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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To remove this stupid, immature, ugly tattoo myself.

138 replies

senioritabonita · 23/02/2018 11:08

I got a tattoo when I was 17 - a standard transfer one, loads and loads of people got it at that time - yes, a stupid dolphin. It is behind my hip and I can't really see it, DH doesn't care. My kids both think its stupid and ugly. I hate it. I don't know why my hatred for it has grown so much. I love dolphins, wildlife, all animals but this fucking tattoo..... I really don't want it there when we go abroad for the first time in 4 years this summer.

I went for laser removal (only place within 50 miles of here) and the man was incredibly creepy so I left. It will apparently take a minimum of 8 sessions at £50 each - WTF?! This fucking tattoo cost £10 and is only 1x2.5 cm in size! WIBU to just numb it and sand it off with DH Dremel whilst everyone is out. Yes, it will hurt like a bastard but I want it gone and that would do it.

Does anyone have a better idea?

OP posts:
OwtFerNowt · 23/02/2018 11:31

You cannot remove it yourself without causing serious harm. The fact that this innocuous tattoo has you wanting to rip your skin off is very worrying. What else has been going on this week?

Bobbiepin · 23/02/2018 11:31

With love, the research won't stop you being a dick. Home remedies will not work. If a cover up is not happening, please please please find a different removal place. Alternatively, chuck a heap of self love your way, figure out if it is the tattoo that's driving you to be self destructive or if its just become a symbol for something bigger. Be kind to yourself.

greendale17 · 23/02/2018 11:32

The OPs kids were not rude at all. They were being honest

Chaylin · 23/02/2018 11:32

Keep it, cover it up or go to a different laser clinic (will still require multiple trips ans be expensive though) sanding off or any other type of home removal is ridiculous!

Weedsnseeds1 · 23/02/2018 11:33

I know someone who tried to remove a tribal tattoo with a blow torch. The scarring is horrendous and he still had to have laser on the rest of it.
Laser is the only solution and it will take a number of sessions. I think blue ink is quite hard to break down.

Original poster
senioritabonita · 23/02/2018 11:35

tumblrpigeon - yes I am serious but concerned about infection. I think sanding would be better than that acid thing I just watched - Jesus it looked rank. I was thinking of spraying it with numbing spray and taking some codeine. I know it's not sensible, I know its weird and fucked up but I feel it has to go.

Chill everyone, I am not going in with the Dremel - it is packed away. I am however musing other methods. Acid seems to be the way. That somehow seems worse to me than physical removal.

OP posts:
OwtFerNowt · 23/02/2018 11:35

I got it during a very very odd time in my life and it has to go

So it’s the association with that time which is painful?

HellonHeels · 23/02/2018 11:36

What was going on for you at the time you got the tattoo? Is there something around that that's bringing up some difficult feelings? Flowers

kubex · 23/02/2018 11:36

This reply has been deleted

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GrowThroughWhatYouGoThrough · 23/02/2018 11:36

Not a permanent solution but have u considered camouflage make up? Dermacol is fantastic for covering tattoos

OwtFerNowt · 23/02/2018 11:36

That somehow seems worse to me than physical removal.

It’s still physical removal, you would be burning your skin off.

JustaBasicBitch · 23/02/2018 11:36

Hi long ago did you get a quote for removal? There are so many places doing it here now small sessions start at £25 but I'm not sure you would have enough time for it to be totally gone by summer, it's min of 6 weeks between sessions

Although being a dolphin if the outline goes in session 1 it might just look like a bruise?

ineedwine99 · 23/02/2018 11:39

Hey, i would find a new laser removal place, i'm having a bunch of mine lasered off, he didn't give an indication on number of sessions as thats hard to say as they don't know how it'll react, my black bits went after 3 sessions, i pay £50 a session to laser 6

Valentinesfart · 23/02/2018 11:39

I wouldn't worry about it Op, I know several people with a dolphin tattoo from their misspent youth. I don't mean that figurately, the dolphin tattoo seemed to be pretty ubiquitous.

I'd get it covered if I really hated it. Or maybe colored in better and given a top hat.

StormTreader · 23/02/2018 11:43

Tattoo removal always requires a number of sessions - the laser breaks the ink down by heating it and your body has to cope with the mild burn and also shift the ink debris out. It needs time to do that and recover before the next session to work on what was still left from last time.

The faster you try and do anything, the more serious and visible the permanent damage and scarring will be - theres no quick fix beyond what other people have said - get a small cover-up tattoo.

Soubriquet · 23/02/2018 11:43

Please please please do not do anything at home

You are likely to hurt yourself very badly and could end up in A&E

Worst case scenario, it could get seriously infected and possibly even sepsis.

Best case? You will need to have antibiotics and cream to help skin that will probably never feel quite right.

Acid will burn your skin. It will eat through it and potentially damage your nerves. So please don't do it.

tumblrpigeon · 23/02/2018 11:44

The OP is not an idiot.
That’s not kind.

Op I don’t have a tattoo but completely get your desire to remove it yourself, scar or no scar.

I’ve bought numbing cream before ( for facial hair removal ) and have not found it works too well.
You need to rub it in and leave it for half an hour.

The resulting combination of numbing cream and hair removal left red marks on my face. Not pretty. However your marks would be hidden by clothing .

Off to check you tube videos of tattoo removal .....

CaptainCardamom · 23/02/2018 11:45

OP do NOT go with either sandpapering, or any other weird horrific method you found on Youtube Shock You will feel a right twat when you have to go to hospital with a horrendous infection/burn/half your arse missing and explain that you were trying to remove your own tattoo after a quick googling session.

I think you have to either splash out on a reputable place to remove it, get a good cover-up, or even better, somehow reprogram your feelings about it and learn to accept it as part of your history and decide it's not a big deal. It could be a LOT worse after all - it sounds tiny and harmless. It's not a massive portrait of Rick Astley or something. Ask your kids to give it a name and tell them it's a handy lesson to them in not getting a daft tattoo when you are 17.

brizzledrizzle · 23/02/2018 11:45

If it's that small and you can't see it then ignore it and ignore what others say, and don't try and remove it yourself - is it worth dying for?

Chowmum · 23/02/2018 11:45

What will actually happen if you go at with the Dremel...

You'll start, it'll hurt like a really hurty thing, you'll drop the Dremel, amputate your toe, scream like a little girl, run around dripping blood, buck ass naked because you needed to get to the tattoo, pass out because of the pain and loss of blood, and two nice paramedics will turn up and find you naked, unconscious, covered in blood...

Paramedic 1. "What do you reckon happened here?"
Paramedic 2. "Dunno, but that's a cute dolphin."

Chowmum · 23/02/2018 11:46

go at it, FFS

Soubriquet · 23/02/2018 11:47

I shouldn't laugh but Chowmum Grin

Chowmum · 23/02/2018 11:48

Disclaimer: I don't have a Dremel, so I don't actually know what happens if you drop it. I do however know the scariness of getting a finger stuck in plastic coated chicken wire that's stuck on the end of an electric drill that's still going round.

BitOutOfPractice · 23/02/2018 11:48

Oh goodness OP I feel a bit worried about you now. Please don't do anything daft with acid or a drill.

OwtFerNowt · 23/02/2018 11:51

So at the moment you have a tattoo which reminds of an odd time in your life when you made a decision to do something to your body that you now regret.

If you attack yourself and manage to remove it and end up with a scar, how do you think you will feel about it in the future?