When removing a tattoo most people instantly want to know how many treatments it will take to be gone. Several factors affect this including the colours of the ink, the age of the tattoo, how deep the ink is in the skin, the skin colour of the patient, the location of the tattoo on the body and the technology being used.
The colours of ink used in a tattoo can mean you would need more or less treatments as some darker colours such as black, navy and red will fade back quicker than lighter or brighter colours such as green, pinks and blues. The wavelengths of light used in laser tattoo removal more easily target the darker colours….
Generally, the older a tattoo is the easier it is to remove with laser. Older inks have partially moved in the skin and faded over time and consequently there is less ink to treat. Also, newer inks are generally designed to last longer within the skin which will mean more treatments.
A tattoo that has been applied by a professional will be sitting deeper in the skin than one applied by an amateur. The deeper in the skin the more treatments will be needed to remove it effectively.
The individuals skin colour can also hinder or help the laser tattoo removal process. Fairer skins can tolerate more laser light then a darker skin due to the lack of surface skin pigment called melanin. Darker skins also need more time in between treatments as the healing process takes more time.
Tattoos closer to the heart including the head or neck, chest, back or abdomen have much better circulation, and the ink is removed much more quickly than the extremities. The arms, legs, hands and feet ….
Lastly, the laser technology will have a large effect on the number of treatments required. Older laser technology used bulk heating to remove the tattoo ink which often led to scarring and discolouration of the area. Newer lasers use q-switching technology which uses rapid pulses of light to selectively target the tattoo and shatter the ink into small particles. These fragments of ink are gradually taken away by the body’s natural cleaning mechanisms, much the same way as it slowly removes a bruise.