OK, you got a tattoo when you and your friend decided to write the names of your girlfriends late one night in 9th grade. So you know that even homemade tattoos don’t go on all that easy and they certainly don’t come off any easier. In fact, it’s more difficult to remove one than initially have a tattoo. But when you do a homemade tattoo, usually done with regular ball point pen ink, you have a little bit less difficulty having it removed. But it’s still ink deeply buried in the skin and you have to bleach, scrap, cut or laser it off.

Use over-the-counter bleaching agents and strong body scrubs on the area where the tattoo is on your body. If it’s in a sensitive area, grin and bear it because there’s more pain to come. These bleaching creams are usually sold in drug stores to remove age spots and look for the highest amount of hydroquinone, which is the bleaching agent. You can also look online for Japanese bleaching products sold in Japan. They can contain a higher amount of hydroquinone that the FDA allows here.

Try professional skin bleaching next. Many tattoo parlors have methods and solutions to apply and they just might work on the homemade tattoo you have

Research laser removal if the solutions don't work. Laser removal is done in a professional dermatologist's office or in skin spas and tend to burn the skin. Also, they do leave a bit of a scar in the shape of the tattoo. But it does remove the ink from under the skin. Lasers need several treatments and can be costly.

Butch up because the last try is the cutting off of the tattoo itself. If it is small and can be removed by taking a small section of skin off, that can be your last resort. But if you really, really want it completely gone, see your doctor and discuss ways of cutting the tattoo off the layers of skin.