Student invents tattoo removal cream that will cost less than a cup of coffee

A Canadian student has developed a revolutionary tattoo removal cream that can save people a great deal of pain and expense.

17:44 18 February 2015

A Canadian student, 27-year-old Alec Falkenham, has developed a new method of tattoo removal that offers an extremely affordable and painless solution in getting rid of those regrettable bits of body art.

Dr Falkenham said: "When comparing it to laser-based tattoo removal, in which you see the burns, the scarring, the blisters, in this case, we've designed a drug that doesn't really have much off-target effect.”

"We're not targeting any of the normal skin cells, so you won't see a lot of inflammation. In fact, based on the process that we're actually using, we don't think there will be any inflammation at all and it would actually be anti-inflammatory."

The cream, which could be sold for around £3 per application, works by creating microphages to consume the old ink-filled ones causing the tattoo to slowly but surely fade.

"Alec is a trail blazer in tattoo removal. He came to ILI with an idea, tangentially related to his graduate research, that had real-life applicability," said Andrea McCormick, manager of health and life sciences at Falkenham's Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

"His initial research has shown great results and his next stage of research will build on those results, developing his technology into a product that can eventually be brought to market."