Do you have a tattoo that you regret having in the end? You may want to get rid of it. One of the best ways to do that is fading.
Fading makes it simple to remove as the tattoo looks less distinct. Fading a tattoo can be professionally performed in a tattoo studio, but there are also DIY solutions, like using lemon juice, exfoliation, removal creams, and more.
This guide discusses some of the best options you can do to fade a tattoo successfully. So, without further ado, let’s get started to know How to fade a Tattoo!
Do tattoo changes over time? Why?
Let’s be clear here first. As you age, your body will change. Of course, such a change will impact the way your tattoo looks.
So, to answer the question above, yes. Tattoos do change over time, but the level of the change differs from person to person.
Remember that tattoo change is influenced by different factors, not only the body changes and time. Here are some of the reasons you need to consider:
- Ink
It might not be common knowledge, but the ink’s overall quality can contribute to faster deterioration of the tattoo and skin changes and aging.
Do you have a cheap tattoo done to your skin, done with high chemical and low pigmentation ink? Unfortunately, it will start fading over time and contribute to the tattoo losing its shape and original look.
- Tattoo
Over time, medium or smaller tattoos tend to undergo substantial changes as you get older. However, tattoos that are smaller, detailed, intricate, and colored are also impacted even by the smallest changes on the skin.
Nevertheless, larger tattoos with bolder lines and less detailing are less likely to become visible by aging skin.
- Aging
The skin is our body’s biggest organ and is one of the most obvious proofs of age and age. Tattoos being placed on the skin also undergo the same changes as the skin.
The skin’s deterioration, normally highlighted as loss of elasticity and stretching, influences the appearance of the tattoo and changes its shape.
Here are other aspects that support faster tattoo fading:
- Excessive size or weight gain
You significantly change your skin’s elasticity when you gain massive weight over a short time. Depending on where the tattoo is located, it will stretch, causing the ink molecules to break apart, offering the appearance of ink fading.
- Too much friction
Is your tattoo frequently exposed to continuous friction? It’s essentially being over-exfoliated, making it fade over time.
That’s more typical with athletes who partake in sports where their tattoo comes in continuous contact with equipment, padding, materials like ground turn, and other things.
For instance, a surfer laying down in the prone position on top of a surfboard while not wearing anything will put an upper-abdomen tattoo through the wringer more than your average Joe or Jane.
- Poor nutrition
Looking pale is something people say to those who are unhealthy due to bad eating habits. The skin reacts that way when you don’t get proper minerals and vitamins, and so does your tattoo.
Indeed, poor nutrition may not have an immediate or direct effect on its pigment, but it does take its toll.
- Poor skincare
Many people pay close attention to their skincare after getting a tattoo by keeping it clean and using a natural moisturizer.
Nonetheless, after the healing period, they start to fall back into old habits. Skin becomes flakey and dry and lightens eventually as dead skin gives way to the lighter layers below.
How to fade a tattoo?
Indeed, a tattoo can fade over time due to aging. But if you cannot wait that long and wishes to fade your tattoo immediately, there’s no need to worry.
Here are some of the options you may want to consider today.
- Honey with salt, yogurt, and aloe vera
This naturally homemade concoction is an excellent way to remove unwanted tattoos. Even though it may take some time and numerous applications before you can fade your tattoo, it’s one of the best natural ways to consider.
The application of honey, yogurt, salt, and aloe vera together does wonders for the skin, and neither does it leave any scar behind.
All you need to do is to combine all the ingredients. Then, after you clean the application area, apply the mix over it and massage it. Over time and after numerous applications, your tattoo will naturally fade away.
- Expose your skin to the sun
Sunlight is equivalent to harmful UV rays. However, it is not suggested that you expose your skin to the damaging sun without proper protection, like sunscreen.
Also, sunburns can accelerate the development of skin cancer, general skin damage, and premature aging caused by those sun rays.
Also, tattooed people are urged to apply sunscreen to protect their tattoos. Tattoo ink fades prematurely in the presence of sun exposure and sunshine—a typical problem if you love your tattoos.
In that case, here’s a solution to your problem. Do you like your tattoo to fade faster naturally? Do not use sunscreen on it. Meanwhile, make sure you apply sunscreen to the rest of your exposed skin.
Nonetheless, ensure you do not overexposure yourself to the sun. You don’t like to cause further skin damage or burn your skin, right?
Black tattoos will also fade visibly when exposed to the sun. Fading may be more challenging to accomplish for tattoos with purple, green, or yellow ink on them.
- Try lemon juice
Lemons are perceived by most as skin-lightening agents. Other cultures even use lemon juice to correct or lighten skin pigmentation problems.
Although this method may be bothersome and upsetting in terms of race, it is helpful for tattoo fading.
The bleaching properties of lemon juice on tattoos are purely anecdotal. Other people will add hydrogen peroxide, glycolic acid, or lime juice to increase efficiency. However, we do not know how safe or practical these items are.
The safest method for fading tattoos with lemon juice is below. Kindly follow the steps to get started:
– Squeeze the juice from a lime or lemon.
– Apply the freshly squeezed juice to your tattoo 2 to 3 times per day. You should see some light fading after at least a month.
Unluckily, this treatment works best on black-inked tattoos, causing them to turn pale brown right away. This method will surely be inefficient on blue, green, and yellow tattoos.
- Salt and apricot scrub
You can combine apricot scrub with some salt and rub it into your tattoo with this method. Did you know that salt abrades the skin’s upper layer, and the apricot scrub blurs the tattoo ink?
Nonetheless, this approach is only partially efficient in removing the tattoo itself.
- Sand powder
You can make a mixture of sand powder and aloe vera pulp. Apply it to your tattoo several times a day until you notice it fading. It’s one of the most efficient approaches to fade tattoos at home, as sand powders help to remove the tattoo inks attached to the skin.
You can also find different natural creams to help you with tattoo fading that people have tried and tested. You may like to consult with your dermatologist first before trying those on your tattoo.
- Exfoliate with sugar or salt scrub
Exfoliation is an efficient method that helps with tattoo fading. It eliminates dead skin and thus helps the brightening agent penetrate further.
Logically, the scrub doesn’t impact the level of ink brightness, but it plays an important role along with skin lightening agents.
Purchase a salt or sugar scrub for this method. Do you have sensitive skin? Vitamin C scrubs are the perfect option, as it’s good for keeping the skin soft and clear. You can also make DIY scrubs using Epsom salt, shea butter, brown sugar, coffee grounds, honey, and aloe vera gel.
Apply a tiny amount of exfoliation to the tattoo you like to fade. Rub the scrub around the surface and rub with a pumice stone around the area through circular motions.
Do that for a minute and apply light pressure with the pumice stone. Make sure you do not rub too hard.
Wash the tattoo region thoroughly with warm water. You can repeat the exfoliation process two to three times a day for a month. You can then apply brightening agents, but it will help if you let your skin calm down.
Spread the moisturizer and wait for a few hours. The essence of fading is to do it slowly, without scoffing off the skin.
- Laser removal procedure
This is the only clinically proven approach to fading. During a laser tattoo removal procedure, concentrated streams of lights are utilized to break up the tattoo ink beneath the skin’s surface.
Laser tattoo removal is extremely efficient, but it’s neither cheap nor fast. It may take at least six sessions before you notice considerable results.
Moreover, before the procedure, consult with a dermatologist first. After all, your safety always comes first.
Do tattoos fade over time?
Yes. Tattoos fade over time, and all tattoos will do! Aging is the major contributor to tattoo fading. Apart from aging, there’s sun exposure, too.
The skin is a protective layer that protects the body and organs from the sun. Although it heals and manages to regenerate over time, the damage remains.
Most people follow aftercare for their tattoo within the weeks and months of getting it done. Nonetheless, over time, that attention to your tattoo starts to subside. The sooner that occurs, the sooner it will naturally fade.
Also, a poorly maintained tattoo can start to experience slight fading after the first year. A tattoo that gets the necessary care may not encounter obvious fading for most years—even a decade.
The standard falls somewhere in the middle of that. If you like to fade your tattoo, the key is to know the things that cause a tattoo to fade. These involve the following:
- excessive weight gain
- poor overall nutrition
- continuous friction
- excessive sun exposure
- poor initial care (from the time you leave the tattoo studio)
Also, colored tattoos are more likely to fade faster, especially watercolor and light-colored pieces, due to the technique used. White tattoos fade the fastest out of all, particularly when exposed to the sun.
On the other hand, grey and black tattoos are more likely to last longer due to vibrancy. However, it will still experience fading over time.
Also, finding a reliable and skilled tattoo artist is important because their skills can make or break the longevity of the tattoo’s appearance.
How fast does a tattoo fade?
Tattoos often fade within days of their application as the skin’s epidermis acclimates to the pigments and generates another layer of skin.
Your tattoo will experience vibrancy as the dead skin is shed. For the deeper layers of skin to heal, that could take months, but it depends on its coloring, size, and how experienced your tattoo artist is.
That form of fading shows after the tattoo has completely healed. It often starts six months down the line, depending on the different environments and settings the tattoo is exposed.
Where do tattoos fade the least?
A major part of the happiness of tattoos is the creative freedom you have with them. However, it would help if you were cautious that specific areas on the body are more prone to sunlight, causing the tattoo to fade a lot faster.
The weather, your lifestyle, and your environment directly affect that as well.
Areas like your feed, abdomen, or anywhere that is more likely to crease, like wrists, aren’t as ideal, especially if you like to protect your tattoo from exposure.
Areas like your upper thighs, back, ribs, and outer collarbone are great placements, especially if you want to hide the tattoo under your clothes.
More FAQs
Q: Can you use Vaseline to fade a tattoo?
Yes, you can. Vaseline is widely utilized to accelerate the healing process after tattoo removal. Other tattoo removal methods might put you at risk of infections.
Make sure you take good care of the wound to prevent that. Vaseline has properties that block moisture to keep the wound moisturized and free from germs.
Q: Can you fade tattoos without lasers?
You will find different ways of removing tattoos and fading them without lasers. It is the most typical method people use to fade and remove tattoos they no longer desire.
Nonetheless, lasers have health side effects, costly, not to mention painful. You can opt for the natural way, but the DIY methods aren’t healthy and proven.
You can fade and remove a tattoo without the tattoo vanishing. It’s a method where the ink is brought to the skin’s surface and washed away using an ink eraser.
It takes at least thirty minutes and about a week for the skin to completely heal. Also, it’s not as painful as laser tattoo removal.
Q: Is there a simple and natural way to fade tattoos?
There is. Going under the laser to get rid of your poorly done tattoo or one that you make no love with anymore doesn’t look ideal, but there are natural methods you can try.
If you wish to go natural, here are some helpful ideas.
- Use a homemade removal cream – Many removal creams on the market are made of low-quality materials and are not as effective as marketed. Rather than using these products, you can make one at home.
You can combine aloe vera pulp, two capsules of vitamin E, and a tablespoon of Paederia tomentosa. Apply that mixture to the tattoo you like to fade, massage it for a few minutes and wash it off with lukewarm water.
- Use honey with salt, yogurt, and aloe vera concoction – Combine all the ingredients and apply them to your inked skin. Massage the area, and the fading will be more visible after a few applications.
That’s the most efficient home tattoo fading method available. It doesn’t leave scars and is good for the skin.
Q: Can lemon juice fade your tattoos?
Yes, they are. Lemon juice can fade your tattoos. The fruit has a bleaching property that can help fade out the tattoo when used continuously and properly for several weeks.
You can also use a salt-lemon mixture for better results. Apply the mixture for at least thirty minutes on your skin using a cotton swab. Massage the tattoo area and wash it off with warm water.
Remember that salt has properties that penetrate further into the skin and helps fade the ink faster. However, this method will leave you sore for a little while.
Q: Should you fade your tattoo by yourself?
The procedures and methods listed above haven’t been studied and are not recommended by specialists. The only approach that has been established is laser tattoo removal, which needs professionals with extensive knowledge and training in the skin and tattoos.
Meanwhile, other methods are only based on anecdotal evidence, as is their effectiveness. They might also cause skin irritation or, worse, bleeding.
Excessive exfoliating and cleaning can remove the skin’s outer layer, leaving it more sensitive to infection. Also, the skin damage may make the next tattooing process more challenging and uncomfortable.
Final thoughts
You will find many things on how to fade a tattoo, from DIY and home remedies to clinically established ones. The important thing is to pick the approach that suits you in every aspect and remember about your skin’s safety.
Make sure you also check with your dermatologist and tattoo artist before starting the fading process.
