Skin Peel Tattoo Removal

If a skin peel is what you’re going for in terms of tattoo removal, you have a few options. According to Dr. Steven Hammond of the Tattoo Removal Institute, trichloroacetic acid peels will not remove your tattoo entirely, but will allegedly shorten the laser or tattoo fade away cream treatment you can use as a followup. There are also glycolic acid peels to consider. These are more commonly associated with facial peels.

TCA Peel

These are typically performed in a doctor’s office or surgery center but there are do-it-yourself TCA kits available. Tcatattooremoval.com suggests applying the solution every two to six weeks. How old your tattoo is, what type of ink was used and your skin color determine how long and efficiently your tattoo will fade. Over a week’s time, the TCA solution will cause the ink in your skin to break apart and move toward the surface. Blistering and peeling will follow. When the dead skin is gone, new skin will rejuvenate.

Using TCA treatments can leave you with scarring, infection and changes in skin tone. They can cause hyper pigmentation, which is the darkening of your skin sometimes treatable with bleaching methods, and they can cause hypo pigmentation, which is the lightening of your skin and is more difficult to treat. Depending on the provider and location of the treatment, TCA peels can cost you between $30 and $50 for a 1 ounce or 2 ounce bottle.

Glycolic Acid Peel

Glycolic acid peels include mixtures of lactic acid, tartaric acid, malic acid and glycolic acid and can also be administered at home or by a dermatologist. Also known as the alpha hydroxy acid peel, it is designed to slowly fade your tattoo ink and may take several sessions. Each person’s skin will react differently depending on the quality and age of your tattoo. The solution causes your skin to inflame so your body can expel the tattoo ink. Like the TCA peel, this treatment may cause you to experience pain or scarring.

Your Other Options

If a skin peel isn’t your thing, you do have other options. According to Tattoohealth.org, salabrasion involves soaking your tattoo in a salt solution to remove the pigment from your skin. This process will take several sessions to work and may be coupled with dermabrasion, a process where the top layers of your skin are rubbed off to reveal the skin beneath. Dermabrasion is not recommended if you easily scar. There are also laser treatments that burn into your tattoo–also not recommended if you scar easily. Camouflaging is another method of tattoo removal that entails injecting new pigments to form a new pattern or cover a tattoo with skin-toned pigments.