A person goes viral—once more—for exhibiting what a “semi-permanent” tattoo seems like almost 4 years later.

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Brandon (@heybrandonwakeup) stated he was a part of a beta testing group for Ephemeral tattoos in 2021 and bought a big piece inked on his thigh. He was informed it will fade in 9 to fifteen months. But nearly 4 years later, it’s nonetheless going sturdy.

“I absolutely regret this,” he stated in a latest TikTok. “I really was hoping it would fade faster, and it’s just taking forever.”

Brandon has posted periodic updates since getting the tattoo. In March 2024—two years in—he confirmed a close-up of the design, noting that the traces had been nonetheless sharp and absolutely intact. Fast ahead to July 2025, and never a lot has modified.

“It looks very bad and visible, and it has been that way for a while,” he stated, including that he’s lastly able to get it coated and requested viewers for options. His newest replace garnered greater than 32,900 views.

@heybrandonwakeup #ephemeraltattoo ♬ unique sound – Brandon | Travel Creator 🛫

What are Ephemeral tattoos alleged to be? 

When Ephemeral tattoos launched in 2021, it marketed a breakthrough ink “made to fade.” The thought, it stated, was tattoos that regarded actual however would break down naturally within the physique after 9 to fifteen months.

The firm marketed that its ink used polymers just like these in dissolvable dental sutures, designed to degrade when uncovered to water. But outcomes have been unpredictable.

Ephemeral marketing consultant and dermatologist Dr. Dhaval Bhanusali informed ELLE that fading relies upon partially on tattoo placement. “Extremities tend to have a slower healing process,” he stated. “When you scrape a knee, it can look scraped for a long period of time, because there’s very little blood flow to that area.”

Despite the corporate’s preliminary claims, reviews of long-lasting ink began surfacing as early as 2022. In response, Ephemeral up to date its messaging. By February 2023, CEO Jeff Liu stated tattoos may really take as much as three years to fade absolutely. Still, some clients say they’ve handed that mark with little to no fading—Brandon amongst them.

“At this rate, it’ll be over 5 years until it’s mostly faded,” Brandon informed The Daily Dot. “Biggest regret of my life.”

Backlash builds as ink stays put 

Brandon isn’t the one dissatisfied buyer. Reddit’s r/EphemeralTattoos now has almost 900 members, lots of whom say their tattoos stay starkly seen years later.

Fast Company and The San Francisco Chronicle reported in 2022 that some clients noticed no significant fading past the 15-month mark. One person, ELLE journalist Katie Berohn, stated her tattoo was nonetheless distinguished greater than 1,150 days after getting it.

Several Ephemeral studio places have since closed, leaving many shoppers questioning what recourse they’ve. The firm’s early branding promised a brand new period of non permanent physique artwork. Instead, it’s left some customers with undesirable, semi-permanent remorse. 

One commenter watching Brandon’s video voiced what many are doubtless considering: Where is Ephemeral in all of this—and are they serving to anybody get removing? In an announcement to The Daily Dot, Brandon stated the corporate supplied him $500 for a cover-up. As for authorized motion, he’s uncertain it will go anyplace.

“I would consider it, but there’s a subreddit about them where some lawyers say we signed our rights away in the release form, and that we wouldn’t be able to form a class action,” he stated.

Viewers weigh in with recommendation—and criticism

Under Brandon’s newest TikTok, commenters flooded in with each tattoo cover-up options and potential removing methods.

“Hear me out,” one stated. “Christmas tree lights on the antlers. Lean in.”
“I think an hourglass would cover it and represent ephemerality,” one other supplied.

“Go with a sick panther,” a 3rd chimed in.

Others beneficial laser removing, noting that for the reason that ink is already fading, laser periods could be more practical than a full cover-up.

“Based on its rate of fading, you should probably just get it lasered off,” one wrote. 

“Well, the good news is it looks like it would laser off really easily if you wanted to go that route,” one other stated.

“Just get one session of laser, it’ll fade a whole lot faster because it’ll break up easily,” a 3rd viewer commented. “Why get a cover-up and a bigger tattoo when you wanted a temporary tattoo? Do one or two laser sections first.”

Brandon informed The Daily Dot he’s nonetheless not sure about his subsequent steps.

“I worry a cover-up could get muddied by the ink underneath—no one really knows what would happen,” he stated. “Laser removal is expensive, but the thought of staring at this fuzzy art on my leg for years is maddening.”

He added, “It wasn’t even the design I wanted. The artist picked one of the reference images I sent and ran with it. I figured it would only last a year, so who cares?”

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