Laser Tattoo Removal is Proven to Work!

Today, lasers are the most common method of tattoo removal. In my research of all the available options each article, doctor, and technician kept pointing back to Laser Removal as the most effective and safe treatment. The reviews I read of creams, chemicals, and other methods all had some pretty serious downsides. Lasers work by targeting the ink with pulses of highly concentrated light that break the ink into tiny fragments, which are then cleared away the your own immune system.

Treatments can be spaced as far as 6 weeks apart to allow your body’s immune system time to clear the broken down ink particles. Patients may require as many as 15 treatments which average about 2 minutes each to complete for a medium size tattoo.

The more treatments you have, the more the laser can penetrate to destroy the ink. But with more treatments the more damage you do to your skin, causing painful blisters and scabs that can eventually lead to scarring. Experts in removal therapy say that technology has advanced to the point where scarring is minimal, but this can vary depending on the situation.

On top of being physically painful, laser removal can be painful to your wallet as well. Sessions can cost anywhere from $250-$800 each. That’s a lot of scratch and will probably make anyone think how bad they really want that tattoo removed, or why they might not want to get one in the first place! A large, professional tattoo in color could cost thousands of dollars to remove, and the effectiveness of the removal still isn’t guaranteed. You could end up with just a lightly faded patch of skin that might not look as attractive as your Tattoo. White is the hardest Tattoo color to remove and Black the easiest.

Most Dermatologic Surgeons caution that complete tattoo removal is not possible. Tattoos are meant to be permanent, so removing them is difficult. Few surgeons guarantee complete removal. Doctors say they can't predict the exact degree of removal because they generally don't know which of the 100 tattoo inks available today were used.

Lasers (Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation) have become the standard treatment for tattoo removal because they offer a bloodless, low risk, effective alternative with minimal side effects. Each procedure is done on an outpatient basis in a single or series of visits. Patients may or may not require topical or local anesthesia.

How Does Laser Tattoo Removal Work?

Lasers work by generating short pulses of intense light which pass through the top layers of your skin to be selectively absorbed by the tattoo pigment. The laser energy causes the tattoo pigment to fragment into smaller pieces which are then removed by your body's immune system. Researchers have determined which wavelengths of light are most effective and how exactly how to deliver the laser's output to best remove tattoo ink.