The level of effectiveness in TCA for removing tattoos is determined by several factors. No matter what, it can also be unpredictable. In some people, the desired results are met and satisfied. With other people, TCA tattoo removal can give less than the best results.
Typical results include fading of the tattoo after TCA treatments. Some people's tattoos can be removed completely due to their effective using TCA. In other people, the tattoo will simply fade, but it will not go away without the use of other treatments for tattoo removal. With TCA, the results are not even normally visible until after two to three treatments, which means three six to eight week periods of time before any results are seen. No matter what, TCA tattoo removal is a very time consuming method if one expects any results whatsoever from the treatment.
Also, some people are not even recommended to use TCA for removing tattoos. Anyone with a darker skin color than a fair skinned Caucasian is recommended against the use of TCA for tattoo removal, because the results can be very unpredictable. It can cause more irritation, and the loss of skin color in people with darker skin than a fair skinned Caucasian. Even if the side effects are not bad enough to stop TCA tattoo removal in a darker skinned individual, it will in fact not be as effective. It will normally take several more treatments than the light skinned Caucasian person to see any effects of TCA tattoo removal in the darker skinned person.
TCA can not be used as an effective tattoo removal treatment on the face. Especially around the nose, ears, eyes, and lips, to be more specific. It can cause levels of toxicity and has extremely unpredictable results, just as with different skin pigments