A cover up is always easier with a faded tattoo. However, when you think about fading maybe you think of lasers, burns, and scarring, but there are other natural, painless ways that might fade your ink. And the great thing is most of the things you need are already close at hand.
Get Some Rays
It is common knowledge sun fades tattoos. As an aftercare procedure, you should always wear sunscreen on your ink. However, if you want to fade that work naturally over time while you are saving up for a removal treatment, then skip on the sunscreen but don't stay out too long unprotected; you don't want to get scorched.
How It Works
With this method, you will notice that over time (typically months), the colors of the work will naturally fade. This is because the UV in the sun's rays naturally breaks down some types of inks. However, while you might see a difference in blacks, yellows and purples can be some of the hardest tattoo colors to fade and might need professional lightening techniques.
Lemons Aren't Just for Lemonade
Another common painless natural method to lighten a tattoo is the use of lemon juice. Lemons are a common known lightening agent for the skin. They can also work to lighten the colors in a tattoo.
What You'll See
With this method, you simply add pure or fresh squeezed lemon juice to your skin, up to three times a day. After several weeks, you might notice the ink starting to lighten. This is most apparent on darker colors like black. You will notice it fading to brown.
Exfoliation and Hydrogen Peroxide
You know exfoliation removes dead and excess skin. When you combine this with hydrogen peroxide, it can work to naturally to fade tattoo ink. On some occasions, it can make old or superficial tattoos fade completely.
Results and How To
First, exfoliate your skin. A great natural way to do this is with a salt scrub or with a natural sugar scrub like sugar and coconut oil. After spending 5 to 10 minutes exfoliating the skin, dab hydrogen peroxide on the area with a cotton swab. Like all natural methods, this will take time. However, over weeks or months, you will begin to notice a lightening in the darker blacks and greens of the tattoo. A word of caution however. Make sure you don't overly scrub the skin; you want to get rid of the dead cells not make yourself bleed. Therefore, when the skin gets pink, stop.
Words of Caution
Remember, fading a tattoo using a natural method isn't an easy fix. It will take time and effort for the ink to fade. However, consistency is key for these methods to work. You need to make sure the natural methods are applied daily, otherwise they won't work to bleach the ink. Additionally, your skin and how you react to the agents comes into play as well. These methods won't work on some skin types because of the chemical make up.
Your Best Option
If you are looking for a proven way to fade your tattoo, then seeing a professional tattoo removal center is your best option. These methods are proven to lighten and remove tattoos completely. Additionally, since the ink resides below the epidermis, using natural or painless methods can either create no change or cause an allergic reaction and in some instances, scarring. Additionally, a study questioning the effectiveness of using sun, lemon juice, or other natural home remedies proved on tattooed rats that these methods caused little to no lightening. However, it should be noted people who have tried these methods did see results. Additionally, while these methods might be successful in fading surface ink, deeper set ink will need to be faded professionally.
Lightening Your Ink
There are different methods for lightening your tattoo. While some take a professional and possibly thousands of dollars, there are natural and painless ways to lighten a tattoo slowly. Therefore, research the best option for you and get faded.
