Laser Tattoo Removal

Laser Tattoo Removal is the use of laser technology to remove unwanted or unsightly tattoos from the skin. The procedure is roughly 20 years old and has proven to be a convenient and hassle-free method in removing tattoos whilst also being much less obtrusive than earlier methods of tattoo removal.

For many years tattoo removal rested solely in dealing with the surface layer of the skin. Tattoos are permanent because the needle penetrates below the epidermis and places ink into the dermis layer, or secondary layer, of the skin. The only solutions for these early tattoo removal methods was to either cut the patch of tattooed skin off, known as excision, or to literally ‘rub’ the tattooed skin away, referred to as dermabrasion. Both procedures are painful and fraught with complications, and often make the area of the skin look worse than any bad tattoo ever could.

Then in the mid to late 80’s the laser was introduced to the tattoo industry. Laser tattoo removal is so popular because it doesn’t even deal with the epidermis layer at all. What happens is that pulses of light are directed at areas of the skin where the tattoo resides and break up the large ink molecules in the dermis layer, and thereby making the ink molecules so small that eventually they are carried away by the bloodstream.

Laser tattoo removal is not immediate like excision or dermabrasion. It’s recommended that sessions be spaced apart over months and often each session can only work on one color at a time. Obviously the more complicated and intricate the tat is—the more resistant to laser tattoo removal techniques it will be. For instance, turquoise has always proved to be the most difficult tattoo color to remove via laser technology.

But on the whole laser tattoo removal is a far more preferable method than earlier techniques of tattoo removal. Not just from an aesthetic standpoint, though this is a major consideration, but also in regards to pain. The sensation of the laser pulses has been described as being like a mosquito bite—a far cry from the pain of having your patch of tattooed skin removed. And the area of the skin has a greater chance of looking unaltered with laser tattoo removal than with any other tattoo removal technique.