Laser Tattoo Removal FAQ | Tattoo Removal Q&A

Laser Tattoo Removal FAQ

Find out what you need to know about Laser Tattoo Removal. If you have any additional questions, please contact us at (623) 236-3119.

Are there other alternatives to laser removal? What about those balms and creams that promise at-home removal?

There are several other procedures you may choose to remove your tattoo. For example, there is surgical excision. This is where a surgeon slices off the skin containing your tattoo. While it is immediate and can remove your tattoo completely, there is a very good chance you will be left with a scar. Those over the counter creams and balms that promise to erase your tattoo at home, are essentially an acid that eats away at your skin, combined with abrasion to “sand down” the skin from the outside in, as opposed to the Q-Switched laser which removes the tattoo from beneath the top layers of the skin. The creams and balms typically require repeated uses, and can dramatically increase the chance of leaving you with a permanent scar, or damaging the melanin in your skin leaving you with white spots. As you can see, this is why we only use an Q-Switched Laser to remove tattoos—it has the highest success rate, with the lowest incidence of scarring vs. any other removal process.
Will my skin type have an effect on my results?

In dermatology, we categorize skin into six different types. Type 1 being very fair and burning easily, all the way to Type 6, very dark skin with an abundance of melanin. So, can someone with Type 1 skin have their tattoo removed as easily as someone with Type 6 skin? The answer is yes. It is up to the doctor to recognize which skin type you are and make the necessary adjustments to the laser. For instance, a fair personʼs skin can be treated with more energy than someone with darker skin. What that means is that we will have to typically treat a few more times for people with darker skin to achieve the same result.
Will the removal process leave a scar?

Less than 1% of people who have their tattoos professionally removed with a Q-Switched laser report scars – as compared to Quasi-Q-Switched (table top lasers) and other non-Q-Switched lasers – like IPLs and long-pulsed lasers, which have a much higher instance of leaving scars. Also, some people tend to scar easily—for example, they may be prone to developing thick scars known as keloids—no matter what procedure is done to them. If this is your case, tell your doctor, as your chance of scarring will increase.
Will there be bleeding? Swelling? Soreness? And what kind of aftercare will I have to perform?

Older lasers use a Gaussian beam profile, which is like a spike of hot light in the middle of a ring of light. They work by blasting the skin off your body to get down to the layer where the ink sits. These lasers obviously do cause bleeding and scabbing—which require proper wound care, and can take up to 5 - 7 days to heal. For obvious reasons, we donʼt use those lasers. The Q-Switched laser we use has no hot spot and works by going below the skin, sparing all of your healthy tissue, and therefore it does not cause any bleeding – so the after care is quite simple. You will likely have some swelling and the treated area will be a bit tender to the touch for the first 24 hours. You will want to ice the area for a few hours at home.
Will removing my tattoo be more painful than getting one?

Everyoneʼs pain tolerance is different, but from what most of my patients have told me, the pain from the laser is only slightly greater than the pain of getting the tattoo. But, to some people that pain is nothing, while to others itʼs unbearable. There are a wide variety of ways to make you more comfortable during your session but we find the cryogenic cooling is preferred by most.
How long does each session take?

A typical session usually takes only about 3-5 minutes, depending on the size of your tattoo. Most clients are in and out of our office in less than 15 minutes and several choose to come in on their lunch hour.
My tattoo is all a single color… does that make it easier to remove?

That depends. The easiest color to remove is red. Followed closely by black. The most difficult color to remove completely is green. So while we can fade green ink considerably, if your tattoo contains a lot of green in the design, complete removal is not guaranteed. And you may see some ghosting and shadowing mentioned in Question #3. So, if your tattoo is designed with just red and/or black ink, chances are youʼll see better results, faster.
How long will it take to remove my tattoo?

Like I mentioned in my answer to Question #2, it can take an average of 7-10 sessions to completely remove a tattoo. But that doesnʼt mean if you come in every day for 7-10 days, your tattoo will be gone in under two weeks. Your body needs time to heal, and to allow for its natural cleansing process to do its job.

The ideal recommended time between sessions is four to six weeks. Which means it can take anywhere from 6 months to a year for your tattoo to be completely removed, depending on the type of tattoo, the size, and the type of ink used.

For example, homemade tattoos are typically the quickest and easiest to remove, since the ink is usually of a lower quality, and they are not as deeply set in the skin. This goes for many “cosmetic” tattoos as well, such as permanent eyeliner and eyebrows. Since the ink is set much closer to the top layer of skin, these have a high success rate of complete removal. Professionally done tattoos, that are large and use a wide variety of colors, will take more sessions and thus a longer time to remove. Keep this in mind as well: Many inks used by professionaltattoo artists are custom created and formulated by the artists themselves. And because they want their artwork to be as vibrant and bold as possible on your skin forever, they create their inks specifically to resist breaking down. This is another variable to take into account when we start the removal process, and will have an effect on your results.
Will my tattoo be completely gone, and my skin as clean as if I never had a tattoo?

There are several factors that determine whether you will achieve what we call “complete clearance,” or the total removal of your tattoo, as if you had never gotten it in the first place. Those factors include: how your body heals, the quality of your tattoo (i.e. was it homemade or professionally administered), how deep the ink is set in your skin, and the quality of ink.

The trickiest aspect of removing your tattoo has to do with one major variable: the ink itself. Since tattoo parlors are largely unregulated, and tattoo artists get their inks from a wide variety of sources, made from an even wider variety of compounds, itʼs difficult to tune the laser to the specific source of each type of ink. Making it difficult to remove completely. To be completely truthful, even with the tremendous advances in medicine and science we have at our disposal, removing a tattoo is still an imperfect procedure. Just over 50% achieve “complete clearance,” while the remaining 50% will see some shadowing and ghosting which can never be removed.

The fact is, no matter which wavelength a doctor may use, studies show no conclusive evidence of 100% removal every time, for every patient.

So it's important to have an in-depth conversation with your doctor before beginning treatment so you can get an understanding of the results you would expect.
Will my tattoo be gone after the first session?

This is a question my new patients ask frequently, and the quick answer is no. While it may have taken just a single session to put your tattoo on, it typically takes an average of 7-12 sessions to remove it. The removal process does take time—in some cases several months, and even up to a year.

That said, your tattoo will fade noticeably after the very first session. During the removal process, when the laser blasts the ink in your skin and breaks it down, your bodyʼs natural cleansing process continually works to clear it away, long after the session is over.

So even if you decide to only have a couple of sessions, your tattoo will continue to fade over time. It will just take considerably longer than with repeated sessions, and will simply fade, rather than be removed completely.
How exactly do you remove my tattoo?

We use a state-of-the-art, Q-switched YAG laser which is made specifically for pigment removal. The laser emits a nanosecond burst of concentrated light that goes through the skin, without damaging it, right down to the level where the ink is sitting, and blasts the ink molecules into microscopic pieces.

Your bodyʼs own white blood cells and microphages then take over, gobbling up the pieces and carrying them off to your lymphatic system, where they are naturally eliminated by your body.
What does laser tattoo removal cost?

it is next to impossible to give an exact fee quote here as there are several factors that are involved in pricing. The size of the tattoo is an obvious one, but we also have to consider the body location, the color of the ink, the amount of ink present, and the skill of the operator.