Treatment Process

The number of laser treatments you’ll need to remove your tattoo will depend on many factors, including the age, type, size, and depth of the tattoo, as well as the color of your skin. Most tattoos require 6-12 treatment sessions, although small, single-color (black) tattoos and traumatic tattoos (ones caused by embedded dirt or debris) can sometimes be removed in fewer sessions.

Although laser treatments themselves last only a few minutes, having a tattoo removed is a long process. Treatments must be spread out—usually 6-8 weeks apart—to enable the pigment residue to be absorbed by the body and the skin to completely heal.

Before the treatment

Your doctor may recommend testing your tattoo to see if it is a good candidate for laser treatment. Although most tattoo pigments can be erased or lightened, some actually darken when exposed to laser light. This is particular true of certain white, pink, light brown and red pigments.

Your doctor may also recommend that you take a non-aspirin over-the-counter pain reliever, like acetaminophen (Tylenol), before your treatment. Avoid aspirin or ibuprofen, which may increase the risk of bruising and swelling at the treatment site. (Be sure to talk with your doctor before taking any pain-reliever.)

During the procedure

To minimize any discomfort, you may be given a topical anesthesia or have your skin numbed with a cold compress. In some cases, a local anesthetic is injected into the tattoo. You’ll also be given eye protectors to shield your eyes from the laser’s light. Once the treatment area has been anesthetized, the procedure begins. Using a pen-like hand-piece held over your skin, your doctor will deliver pulses of laser light into the tattoo. A typical treatment session requires about 10-30 pulses.

The treatment itself, therefore, takes only minutes. Yet although treatments are quick, they can be painful. People often compare the sensation of the pulses hitting the skin to the snap of a rubber band or the splatter of grease. The anesthesia, of course, will help.

Aftercare

A cold compress may be applied to your skin to reduce inflammation. You should expect some swelling at the treated site for a day or two. The swelling is due to the laser rupturing the cells containing the ink particles. Once the ink is released, the body recognizes it once again as a foreign material and tries to “fight it off”—a reaction that creates inflammation.

Blistering may also occur. If a scab develops, it should go away within a week or two.

Your doctor will give you instructions on how to care for the treated site to aid the healing process and to prevent infection. You may be prescribed an antibiotic to reduce the risk of infection and acetaminophen for pain.

Be sure to avoid exposing the treated area to sunlight, which can interfere with the healing process.

Don’t expect immediate results. It may take several weeks for your tattoo to show signs of fading.

Potential side effects

Side effects from laser tattoo removal treatments are usually minor. Skin discoloration may occur at the treatment site—either a lightening of the skin (hypopigmentation) or a darkening (hyperpigmentation). The discoloration results from the natural pigments in the skin (melanin) absorbing the laser’s wavelengths. These changes may be permanent.

Infection is also a possibility. For this reason, it’s important that you follow your physician’s post-treatment instructions carefully.

Another rare, but possible, side effect is permanent scarring, which occurs in about 5 percent of cases.

As the tattoo removal treatments progress, some people develop an allergic reaction to the tattoo inks. Again, this is due to the laser breaking up and releasing the ink particles into the body. Your doctor can provide medications to treat these allergies. In rare cases, people have developed a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction to the released inks. This is one of many reasons why you need to be under the care of a physician with extensive experience and training in laser surgery and tattoo removal.