Tattoo ink consists of a mixture of water, alcohol and coloring — typically black, blue, green and red. The main ingredient is the color pigment (organic pigment) such as carbon , which is also found in candle soot .
This ink stays in your skin because it’s too big to pass through the pores into your blood stream. Laser tattoo removal works by targeting the color pigment in your skin and blasting it with a beam of intense light. The laser pulses only a fraction of a second and the patient may feel some pinching or stinging sensation.
When this energy hits tattoo pigment, its particles get excited and break apart from one another. This process is known as “photothermal effect ,” and this is what removes the tattoo from your skin. In some cases, a second treatment may be needed for complete removal of a large or complex tattoo.
This method can also be used to fade your existing tattoos, but you might need several treatments before you’ll see a significant difference . For smaller tattoos, you’ll likely only need one treatment.
So what are the aftercare instructions for Laser Tattoo Removal? Here’s what you need to know about caring for your skin during the healing process.
Aftercare is very important in maintaining effective treatment. But if you are looking to get rid of a tattoo, laser tattoo removal is most effective when there are white spaces on the skin with no trace of any ink or dye. Darker colors of ink absorb more light energy than lighter colors do, so they are more easily broken up by laser light.
The color red is hard to remove with laser treatment because the energy wavelength of the laser is shorter than the color red. Dark blue, green and black tend to be easier to remove than red ink or yellow ink.
During your first session of Laser Tattoo Removal, your skin will be treated with a high-energy light beam. As the beam hits your tattoo pigment, it produces heat that destroys your cells. Your body immediately absorbs this energy and carries away damaged tissue, leaving new, unharmed cells behind.
Because most of the energy is absorbed by the coloring in the ink and not by the surrounding tissue, the laser beam can be precisely targeted to only affect your tattoo pigment. In addition to destroying tissue, this high-energy light beam also causes a photochemical reaction in the cells of your tattoo — called “photo decomposition” — that breaks apart your ink particles and releases them.
Your body will then remove these tiny ink particles through its lymphatic system. The spaces between your cells will begin to heal themselves, eventually leaving no trace of your tattoo.
A typical session may take anywhere from 30-45 minutes depending on the size and number of tattoos you have . You should expect some soreness after the treatment, but this shouldn’t interfere with daily activities. You’re treated skin might appear red or inflamed, and maybe a bit swollen as well.
The best dermatologist near you will be able to answer any questions or concerns you may have about the procedure.
