You were young and foolish, or maybe once had a louder sense of self-expression than you do now. Or perhaps you simply made a mistake. There are many reasons one may regret, and seek the removal of a tattoo. At one time, the only option for getting rid of a tattoo was to get a new over the old one in order to disguise it. However, laser technology has become a viable solution for this once permanent skin dilemma. Laser tattoo removal is an effective treatment to get rid of that old, unwanted ink.

How Can a Laser Remove My Tattoo?

First, you must understand what a tattoo is. From a medical standpoint, tattoo ink becomes stained particles of pigment too large to be wiped out by the body’s immune system. A laser, a monochromatic light source, shoots an intense wavelength at specifically targeted tissue, breaking apart the stained particles into small enough pieces that they can then be absorbed by the body until they eventually disappear altogether. Tattoo ink is resilient, thus, this process takes time and multiple treatment sessions.

Not All Lasers Are Created Equal

When it comes to laser tattoo removal, different types of lasers (with varying wavelengths) do different things; namely, they target different colors of ink. Various lasers that work for tattoo ink removal include:

  • -Nd: YAG laser 532nm
  • -Nd: YAG laser 1064nm (Q-switched)
  • -Alexandrite laser 755nm
  • -Ruby laser

Some lasers are able to change wavelength, and thus treat different colors of ink with one system. At FineTouch Dermatology, Dr. Umar prefers to use the Spectra VRMIII for this reason, which incorporate the Q-switched and non-Q-swithced laser mode in 1064 and 532 nm wavelengths.

Laser tattoo removal may require a varying number of session dependant upon the type of ink used, the level saturation in the skin, and the size of the tattoo. Each session typically takes approximately 5 to 15 minutes.