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The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/Adventurous-Dig-6890 on 2026-02-19 23:55:24+00:00.
This did not happen today, but about eight years ago. My ankle still remembers it vividly.
When I was a kid, I somehow ended up with a tiny blue gel pen somewhat heart shaped “prison tattoo.” Chaotic childhood, we’ll leave it at that. It mostly faded over the years, but a faint blue shadow stuck around into adulthood unfortunately.
At 22, I decided I was absolutely done with it. Instead of consulting a professional like a rational adult, I did what many confident yet deeply misguided people do. I turned to the omnipresent oracle of our time: The Great “Google”!
One suggestion said to take a damp cloth, dip it in table salt, and rub the area until the top layer of skin comes off. Repeat until the tattoo disappears. To the troll who posted this advice… touché Sir (or Madame), you win!
I wish I could say I read that and thought, “That sounds medically questionable.” Needless to say I did not.
I committed. Oh boy did I commit (it looked like I had committed a crime)… My ankle was inflamed and burning like none other.
I rubbed for twenty straight minutes. The top layer of skin did in fact come off. Instead of stopping, I continued because my brain apparently believed I was refinishing hardwood floors.
A crater appeared and the ink did not disappear.
Over the next several years I tried scar creams and eventually even laser treatments to fix what I had done. Nearly eight years later you can still faintly see where the blue ink used to be. Thankfully the scar is minimal now, but it took far more effort to fix my mistake than it would have taken to simply leave it alone (or get it removed professionally)
Moral of the story: do not perform DIY dermatology with table salt. And definitely do not keep rubbing after you have clearly made things worse.
TL;DR: Tried to remove a faint old tattoo using internet advice involving salt and friction. Removed skin instead of ink. Spent years fixing the damage.