Laser Tattoo Removal

Historical Tattoo Removal

As long as people have been getting tattoos, there have been people wanting to remove them. In ancient times there were a number of repulsive home remedies for tattoo removal including wearing a paste of pigeon poop and vinegar, or rubbing the skin with coarse salt until both the flesh and most of the ink was scraped away.

As you can imagine, these early methods weren't very effective and often left a horrendous scar over the treated area. Thankfully, modern technology has removed the barbarism from tattoo removal, and tats can now be eliminated far more safely and effectively.

Laser Tattoo Removal: Then and Now

In the 1980's CO2 laser tattoo removal became the standard for the industry. Bursts of laser light were used to break up the pigment inks beneath the skin surface. Once broken down into smaller particles, the body's own white cells would carry the pigments away to be flushed out of the system.

Although somewhat effective, CO2 laser tattoo removal had some drawbacks. The laser actually damaged the surface skin, often leaving a scar where the treatment had taken place. It also often left behind a "ghost" of the tattoo itself. In a nutshell, the entire procedure was painful and could leave you with a result that was likely less attractive than the tattoo you originally wanted to remove.

Today, Q-switched lasers have set a new standard for laser tattoo removal. These lasers emit very powerful, but shorter bursts of light that break up pigment particles without significant damage to the skin, so scarring is almost non-existent. Since the Q-switched laser breaks down ink particles much smaller than the previous CO2 laser, the procedure yields results far more quickly.

You should be aware that a single laser treatment is usually not enough to remove an entire tattoo, so repeated treatments may be necessary. These are usually spaced about a month apart. This gives the body time to remove the particles so a better judgement can be made about the necessity of further treatments.

About Ink and Light

Tattoo ink is created from a variety of compounds, some easier to break down than others. Since there is no regulation of ink manufacturers, it's almost impossible to know which substances have been used in a particular tattoo. This makes it difficult to judge how many treatments will be necessary for removal, and just how successful that removal will ultimately be.

Let's take a look at how ink and light interact:

Light breaks down pigment, but different colors absorb different wavelengths of light, and this determines how quickly the laser is effective on each color. The more light a particular color is able to absorb, the faster it will fade.

• Black ink is actually the easiest color to remove because it absorbs the full spectrum of light. This means the laser light is able to work at full capacity to break down the pigment.
• Green and blue ink are a bit more resistant to break down because they only absorb red light, prolonging the fading process.
• Purple, red, and orange ink also present more of a challenge to laser tattoo removal since they only absorb green light.
• Shades of turquoise can react differently to laser removal, depending on just what substances were used to achieve the color, but still require red light for removal.
• Yellow ink is perhaps the most difficult color of all to remove, since it actually tends to reflect the laser light, rather than absorb it. This color usually requires a number of treatments to cause any fading.

In answer to these varying needs, there are four types of Q-switched lasers used for tattoo removal:

• Ruby lasers remove black, blue and green inks.
• Alexandrite lasers are used to remove black, blue and green pigments that are resistant to the ruby laser.
• Nd:YAG-Invisible emits infrared light to remove black and navy colors that are resistant to ruby and alexandrite lasers.
• Nd:YAG-Green light breaks up red pigments, and is also useful in treating black, navy, and purple inks.

Your laser technician will assess your tattoo and decided which laser, or combination of laser treatments, will most effectively remove your tat.

Removal Hurts

Getting a tattoo hurts, so why would anyone expect removing one to be painless? Many people describe the pain of laser tattoo removal to be the equivalent of getting snapped with a rubber band - over and over and over...

The good news is that the pain recedes fairly quickly once the procedure is over, mainly due to the fact that modern laser tattoo removal doesn't damage the skin the way early laser treatments once did. Instead of facing recovery time, you can simply watch your tattoo fade away.

The easiest tattoo to remove is the one you never got. Tats are great, but you should think carefully before you get one and be sure it's what you really want. Then you may never need to face the rigors of removal.