health. If you’re removing a tattoo that you don’t want to see anymore, leaving a scar or damaging the area is no better than keeping the tattoo; that’s why we recommend always seeking out a professional to remove your tattoo.
A professional with trained experience in removing tattoos can help you to remove your tattoo safely and efficiently, with minimal to no damage to your skin. Using DIY methods can end up extending the amount of time and money it takes to remove your tattoo, especially since it’s likely you’d have to go get it fixed by a professional in the end (and even then you might run the risk of not being able to fully remove a tattoo that you’ve attempted to remove at home first). Since tattoo removal is a medical procedure, we recommend getting a professional to remove your tattoo for you.
DIY Tattoo Removal Has Not Been Approved by the FDA
Aside from being risky and ineffective, at-home tattoo removal is also not approved by the FDA. In fact, the FDA actually advises against DIY tattoo removal of any kind, saying it can lead to scarring, burns, or rashes.
The FDA approves tattoo removal if done by a professional and with professional equipment. In order for a tattoo removal treatment to be effective, it has to do one of two following:
- Cause the body to absorb and eliminate the ink from the skin.
- Manually push out or extract the ink particles.
There are currently no at-home tattoo removal kits or creams that absorb and eliminate the ink, nor effectively and safely extract ink from the skin.
Most Common DIY Tattoo Removal Methods
While there are many types of at-home removal methods, all of them can cause serious and permanent damage. To learn more about the most popular types of DIY tattoo removal methods, (and why you should avoid all of them), check out the list below:
Glycolic Acid:
Glycolic acid removes and dissolves several layers of the skin, which can cause permanent and drastic damage. Attempting to remove your tattoo at home using this method can be dangerous.
Salabrasion:
Salabrasion is a dangerous method ineffectively used to remove a tattoo. This method is used to remove a layer of the skin and then rub salt in the wound. This method can cause lasting damage and extreme pain.
Salicylic Acid:
Salicylic acid is used to remove the top layer of skin and is commonly used to exfoliate the skin. Because of this, the method does not work when attempting to remove a tattoo, due to the surface-level reach.
Creams:
There is a lack of clinical research for all tattoo removal creams, with no research showing effectiveness or safety in removing a tattoo.
Lemon Juice:
Lemon juice can lighten skin and leave rashes or discomfort to the skin, rather than remove a tattoo.
Sand Abrasion:
Meant to recreate dermabrasion, sand is used to remove a tattoo by rubbing the pigment out of your skin. This, however, does not work and can cause infection or irritation.
Aloe Vera:
Aloe Vera is used for topical purposes and does not penetrate deep enough into the skin to remove any ink in a tattoo.
Yogurt:
Similarly to Aloe Vera, yogurt does not reach an appropriate depth of skin to remove a tattoo.
DIY Kits:
Since tattoos are embedded deep in the dermis, DIY tattoo removal kits often can’t reach the layer of skin where the ink is located. Many kits contain dangerous chemicals or offer dangerous methods of removal. If you have a tattoo that you no longer want, please seek professional help to remove the tattoo.
Professional Tattoo Ink Removal Methods
Since at-home DIY tattoo removal methods can be dangerous and ineffective, it’s always best to have any unwanted ink professionally removed. When determining the best way to remove your tattoo, you have two main choices– tattoo removal that pulls the ink out of your skin, or laser tattoo removal which pushes the ink into the body to be processed out over time, hopefully.
With Tatt2Away, we align with nature to move your unwanted tattoo by extracting the ink from your body. Our service provides the safest and healthiest way to remove a tattoo since we use the body’s natural healing process as part of our procedure.
Laser tattoo removal may be effective on some tattoos, however there are limitations with skin tones and color tattoos, and laser tattoo removal drives the ink further into the body so your lymphatic system must flush it out over time. This could potentially be harmful to your body and lymphatic system.
DIY is Unsafe, Choose Tatt2Away Instead:
Choosing to attempt to remove your tattoo with a DIY or at-home removal method can cause serious damage to your skin, and potentially result in you still needing professional services to remove your tattoo. If you’re interested in removing your tattoo, book a free consultation with Tatt2Away so our team can help remove, revise, or replace your tattoo.
