Tattoo Removal & Laser Tattoo Removal

Tattoo parlors have reported record demand over the past five years, and the percentage of individuals with tattoos has increased significantly over that same time period. An increasing number of women have been getting tattoos. While girls in their teens and early 20s are the average female customers, more women in their 30s and 40s are getting tattoos as well. But as the number of people getting a tattoo has increased, so too has the number of people looking to get rid of their tattoos.

Traditional methods of tattoo removal included dermabrasion, chemical treatments, salabrasion or excision. While immediate and more economical, these procedures generally leave serious scarring which in many instances looks worse than the tattoo. But today, more & more dermatologists & cosmetic professionals are turning to lasers to fade & remove tattoos.

Lasers, such as the Medlite laser & Yag laser, send pulses of high energy light into the skin, fragmenting the tattoo ink into thousands of tiny particles. These tiny particles are small enough to be gradually absorbed and dispersed by the body. The advantages of laser tattoo removal include a lower risk of scarring, fast treatment times & quicker recovery.

Lynette Kennedy, a certified laser specialist at New Look Laser Tattoo Removal in Dallas, TX, notes that "Q-switched, Nd:YAG lasers don't scar the skin when removing tattoos and side effects are limited to swelling, redness, and occasional blistering for several days after the procedure."

Many factors determine the potential success of the tattoo removal surgery.

The tattoo ink itself is very important in determining the success of a laser tattoo removal procedure. "Color has a lot to do with how responsive the tattoo is to the laser," said Dr. Andrew Pollack of the Philadelphia Institute of Dermatology in Philadelphia, PA. "Black, red, and blue ink colors are much easier to remove with the laser than some newer colors like pink, pastels, and blues like teal." in fact many doctors & plastic surgeons report that green and yellow pigments are the hardest tattoo inks to remove. Also, someone getting a small black tattoo will likely need fewer sessions than someone with a colorful tattoo that spans an entire arm or leg.

Other factors that determine the success of laser tattoo removal include the depth of the tattoo & how long a patient has had the tattoo. Older tattoos & those where the ink has penetrated deeper in the skin are more difficult to remove. Professional tatoo parlors usemethods that penetrate deeper, so the more professional tattoos are often harder to remove.

Laser tattoo removal treatments have been known to be painful for some patients. "Redness, irritation, light scabbing, swelling, loss of sensation and very light bleeding are all potential side effects," says Leslie Forrester, a registered nurse at the Liposuction and Cosmetic Surgery Institute in Chicago.

The cost of laser tattoo removal is usually more expensive than traditional methods. Typically, the cost of laser tattoo removal will range from $1,500 to $2,500 depending on the city, the laser used & the number of treatments needed (usually determined by the tattoo inks used).