What is Laser Tattoo Removal?

Thinking of getting rid of your tattoo? Worried about safety and side-effects? You don’t need to worry now. It is not a hard nut to crack. Laser tattoo removal is a process of permanent removal of a tattoo using laser light that leaves no scars on your body. The ink absorbs the laser and eradicates the tiny particles.

Q-switched Lasers:

The intensity of light must be chosen. Q-switched lasers are the best that remove tattoos without any scars. Also, different wavelengths of lights are to be used for different colors of tattoos. The most commonly used wavelengths are 1064nm and 532nm.

The Q-switched Nd:

NAG Laser with Photoacoustic Twin Pulse mode (PTP) which has a spot size from 1 to 10, is the safest and most efficient laser used. The PTP mode used along with 192-channel PZT linear shows that a narrower pulse width provides better image resolution.

Where Is It Used?

Laser Tattoo Removal is used on all body parts; the skin over bones and muscles.

Pre-procedure Work Up:

Make sure of a few things to experience is a smooth procedure:

• Talk to your doctor about your medical history. It is an essential factor needed to decide whether you are suitable for the treatment.
• Make sure your skin is not tanned before a week of laser treatment because it just increases the process and discomfort.
• Don’t put any perfumes or lotions on the area to be treated without your doctor’s knowledge.
• Ask your doctor if you could take any potential pain-killers if you have less pain threshold.

Procedure

The treatment is different for different people. It depends on a lot of factors including your skin color, the tattoo pigment color, tattoo size, etc. During the procedure, the doctor will either apply anesthetic cream over the area or give you an anesthetic injection. After that, the professional will place a handpiece on the area which will send laser impulses to your skin. This causes the ink particles to vibrate until they break into smaller pieces. It involves many laser impulses to break all the pigment particles, and these impulses snap on your skin for nanoseconds. If it is a dark tattoo, the professional might advise you to come after several weeks to give time to the skin for healing.

Post Procedure

Post-laser care is just as important as the actual treatment. The treatment area is sensitive and quickly gets irritated. Ask your doctor when to start applying your regular skin products and makeup. Apply ice packs or cold compresses to the area to help relieve the redness and pain.

Side Effects

The side effects depend on various factors. These are some of the common ones:

• Temporary redness, swelling, and itching.
• Infection
• Scars
• Change in skin color
• Slight inflammation

Sessions Required

There are usually 4-5 sessions required again depending on several factors.

Results

The tattoo never entirely fades away instead you see the skin is progressing to hide the remnants. There are other factors that decide the density of the results. Usually, it takes around 6 weeks for someone to say that there was no tattoo here.

Visit an expert skin specialist or a good cosmetic dermatologist for tattoo removal by laser.