Is there a quick henna tattoo removal process?

January 15, 2006 12:08 AM

What's the best, fastest and safest method to remove a henna tattoo? I found this site and want to know if there are any better methods to quickly do the removal.
posted by thebarron to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

Do you mean a "henna" tattoo as in a "strange" tattoo?
posted by Jase_B at 12:49 AM on January 15, 2006

thebarron: the site you linked is pretty much right... every site that talks about henna tattoo removal pretty much says don't -- you'll just irritate and/or damage your skin trying...

best of luck...
posted by twiggy at 12:52 AM on January 15, 2006

Henna is considered a permanent colorant for the skin and hair because of it's durability,and ability to bind to keratin.
It will fade as your skin naturally exfoliates.
posted by hortense at 1:05 AM on January 15, 2006

And with what hortense said in mind, you can remove them by just doing some major exfoliation, as in scrub scrub scrub. Basically you've dyed the top layer of your skin and you'd have to remove it. So, scrub it with hot water and a loofah, or some people have tried using lighteners like whitening toothpaste smeared on for 10-15 minutes and then scrubbed off. Basically you can definitely minimize the look (and you might be better off with something that just hides the tattoo like foundation makeup if you just need it hidden for a short time) but getting rid of it will cause skin irritation.
posted by jessamyn at 6:42 AM on January 15, 2006

Lemon juice may help to bleach it a bit; as will sunshine and exfoliating. All are skin irritants. There are tattoo-covering makeups available which may get you through the time until it naturally fades.
posted by theora55 at 6:45 AM on January 15, 2006