How To Remove KD 151 Tattoo Pen Ink

Applying tattoo transfers is something that all of us have to do as makeup artists at some time or another. It’s such a quick and effective method for helping to create and define characters. One of the biggest and most challenging aspects of tattoo transfer makeup tends to be maintaining the look that they have when you first apply them – fresh and complete.

And then you film for 12 or more hours. Out in the sun or perhaps your actor is in a hot bath or swimming pool. And that’s when your working day really begins!

But thankfully, master makeup artist Ken Diaz provided us with the perfect solution.

The KD 151 Tattoo Pen.

The KD 151 Tattoo Pen is a go-to item for us makeup artists. It’s basically the only tattoo touch-up pen for makeup that we can use quickly on set, to touch up our sometimes high-maintenance tattoos and transfers.

But let’s face it – it’s not the easiest of things to remove, is it?

I know that’s the point of the exercise, but at the end of our working day, we want that stuff to come off, right?

Well, I decided to do some heavy R & R (yep, research and removal!) and find out the very best thing to take off KD 151 Tattoo pens with.

But first! Some info for your reading pleasure.

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The KD 151 Tattoo Pen

This alcohol-based pen is double-ended. Its felt tip is tapered on one end, and wide (like a highlighter pen) on the other end.

Pen Colors

The KD 151 Tattoo pen comes in virtually every color in the rainbow!

• red
• yellow
• blue
• orange
• teal
• green
• brown
• black
• tribal
• 100% aged ink
• 70% aged ink
• 50% aged ink
• 25% aged ink

I love the aged ink pens. They are great for touching up lived-in tattoos.

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Pen Pros and Cons

Pros

• quick touch up
• convenient packaging
• easy to use
• large color range
• long-lasting
• water, sweat, and smudge resistant

Cons

• long-lasting
• ink can bleed into the skin

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Yep, that’s right, one of the best things about the KD 151 Tattoo pen is also one of the worst things about it. Do you know why?

Because it’s IMPOSSIBLE to remove!!!!!

So let’s do some testing……

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How to Use

Use it as you would any felt-tip pen. I tend to rely on the tapered tip and can fill in gaps or areas that have rubbed off by gradually building up depth and area with the tapered end.

Depending on the skin type of the person you are applying it to, the ink can sometimes bleed into the fine lines of the skin. If this happens, I use a pointed q-tip and a little isopropyl alcohol to tidy up any lines that aren’t clean or have any fuzzy edges.

I do like to seal any tattoo work I do.

These days I’m using Ben Nye Final Seal and also Tinsely Pro Studio Satin Sealer.

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How to Remove

I have been road-testing every tried and true method over the last few weeks to find out if there is a magic solution to quickly and effectively remove KD 151 Tattoo Pen Ink from the skin.

I tested almost 20 different makeup removers – some you may be more familiar with than others. And before we get into it, testing conditions were the same for each and every remover trialed.

It must be noted that some of these removers may be specifically designed for other processes, and not necessarily as tattoo ink removers.

I have, however, included them in this trial. You never know what products you’ll have on the shelf at any given time, and it’s a great reference to have as to their capabilities for removing the KD 151 Tattoo pen. This is not a comment on any product’s viability as a remover in general. Only the results of how they work with KD 151 pens.

In this trial, I tested a KD 151 Black Tattoo pen and a KD 151 75% Aged Ink Tattoo Pen. Removal involved using a dry cotton pad soaked with the remover. A hot towel was used in each removal as well.

Scores between 1 and 5 were given in three categories:

• Speed of Removal
• Ease of Removal
• Removability as a whole

Let’s take a look.

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The Best Removal Methods and Products for KD 151 Tattoo Pen

The Results:

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Ben Nye Bond Off

Bond Off feels very “thin” on the skin. It’s a pretty powerful solvent-based remover in its own right. But did leave the black ink pigment on the skin after much rubbing and a hot towel.

Bond Off left a white residue on my skin and was very drying. It also struggled to remove the stubborn black pigment and it was definitely left behind after the hot towel.

Removal Speed: 2

Ease of Removal: 1.5

Removability: 2

Ben Nye Bond Off Score: 5.5/15

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EBA Vapore Makeup and Adhesive Remover

Vapore is the remover from European Body Arts that does contain alcohol. I’m a big fan of EBA and I use their removers for prosthetics and the EBA blood products as well.

It was clear that removing KD 151 Tattoo pens is not one of Vapore’s primary purposes in life, I’m afraid.

Removal of the ink took quite a while, and there was residual staining left after the hot towel had been used.

Removal Speed: 2

Ease of Removal: 2.5

Overall Removability:2.5

EBA Vapore Score: 7/15

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Telesis E-Z Off

Again, I’m totally aware that this adhesive remover from PPI’s Telesis may not be playing in the right ball game here, but I wanted to include all of the removers I could so you have an idea of how they go tackling the KD 151 Tattoo Pen.

This is not a comment on this remover and its capability in general, only how it responds to the tattoo ink in question here.

Removal Speed: 2

Ease of Removal: 3

Overall Removability: 4

Telesis EZ-Off Score: 9/15

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Telesis M-Solv

M-Solv took off a lot of the surface tattoo ink from the skin quite quickly. I did have to use quite a bit of force and repetition with rubbing. There was also some residual ink left behind after the hot towel.

Removal Speed: 2.5

Ease of Removal: 3.5

Overall Removability: 3

Telesis M-Solv Score: 9/15

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EBA Unveil

Unveil is seriously one of my favorite removers. It’s gentle, and it works. But does that hold up true when it comes to KD 151 pens? Hmmm, maybe in a pinch! While it did work to remove the ink pretty quickly, it was difficult to remove that remaining, stubborn ink stain.

Removal Speed: 3.5

Ease of Removal: 3

Overall Removability: 3.5

EBA Unveil Score: 10/15

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Telesis Super Solv Extra Strength Adhesive Remover

I ended up letting the cotton pad sit on the skin covered with tattoo pen ink for a good minute to soak. At that point, the pigment did eventually shift. I also had to apply a bit of pressure to remove the ink, and in the end, was able to remove all the ink in question.

Removal Speed: 3.5

Ease of Removal: 3

Overall Removability: 3.5

Telesis Super Solv Extra Strength Adhesive Remover Score: 10/15

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Allied FX – Get It Off

If this was a packaging design trial, Allied FX would get my vote! I’m a super big fan of their line of beautiful products!

Get It Off took quite a while to get to work but did a solid job in removing the KD 151 ink.

Removal Speed: 2.5

Ease of Removal: 3.5

Over Removability: 4.5

Allied FX – Get It Off Score: 10/15

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Ben Nye Remove-It All

Well, this quiet achiever may well just live up to its name. Remove-It All did do just that. It took a little while of letting the soaked cotton pad sit on the skin, but it did rub off all tattoo ink quite easily and left no residual ink behind.

Removal Speed: 3.5

Ease of Removal: 3.5

Overall Removability: 3.5

Ben Nye Remove-It ll Score: 10.5/15

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Telesis IPM Gel

Utilizing the thickened texture of this gel-remover, I let it sit on the skin for a minute before attempting to shift the KD 151 ink. It did eventually remove all the ink, it just took firm pressure and a fair bit of effort to get there.

Removal Speed: 3.5

Ease of Removal: 3.5

Overall Removability: 3.5

Telesis IPM-Gel Score: 10.5/15

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Westmore SilicOne – Silicone Adhesive Remover

So, as the title of this remover clearly states its intended use is a silicon adhesive remover. Why not give it a shot at removing KD 151 tattoo pens, though?

This is another very “thin” liquid with very low viscosity and is not oily at all. It did indeed remove 100% of the ink pigment, but my skin did feel a little sting by the end.

Removal Speed: 2.5

Ease of Removal: 4

Overall Removability: 4.5

Westmore SilicOne Score: 11/15

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Telesis Super Solv Gel

Telesis provides us with another remover in the solid gel form. So I made the most of it by again, popping it on the skin and letting it take a moment there. With a fair but of repeated rubbing, and a little pressure applied, the Super Solv Gel did eventually remove all of the ink from the skin. And felt good in doing so.

Removal Speed: 3

Ease of Removal: 4

Overall Removability: 4

Telesis IPM Gel Score: 11/15

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Allied FX Vanish

Another remover with a more solid consistency. I first applied this balm-like remover, let this sit on the skin, and go to work. After waiting a minute or two, this remover took off all of the KD 151 ink relatively easily and made the effort level seem very minimal.

Removal Speed: 3

Ease of Removal: 3.5

Overall Removability: 4.5

Allied FX Vanish Score: 11/15

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Telesis Super Solv Plus

Although this remover from Telesis took a minute or two to get going, it rated well because it felt really nice on the skin. It has a nice smell and is gentle on the skin. I really like this remover and was happy to find it did a more than adequate job at taking off the stubborn KD 151 tattoo pen ink.

Removal Speed: 4

Ease of Removal: 3.5

Overall Removability: 4.5

Telesis Super Solv Plus: 12/15

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Kett Cosmetics Hydro Proof Makeup Remover

This may be the surprise of the bunch for me. I was super surprised at how well this remover from Kett Cosmetics removed the KD 151 ink. It worked fairly quickly to remove the ink and felt lovely on the skin. A pleasant surprise indeed.

Removal Speed: 4

Ease of Removal: 4

Overall Removability: 4.5

Kett Cosmetics Hydro Proof Makeup Remover Score: 12.5/15

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Tim’s Stuff Body Makeup and Adhesive Remover

I discovered this Mavidon remover last year whilst working on a little show called Our Flag Means Death (shameless plug, but I’m super excited now that I can almost talk about it!)

We had a fairly demanding tattoo regime on the show and were compelled to find some quick fixes for lightning speedy night-time removals. And this product is where we landed.

I had to include it in this trial to see how it fared on removing the KD 151 pen as well.

As expected, it did indeed remove the KD 151 pen ink quite quickly. It was also quite easy to remove all of the ink, and undoubtedly took 100% of the ink pigment off the skin.

Removal Speed: 4

Ease of Removal: 4.5

Overall Removability: 4.5

Tim’s Stuff Body and Makeup Adhesive Remover Score: 13/15

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Telesis Beta Solv

I had a feeling this would end up at this end of my little trial. It is my go-to for removing Tinsley Transfer tattoos. I like to let the Beta Solv sit on the skin for a few solid minutes before working it to remove the transfers. And I applied the same technique to using it to remove KD 151 tattoo pen ink.

The ease with which the ink transferred over to the cotton pad was quite eye-opening. This was definitely an easy removal process, to say the least!

Removal Speed: 4

Ease of Removal: 5

Overall Removability: 5

Telesis Beta Solv Score: 14/15

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Plasma Soap

When you think about it, there is no better reason than discovering that this is my Number 1 discovery for efficient and easy removal of KD 151 Tattoo Ink. A product that is designed to remove pigment – makeup blood pigment, that is. So it makes sense that it does the same for tattoo ink pens as well.

The removal was incredibly fast, and this product also feels great on the skin. The KD 151 ink disappeared with very little pressure whatsoever.

Removal Speed: 4.5

Ease of Removal: 5

Overall Removability: 5

Plasma Soap Score: 14.5/15

The Verdict

This was a really interesting exercise. Here are the main takeaways:

• makeup removers will all take off some, or most KD 151 Tattoo pen ink
• patience is the key to removing the ink – let the product sit on the skin and it will do the work for you
• use a product like Skin Saver prior to applying your tattoos (and give it time to work before your makeup application)

There are 3 standouts for me:

Tim’s Stuff

Telesis Beta Solv

Plasma Soap

Plasma Soap is my pick of the bunch, due to its speed, efficiency, feeling on the skin, and just all-around ease to get the job done.

What’s your pick? Did you make some discoveries as I did? Please comment below – you may have a discovery we can share here as well!

Do you know someone that needs this info right now? Share this post via the little window on the left side of the page! Save someone from those end-of-night woes when taking off these stubborn products!

Thanks for reading and I hope this gets you out of any future tattoo-related challenges once and for all!

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Featured Image by Clem Onojeghuo

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