Struggling to remove tattoos after a broken relationship

After three years of dating, Hoang Trang broke up with her boyfriend but it took her nearly two years to remove the love heart tattoo that spread like wildfire.

The 24-year-old girl in Ho Chi Minh City shared that heartbeat tattoos were a trend at that time, many other couples also chose to get tattoos together. When she was in love, she didn't think much, seeing it as a meaningful love mark, so she got the tattoo.

After the breakup, Trang started to find ways to erase the sad memories of her ex-lover, including the tattoo. She tried using stickers and makeup to cover it up, but it didn’t last long. Recently, she even lost a job opportunity because of this tattoo.

Trang tried to go to the old tattoo parlor to have the tattoo removed by dermabrasion. However, while waiting for her turn, seeing many people complaining about the pain, she became discouraged and had to leave.

Trang's tattoo before (left) and after 3 Pico laser treatments (right) at Tam Anh General Hospital. Photo: Dinh Tien

Also looking for a way to remove a tattoo related to his ex-lover on his arm, the case of Mr. Phan Kien (34 years old, Dong Nai ) is more complicated. Due to fear of leaving an ugly scar, the tattoo artist suggested that he tattoo a tiger with red and black colors over the old green one. However, this method made his arm even more striped and dirty, forcing Mr. Kien to always wear long-sleeved shirts to cover it up.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Kim Dung (Dermatology - Cosmetic Dermatology, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City) said that every week the hospital receives dozens of cases of tattoo removal. In addition to the reason after breaking up, people come to remove tattoos for many other reasons such as unsightly tattoos, allergies to tattoo ink, pressure from family, wanting to apply for a job, exporting labor...

Like Quyen (25 years old, Go Vap district), because of the tattoo, for more than a year she has not been approved to export labor to Japan. Quyen has a small black lotus tattoo on her wrist, not too big. She has used tattoo removal cream for many months but cannot remove it. "When I got the tattoo, the tattoo artist introduced me to professional ink, creating a beautiful and hard-to-fade image. I didn't expect it to be so difficult to remove now," Quyen said.

Master, Doctor Vu Thi Thuy Trang said that some people try to use tattoo removal cream or tattoo a new tattoo over the old one, making it more difficult to remove the tattoo. Tattoo removal at unsafe facilities also leaves ugly scars, infections, and has a high risk of transmitting blood-borne diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C... Therefore, people who want to remove tattoos should go to hospitals with Dermatology - Skin Aesthetics departments to examine the skin, see the skin structure and have the most suitable treatment plan.

Doctor Thuy Trang examines a patient. Photo: Nguyen Van

There are currently many tattoo removal methods such as: surgery, skin abrasion, laser tattoo removal... According to Dr. Trang, tattoo removal with Pico laser is considered the "gold" standard and is chosen by many people. Pico laser will emit a beam containing concentrated energy on the tattoo, causing the tattoo ink to break into smaller pieces than conventional lasers without damaging the skin. After 8-12 weeks, the body's immune system will remove these fragments, the tattoo will fade over time. Using Pico laser is less painful, leaves few scars and is effective from the first time. Depending on the ink color and size of the tattoo, the doctor will determine how many laser sessions the patient needs.

After 3 times of Pico laser, the heart shape on Ms. Trang's arm was officially "broken", completely erased the ink and left no scars. Meanwhile, Mr. Kien's tattoo that had been with him for nearly 10 years was also gone. After 7 times of laser removal of new and old tattoos overlapping each other, the skin color of her biceps was the same as other areas. As for Quyen, after having her tattoo removed by Dr. Kim Dung, she is also completing the procedures to go to Japan to work.

Quyen's lotus tattoo after her first laser treatment. Photo: Dinh Tien

Doctors note that tattoos are not like clothes or accessories that can be easily replaced. Therefore, when getting a tattoo, you need to consider carefully to avoid negative effects later. People who want to remove tattoos need to choose a reputable medical facility and the appropriate method to avoid complications.

Dinh Tien

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