Tattoo Chemical Peels – Which work?
There’s been huge growth of interest in tattoo peeling products for removing unwanted ink over the past twenty plus years. Prior to the invention of lasers, individuals would often make use of stronger peels in an attempt to get rid of tattoos in addition to lines and wrinkles. When done by experts the results of these peels could be great. However, there was always risk that the deeper the chemical peel penetrated the stratum corneum (outer skin layer), the more skin discoloration might occur. This often led to patchy or even irregular results in eliminating the tattoo pigment. In some cases white and red scarring was known to occur.
Now, in the current chemical peel revolution, consumers have the buying option of products that have much more safer effects. For optimum results, these products are applied up to three to four times.
What is a Chemical Tattoo Peel?
These products involve applying a chemical to the skin that leads to shedding of surface skin layers, the dead cells that compose the epidermis. By removing these layers, a fresh layer forms. As well as starting the process of skin re-growth, the peel (such as TCA) also tricks the dermal layer (the skin’s second layer underneath the epidermis) to produce additional collagen.
There are a few different types of chemical peel. I have listed them here in order of most mild to the deepest:
Lactic acid
Glycolic acid
Beta-hydroxy acid
Lactic acid is an alpha-hydroxy (AHA) peel. It is normally obtained from milk and other dairy products such as yogurt. These peels are very valuable to those with sensitive skin. Most often, they are well tolerated and usually create less peeling and shredding than the glycolic acids and beta acid peels. It is considered a mild, entry-level chemical skin peel.
Trichloroacetic acid (TCA peels) are a bit stronger and often come in strengths such as 10 – 25 percent. They can be used as superficial chemical peels. A higher concentration TCA peel such as a 35 percent product is considered a medium to deeper acid peel. These deeper chemical peels are still often used by many dermatologists, however many of these practitioners have moved to laser tecniques. These newer methods provide more control terms of targeting the proper depth. TCA is now a very common acid in many chemical tattoo removal products. Additionally, it can be used by consumers, at home, as a removal treatment.
There are a variety of qualities of these chemical peels to consider including whether the product is a commercial or medical grade. The higher the quality of the peel the higher the price will be. So ensure sure that you are purchasing a peel product that is going to be effective rather than a cheaper one that will certainly save you money but possibly not produce the results you were expecting.
Besides the Jessner’s peel, the acids above are usually ineffective at removing tattoo ink , although many people who are misinformed do purchase them for the purpose of removing a tattoo. The reason that they are ineffective is that they just will not penetrate the skin’s outer surface enough to get to the pigment in your tattoo. Glycolic acid is made from sugar cane and is definitely safe for your skin, but will not work on removing your tattoo ink since it will just loosen dead epidermal cells. Your skin will look better but your tattoo will still be there.
Beta-hydroxy acids are sold in many different concentrations. In most ways they are very similar to glycolic peels. The main difference is that the glycolics are a bit stronger and may lead to redness and additional skin peeling. These are not as effectiveness as TCA chemical peels for removing tattoos, they just aren’t strong enough to penetrate the epidermis to break up the ink. My hope is that this article sheds some light on the different peels out there and will assist consumers in making a more informed decision when considering one of these peels to get rid of an unwanted tattoo.
To learn more about tca tattoo removal visit my tattoo removal cream site where you can see many before and after tattoo removal pictures.
David Mitchell is a freelance author who writes for numerous health and welness blogs.