Temporary Tattoo Stubbornly Stuck? Try These Removal Hacks

After a weekend away in Chattanooga celebrating my friend Brooklyn's bachelorette party, I can home with some souvenirs. A sticker from our trek through the amazing Rock City, a koozie from Magic Mike on the Pedal Tavern, and a massive goody bag of all kinds of Camp Bachelorette gear. Shout out to Heather Terry, party planner extraordinaire!

I also came home with a tattoo. Don't worry, we didn't get TOO crazy. It's just a temporary tat of Brooklyn's handsome fiancé, Travis Johnson. We all stuck them on and wore them to dinner and drinks Saturday night for funsies. However, its not as temporary as the name suggests. I have basically rubbed my skin raw with soap and even took a scalding hot shower hoping to melt it away. It won't come off.

Well, that's not totally accurate. The top layer did come off leaving the sticky goo underneath. It's really icky and uncomfortable, so this morning as I was complaining about how it was getting stuck to the inside of my sweatshirt, I decided to ask for some help!

MKAT

Here is what my arm looked like before I started trying recommendations. I had only used soap and water at this point. You can still kind of see Travis' face in the residue. I posted a picture to our station Facebook page asking for products or advice on how to remove the sticky leftover of the tattoo.

Alcohol, Baby Oil, and Hand Sanitizer, Oh My!

The top answers were alcohol, baby oil, goo gone and hand sanitizer. I tried hand sanitizer first since I had it handy. It did remove more of the goo, but somehow also made my arm stickier. We didn't have any baby oil, but some people recommended any type of oil, so I found some olive oil in the kitchen to no avail. Didn't help at all. Maybe I needed to give it more time? Or try baby or coconut oil?

I got desperate and patient, so I decided to try something our friend McKenzie called to recommend. Sticking medical tape on the spot and quickly pulling it off like a band-aid. This honestly worked best of everything, but HOLY COW IT HURT. I only did about half and decided I would attempt some of the other products mentioned once I got home.

Isopropyl Alcohol For The Win

First I grabbed some isopropyl alcohol from our first aid kit. This made a little more progress! I also used a Lysol wipe once the residue got softer and stickier. It took a lot of patience, but I almost got it all off. I'll see if the rest comes off in the shower tonight.

Hardcore Recommendations

Some of the suggestions were a little too out there for me to try. My skin is super sensitive, so I didn't go for the WD-40 or Goo Gone. Basically anything I have to wear gloves to use in the first place, I wasn't going to rub onto my skin. A couple other folks suggested Magic Eraser or Lava soap which thankfully I didn't have to try. Those would probably not feel too great.

Moral of the story is either keep a stash of alcohol ready or no more "temporary" tattoos for me! The sticky is almost all gone, but my skin is NOT happy!