Some couples when they break up are left with invisible scars all over that eventually heal and are never seen again. I unfortunately am not one of those people. When I was eighteen I fell in love and by the time we were twenty we were married. Should I have waited? Absolutely. But it was an experience I wouldn't change. The only thing I might have rethought at that time was permanently inking that relationship on my body. We've been divorced for three years now and I am reminded of it every time I look at my hand.
The funny thing is that he tattooed this onto me but then didn't end up getting it on himself as planned. At least we aren't matching. Tell that to potential future mates. Everyone I've dated since my divorce has seemed put off by it. I wear big chunky rings to cover it up but that just seems to draw more attention to it. I've decided its time to try and fade this bad boy!
I've done several google searches along with using pinterest and I've decided on a method that doesn't seem painful. It's also one of the few that doesn't say will leave a scar. How well will this work? We will see.
The method I'll be trying for the next month is bentonite clay. Bentonite clay is composed of volcanic ash and is supposedly able to produce an "electrical charge" when wet. This "charge" is supposed to help draw out toxins. I've used this before in a facial mask (look for a future pintertest on this) so I've had some experience with how it works. I bought mine on amazon for about $12 for a huge 2 pound container of it. It has so many uses that the huge container of it is well worth getting. I bought the one that has calcium in it.
What you need:
Lemon juice
A small glass or plastic bowl
a measuring spoon
water
Make sure not to use any metal when using the clay. Metal I guess neutralizes the ions in the clay which would defeat the entire purpose of using it. Before you start you're going to want to cleanse the tattoo and remove any extra dead skin there may be. I used a facial cleanser that exfoliates. You just need it lightly scrubbed. We don't want the area raw. The Aveeno daily scrub I used is pretty gentle.
Next you're going to want to get your small plastic or glass bowl and measure out enough clay to thickly cover the entire area of the tattoo. Since my tattoo is tiny I only used about a quarter of a teaspoon of it. Depending on the size of yours you may need to use more or less.
After you get the proper amount of clay you are going to want to add a few drops of lemon juice to it. The lemon juice I guess helps bleach the area. It can be irritating to some people so I'd adjust according to your skin sensitivity. I personally used 3 drops to mine because I know my skin can handle it. It was probably a little too much for the amount of clay I used but I will do anything to get this tattoo off of me.
Now you're going to want to add enough water to the mixture to make it sort of a thick soup consistency. You want the clay to be wet, but not so wet that it won't stick to you. If it becomes too thin you can always add more clay or even wait a few minutes. The mixture will thicken the longer it sits and dries. Mine kind of resembled oatmeal.
Now, you're going to want to spread it all around your tattoo, making sure to cover it completely. You want it a bit thick to make sure that the tattoo is saturated, but not so thick that it'll take all day to dry.
Now just let it dry! Easy peasy lemon squeezy. I timed mine at it took about 40 minutes to dry. Even after that amount of time it was still slightly damp. I probably should have waited another 20 minutes or so but it was starting to crumble. Also my son was growing impatient with me. He was afraid of the clay on my finger and kept getting upset when he'd come near me. I guess when you're two years old this stuff is pretty creepy.
After, I wiped off the excess clay with a damp paper towel. As it is clay, depending on how much you used its probably better to do this directly into a garbage can. I wouldn't recommend just washing it off directly into a sink as you run the chances of clogging your drain with the clay. After you have most of the big clumps off just wash the remainder of the clay with some soap and water.
And voila! Hmm... looks exactly the same. It does say that this can take a while to see any results. For people with sensitive skin it's recommended that you do this once a week. Since mine showed only miner irritation (I assume from using too much lemon juice) I'm going to try this twice a week. Every Tuesday and Friday is my goal with a weekly update every Tuesday. Let's see a side by side comparison of todays work, shall we?
Don't get too excited. I'm pretty sure that slight fading is from better lighting. The first picture was taken with a flash. The after was used with a light that I will be using from here on out. We will see what the future holds for this tattoo removal! Check back next Tuesday for an update. Let me know in the comments below if you've tried this method yourself. I'm open to other methods to try later on as well!
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