Tattoo Removal

Wrecking Balm is one of the most popular tattoo fading creams. What’s unique about it is that it is used with an FDA approved “mechanical hand-held medical device that gently, but effectively, removes the upper layers of the epidermis” and a cream, or as Wrecking Balm calls it, a “chemical serum.” One other item included in the kit is “Branding Butter,” a tattoo concealing cream that you can use to cover up your tattoo as you are going through the fading process.

The “hand-held medical device” is a micro-dermabrasion buffing tool that is approved by the FDA for over the counter sales. The Wrecking Balm website kind of makes it sound as if their whole tattoo removal system is FDA approved, but in fact, only the buffing tool has been approved by the FDA, the fading cream has not. The fading cream’s active ingredients are Phyllanthus Emblica Fruit (Indian Gooseberry) Extract, which is a skin whitener, and salicylic acid, which promotes exfoliation of the epidermis and is commonly used for treating acne.

So does it work? Well, both the micro-dermabrasion device and the fading cream treat the epidermis, the uppermost layer of skin. But tattoo ink is injected into the layer of skin below the epidermis, the dermis. That’s why tattoos don’t eventually wear off with the passage of time and the natural exfoliation of the epidermis. To me, it seems doubtful that this “tattoo removal system” would actually be effective in removing tattoos.

The customer reviews that I’ve seen and read on the net, those that seem to be genuine and unbiased rather than being thinly disguised promotions, are mostly either negative or noncommittal because the customer in question has only been using the product for a short time. I haven’t been able to find convincing evidence that Wrecking Balm works as advertised.

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