In the past, tattoo removal meant painful and scarring surgery. This is no longer true. Specialized lasers are now used to remove tattoos in an inexpensive, commonly available procedure.
How Do Lasers Remove Tattoos?
To understand removal techniques it helps to explain what a tattoo is. A tattoo artist injects dye under the skin through a puncture. A tattoo requires many punctures, each inserting a small amount of pigment. Tattoo removal requires eliminating that ink from under the skin.
Lasers are extremely precise instruments. Doctors can adjust color and intensity of the light to affect only part of an object, such as breaking up a tattoo while not damaging the skin. The laser beam causes the pigments to break down into smaller pieces. The laser itself does not destroy or "burn away" the ink. Instead, it breaks the dye into small pieces that the body's own natural defenses can deal with.
What Can I Expect From The Procedure?
Laser tattoo removal does involve discomfort, but a level less than the pain of getting the tattoo originally. It certainly is less painful than older methods such as dermabrasion. Patients can take over-the-counter non-aspirin pain relievers before or after the procedure. Doctors may use an anesthetic cream to numb the area before treatment. Many patients require no pain relief at all.
Some patients are surprised when there is no change in the tattoo after the procedure. Remember the laser does not destroy the ink, just breaks it down so the body can process it. Over the next two to three weeks the tattoo will fade slightly. Laser tattoo removal typically requires several treatments spaced about three weeks apart, but your doctor will explain that before the procedure begins.
There is no down time after the procedure. Patients may feel as though they have a mild sunburn, but will not have to miss work.
What If The Tattoo Doesn't Fade Completely?
No method of tattoo removal is 100% effective. Tattoos are designed to be permanent and the goal of tattoo removal is to fade as much of the design as possible. Different types and colors of ink as well as patient skin type can affect how effectively any method can fade the pigment.
Tattoos often fade enough people stop noticing it, but this depends on where the tattoo is located. Faded facial tattoos are more noticeable in casual conversation than ankle tattoos. Women and some men choose to use concealing makeup to cover up the remaining pigment and may be able to obscure the tattoo completely.
The cover up tattoo is a specialized skill of many tattoo artists in Philadelphia. Tattoo removal fades the old tattoo and then a new tattoo is created to incorporate the remaining elements. This won't help people trying to remove all traces of a tattoo, but could help for example someone trying to get rid of the name of an ex-lover.
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