Laser Tattoo Removal Guide

Getting a tattoo removed is not an overnight process. In fact, laser tattoo removal – just like laser hair removal treatments or laser treatments for skin conditions such as rosacea, for example – is a method that takes quite a bit of time.

This is a result of how the method works to remove the ink from the skin. The laser tattoo removal method demands that clinics must approach tattoo removal with individual treatment sessions. These laser treatments must be spaced out appropriately, as each treatment result in effects that are not granted all at once, but in fact, have an effect over many months.

Let’s give an example, using the same size of a tattoo discussed in the post on how much laser tattoo removal costs. If you’ve got a tattoo that’s 3 square inches in size (again, that’s approximately the size of 3 standard sized USA postage stamps), the removal of this tattoo will be done over a number of repeated laser treatments.

For a tattoo this size, it’s likely to take 5-10 treatments.

(A note on the that point: The number of treatments depends on a few things, such as the amount or lack of color in the tattoo (black ink is the easiest to remove, whereas colored tattoo ink takes more time), the quality of the ink, the quality of the tattoo (home made or amateur made tattoos are quicker to remove), and also, the number of laser pulses the doctor or removal specialist is using in their equipment.)

But for a good rule of thumb, expect that it’s going to take up to 10 treatments. In most cases, that will remove a tattoo.

However, these treatments cannot be done all at once or squeezed together over a few days or weeks.

In fact, most clinics use the standard rule of allotting 6-8 weeks in between treatment sessions. One perk is that this does make it easier to pay for tattoo removal, but the reason behind it is simple that the body takes time to act on the effects of each treatment.

In our example here, that means the tattoo of 3 square inches is going to take 6 months at a minimum to remove at 5 treatments spaced 6 weeks a part, and perhaps up to 1 year or more if takes 10 treatments at 6-8 weeks in between each laser treatment session.

Unfortunately for the person with the tattoo,there is no way to rush this up. This means that if you have a tattoo you need removed for a wedding or future job opportunities, you need to start having treatments far in advance of when you want or need the tattoo removed.

Laser tattoo removal is one of the most reliable tattoo removal methods around. One aspect of this reliability is that there is no doubt to how it works, nor no doubt that it indeed does work, which cannot be said for other tattoo removal methods.

What is laser? Well, let’s start with revealing that the word itself is an akward acronym which stands for: light amplication by stimulated emission of radiation. This catchy phrase can now promptly be forgotten as we discuss what a laser is in every day terms.

Simply put, it’s a concentrated beam of light that can be highly focused and targeted to a single point or area. This differs from “normal light” in that normal light carries with it different waves, each having their own brightness and color, each with their own polarization.

When it comes to laser tattoo removal, doctors focus the laser on the area of the body containing the unwanted tattoo. The laser is able to pass through the upper and outer layers of the skin (epidermis) harmlessly, directly going to the tattoo ink. The presence of the laser hitting the ink causes a microscopic disruption. Each “hit” results in the body being able to break down a little bit of the tattoo ink and absorbing this break down into the body and disposing of it. You can imagine then how after repeated contact between the ink and the laser, an entire tattoo can be removed in this way.

It sounds perhaps strange at first to learn that the tattoo ink is not literally taken out by the laser itself, but only as as reaction to being hit to the ink. The body takes care of the rest. There is no health concern in regards to the inked cells being removed by the body. The immune system is a powerful system!

The laser tattoo removal experience is not pleasant one, yet it’s said to be less painful that receiving a tattoo, along with being faster as well. Some compare the pain of laser treatments to a hot, stinging sensation, a pinch, or being hit repeatedly with a rubber band. Unlike when receiving a tattoo, it’s common to use numbing agents on the skin during a laser tattoo removal sensation, further decreasing the pain. Additionally, many clinics use specialized cooling techniques – which essentially amounts to keeping cold air blowing on the skin to relieve discomfort during the laser session.