Laser Tattoo Removal

Lasers have become the standard treatment for tattoo removal because they offer a bloodless, low risk, effective alternative with minimal side effects. Each procedure is done on an outpatient basis in a single or series of visits.

The type of laser used to remove a tattoo depends on the tattoo's pigment colors. (Yellow and green are the hardest colors to remove; blue and black are the easiest.) Lasers developed specifically for use in tattoo removal use a technique known as Q-switching, which refers to the laser's short, high-energy pulses. The combination of wavelengths of the Q-switched Yag laser is effective in treating a full spectrum of colors and tattoo inks, though some of the newer synthetic tattoo dyes are increasingly difficult to remove.

Multiple sessions with a Q-switched laser are required to fade tattoos.

How Tattoo Lasers Work

• Lasers work by producing short pulses of intense light that pass harmlessly through the top layers of the skin to be selectively absorbed by the tattoo pigment.
• The laser uses a powerful light beam to damage the ink under the skin. There is no cutting of the skin.
• The tattoo ink soaks up the beam’s energy and gets extremely hot for a fraction of a second.
• This is enough to break up the ink causing it to fade slowly.
• Over the next few weeks the body's lymphatic system can clear these small particles of ink.

When these fragmented pigment particles are out of the way the laser beam can penetrate to the next layer of ink. Allow at least a month between treatments.

More than one treatment, which typically only takes minutes, is usually needed to remove an entire tattoo -- the number of sessions depends on the amount and type of ink used and how deeply it was injected. Large, multicolored tattoos can require upwards to 20 sessions and it is impossible to determine the exact number of sessions required at the beginning.

Unless the tattoo is cut out, there frequently remains a faint residual image, even after many treatments.

Your Tattoo Removal Process

The laser fires in rapid bursts, these feel a bit like the spatter of hot fat from a frying pan. This discomfort has stopped many people from continuing with tattoo removal.   At New Genesis we offer Inhaled Nitrous Oxide to minimize the pain making the procedure tolerable. Female patients are required to have a companion with them in the treatment room to receive Nitrous Oxide.

The tattoo will feel hot for a while afterwards, and it will probably be red and swollen for the rest of the day. Very dark, or large professional tattoos, will remain tender and swollen for a few days.

Occasionally this is followed by a scab or crust. The tattoo will not look a lot different after   the first treatment, but over the next few weeks it will fade a little. Initially the changes may not be obvious until you compare it with a pretreatment photograph. Because tattoo ink is placed deep into the skin, only a series of laser treatments can effectively remove most of the implanted ink.

Complete tattoo removal is often impossible. Please understand this prior to commencing treatment.

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