TCA (trichloroacetic acid) is a non-prescription skin peeling product used to remove wrinkles, acne scars and fine lines on the face. But just how well does it work for tattoo removal?
Like all tattoo removal choices available today there seems to be no shortage on the varying results. There are many varied options for tattoo removal today including: pulsed light, laser, fade creams, cryosurgery, salabrasion and skin peel with acids. All of these methods for tattoo removal claim to work.
It should come as no surprise, that results with these methods seem to vary with each person and their tattoos, because a mulltitude of factors come into play. How well a tattoo vanishes are affected by the following: color and types of skin, how rapidly a person’s body heals, the age of the tattoo, the types of colors in the tattoo, type of ink, depth of the ink, where on the body the tattoo is located and more.
TCA however, does have two medical studies that have been published in the British Journal of Plastic Surgery and the South African Medical Journal. In both of these studies positive results were observed. Similar results were presented from both studies that TCA treatment for tattoo removal was found to be simple, safe and effective as an tattoo removing product with an 85% success rate at either removing or fading the tattoos on subjects that were tested.
When using TCA it creates a controlled inflammation on the surface of the skin. It is applied directly on the tattoo with a q-tip. The pigments breaks apart as the TCA works its way into the skin and rise to the top. Eventually, the top layer of skin peels away. Your body naturally re-grows the skin. The process is repeated as frequently as needed to get the desired results. It is usually repeated every six weeks, depending on how fast the person heals.
It is recommended to keep the area away from the sun during the entire process. It will be very vulnerable to damage by the sun, because new skin is so photo-sensitive.
Surprisingly, TCA is reported to work equally well on all types of ink colors. Even the colors that seem to not work well with laser treatments seem to fade with TCA.
Some people seeking the ultimate solution for tattoo removal will use the cream products or undergo the TCA skin peel process first to fade the tattoo, and then have the laser treatment done. That way the laser procedure, which seems to be the best overall solution, is not as expensive and time consuming.
i can just say that tatoo removal is so damn painful so avoid it”‘:
Tattoo removal is very very painful, i would think twice getting a tattoo again and having it removed:`: