Tattoo Removal
Tattoo Removal
Tattoo removal has been refined to one of two methods – TCA and Laser Surgery, or a combination of the two. Chemical peels using trichloroacetic acid (or TCA) to fade tattoos is quite successful. The British Journal of Plastic Surgery and the South African Medical Journal have reported that using TCA was successful in fading and removing tattoo inks from subjects in two separate medical tests. In both cases TCA was found to be a safe, simple, and effective means of tattoo removal.
TCA is the best home tattoo removal technique because it is a self regulating acid which typically stops working in 5-8 minutes. It creates a controlled chemical inflammation which causes the ink to rise to the surface and slowly fade away with each treatment cycle. There is a slight stinging sensation associated with the use of TCA but it is less painful than getting the tattoo was itself.
Tattoo Removal
Similar to TCA, Laser tattoo removal works through a controlled inflammation of the skin but uses heat instead of a chemical. When the Laser beam hits the ink it causes the ink pigment to heat, expand and break apart or vaporize the pigment below the skin surface. Human skin contains a lot of water so when the pigment heats and expands, the water in the skin surrounding the ink basically boils off and creates blisters. It is sometimes described as feeling like drops of hot bacon grease on the skin or being rapidly popped by a rubber band over and over again. That is why Lasers hurt more than getting the original tattoo. Also laser treatment requires a longer recovery period between treatment cycles than TCA does.
Another problem with Lasers is they have a hard time removing white, yellow and lighter shades of green pigment. The lighter colors cause the Laser Llight to be reflected before it has time to break apart the pigment. In some cases it actually causes the tattoo ink to darken resulting in even more treatments before the ink begins to fade. In such a case complete clearance is not always possible. TCA has the advantage here because it removes all tattoo pigment regardless of color.
Tattoos are meant to be permanent. There is no miracle method for removing ink injected into the the second layer of skin. Getting a tattoo hurts so why would anyone expect removing one to be painlessc Tattoo removal creams that bill themselves as painless have yet to prove themselves. To my knowledge, none of them list their ingredients so we can only guess what’s in them (Beware of the few that do list Hydroquinone as it is known to be unsafe for long term use, as in tattoo removal, and has been removed from over the counter sales in Europe. It is only available with a Doctor’s prescription).
Tattoo Removal
The safest route is the one that has been traveled by many people before you. That’s why TCA and Laser Tattoo Removal are the best of all the various tattoo removal techniques with TCA having the advantage of being the least expensive of the two.
