Professional tattoo inks are commonly oxide based pigments, Iron Oxide, Chromium Oxide & Titanium Dioxide depending on colour. Rejuvi tattoo remover employs a method of chemical attraction to bind with the implanted ink, alkaline earth metal oxides are used to achieve this, (Calcium Oxide, Magnesium Oxide & Zinc Oxide) in a fluid suspension, Water, n-propanol (solvent), Triethanolamine (pH balancer), Benzoic Acid (product preservative).

This forms an inorganic alkaline solution with a pH of around 12.5 Skin has an acidic pH of around 5.5, while neutral pH is 7 (water). The removers alkaline pH therefore can effect the skins acid mantle (the skins own defence from infection), proper hygiene is important through out treatment and in the aftercare process to avoid infection. Untreated infections can cause a great deal of damage to the healing skin and can greatly increase healing times and can lead to permanent scarring.

The remover is engineered on a molecular level to bind with the captured ink pigments forming much larger particles which as the skin heals is easily able to eject to the skin surface taking the captured pigments with it. This design also causes the remover to key into the skin quite firmly, forced or premature removal (picking, rubbing etc.) can also damage the reconstituting skin and introduce infection.

When used correctly excellent results can be obtained with minimal risk. While the remover itself has no ingredients or formulation that can cause scarring the remover is more abrasive in use than a tattoo ink thus overworking the skin, excess puncturing or puncturing at excess depth can cause excess trauma to the skin leading to permanent scarring. Combined with different individuals tolerance to skin trauma or from incorrect aftercare means that there can be a risk of permanent scarring (hypertrophy) occurring. The rate of scarring is less than 5% and with newer more conservative application is typically less than 1%. It is important to note that there is always a risk when puncturing the skin and there are many circumstances that are outside our control. For more information on potential scarring and treatment please see the relevant section.

Comparison of alternative tattoo removal methods.

Chemical removal has been used for centuries to effect tattoo removal, unfortunately many of the chemicals that have been used can be highly acidic or only partially effective. Most methods either attempt to destroy or bleach the pigments, or disrupt or destroy the skin tissue. However the ink pigments can be quite resilient to attack and are typically much tougher than skin cells and the damage to the surrounding skin is often excessive and permanent. As the particle builds up skin attachments over time they can also be difficult to dislodge.

There are now also a number of chemical systems that use a home applied cream to the surface of the skin claiming to effect removal. Unfortunately the epidermis (top layer of skin) is extremely effective at preventing any substances from penetrating the skin especially into the dermis. To then effect the pigment particles massive quantities or very strong chemical formulas would need to be utilised, which in reality would probably result in other adverse health effects first. There seems to be no independent research that substantiates the claimed results.

There are other methods of chemical removal such as the use TriChloroacetic Acid (TCA) or Gylcolic Acids. These work by reacting with the the epidermis, weakening the binding properties of the lipids that hold the dead skin cells together. This allows the outer skin to dissolve or peel away revealing the underlying skin. TCA is usually applied to the surface of the skin while Glycolic is often applied with a tattoo or permanent makeup machine. While these methods can be successful they are not designed for the purpose of tattoo removal. The removal of the epidermis can pull ink upwards in the skin from the dermis which may get caught in the reforming epidermis. However there is no guarantee that the ink will raise sufficiently if at all. Incorrect use or poor formulations can be potentially harmful.

New types of tattoo pigment are being developed based on polymer technology. This is where organic pigment is encased in an inorganic polymer shell. When exposed to the high temperature of laser the polymer shell melts releasing the organic pigment which is then easily broken down by the body.

Unfortunately the only colour of polymer ink available is black while other colours are in testing, it may be some time before these are available and how well they compare to traditional inks. These inks are also substantially more expensive than the normal ink in use and generally do not fit in with the typical culture of the tattoo industry where many consider a tattoo is for life and not a fashion accessory. As far as we are aware this type of ink is only currently available from one manufacturer worldwide.

Rejuvi tattoo remover is not designed to function on these types of pigments.