Laser Tattoo Removal Guide

Tattoo removal is a costly, long term endeavor. Unless a tattoo is very, very small and has little color, it usually takes many months to see it fully removed from the body, no matter what method is used (with the exception of excision, which simply removed the tattoo all at once via surgery).

In this article, we’ll look at the cost of various tattoo removal methods. This is done for the sake of completeness, and is not an endorsement of these methods. For more information on each method, include the problems and risks associated with them, click on the corresponding link for more information on each tattoo removal technique.

Laser tattoo removal. Priced by a number of factors, including how many square inches of tattoo there is to remove, the colors used in the tattoo inks, and how many laser pulses are used in each treatment session. A good rule of thumb is to estimate that a tattoo the size of 3 square inches (about 3 US postage stamps placed together) would cost $150 each session, and could take 5-10 sessions.

Rejuvi tattoo removal. Similar to how laser tattoo removal prices are structured, the cost of rejuvi treatments depends on the total size of the total and the colors used. Treatments are broken down by pricing different areas of the tattoo by the square inch. Expect treatments to cost about $90-$120 per square inch treated.

TCA tattoo removal. Priced by the bottle. This is a cheap tattoo removal method often costing around $50 for a bottle. For example, Nuviderm, the most popular TCA containing tattoo removal product, costs $39.95 for a 1 OZ bottle. This is said to remove (“or extremely fade”) a single tattoo of 3×3 size.

Dermabrasion tattoo removal. Dermabrasion is priced by the size of the tattoo and number of sessions needed to complete it. It’s likely to run in the thousands of dollars for the removal of a tattoo.

Excision tattoo removal. For small tattoos, excision is relatively inexpensive, although it’s not without it’s problems. (See entire article.) A small piece of tattoo work can likely be excised for under $200. Larger pieces will cost substantially more, as it not only involves a bigger area of work, but additionally work for skin grafting and suture placement.

Tattoo Removal Cream. Tattoo removal creams are usually sold in kits or bundles, each corresponding to a number of treatments. For instance, a month long supply with daily treatments may run about $50. A 6 month supply may cost $300. There a number of different tattoo removal cream products, such as Wrecking Balm and Tat B Gone, but prices between competing products are largely in the same ball park.

As you can see, tattoo removal costs are very high, possibly costing up to $10,000 for a large tattoo that would require 15+ visits at a laser removal clinic. It’s estimated that most tattoo removal services end up costing about $1500-$3500. Something to keep in mind about the cheaper methods is that even over the counter products which are sold for $50 can end up costing hundreds of dollars if it takes 6 months of daily treatments.

One of the biggest hurdles facing anyone with has a tattoo they no longer wish to have and are ready to take some action on having it removed is dealing with the expense of tattoo removal.

It’s no secret: tattoo removal isn’t cheap.

Or rather, tattoo removal methods that are safe, proven, and effective are not cheap.  (See *Overview of all Tattoo Removal Methods” and “What About Tattoo Removal Cream“.)

With that in mind, the expense of laser tattoo removal can be a serious expenditure to most people. Let’s take a closer look at the pricing and cost of laser tattoo removal.

Factors Influencing the Prices and Costs of Laser Tattoo Removal

The price of laser tattoo removal depends on a few different factors. Obviously, where you live is going to make a difference. This factor is true at the large scale level of price differences in different countries all the way down to a fluctuation in prices in different towns and cities.

The prices below reflect the fact that the majority of laser tattoo removal clinics operate in medium to large size cities in Western countries.

That being said, they offer a good guideline for what to expect when researching the cost of laser tattoo removal in your own area.

How Doctors and Specialists Price Laser Tattoo Removal Services

Laser tattoo removal services are nearly always priced by these factors:

1. By how many square inches of tattoo ink are to be removed
2. By how many treatments it’s required to remove them
3. And sometimes by how many laser pulses are emitted in the treatment session

As you can see, this introduces many variables into the equation, making it hard to give a general figure for laser tattoo removal cost.

For our purposes here though, and to give you a good idea of how this plays out, say you had a tattoo that was 3 square inches. That’s about the size of 3 postage stamps. It’s a good idea to expect 5-10 treatments to have it fully removed. This translates to about $150 a visit, meaning the total cost would be $750-$1,500.

As you can see, the expense of removing a small tattoo is considerable, and removing a large tattoo will easily cost in the thousands of dollars.

Most clinics will not expect payment up front for the totality of treatments, allowing the patient to “pay as you go”, paying for the treatments one at a time. Additionally, many clinics will give a discount to those who are able to pay in advance for a set amount of treatments, such as paying for the first 5 treatments in one purchase and receiving 10% off the total cost.

Additionally, many clinics offer 100% for tattoo removal. For more information on this, please see Paying for Tattoo Removal: Financing and Loans.

Addendum: A Note on Cheap Laser Tattoo Removal Services

If you find a specialist offering prices that are obscenely lower than the competition, be sure to do your research before committing to their services.

Unreasonably low prices are often a red flag or warning sign that the services are not of high quality, or worse yet, that the individual or company is operating some kind of scam.

Using low quality services is not going to benefit anyone, save for the laser tattoo removal specialist who might pocket some money before moving on to someone else. The pain and expense involved in correcting bad removal work is far worse than paying the right price the first time around.

That being said, some places might offer really good deals, especially if they are a new laser tattoo removal clinic in town. If that’s the case, and they appear to be legit and can prove it with a portfolio and a good sales pitch, then congratulations on saving some money AND getting your tattoo removed!