Laser tattoo removal has long been done using many different tools since the beginning of body tattooing. The earliest methods were simply to press on the skin using a needle to prick the ink into the skin and then either wash it away or take it off completely. While tattoos are usually thought to be permanent, nowadays you can remove them either partially or fully, with various techniques. If you decide to get this treatment you should be aware of the pros and cons.
As this technology has become more popular, so have a number of different companies offering it. It's important to understand the possible results so that you can choose an appropriate procedure. These procedures are often covered by insurance, but always check!
One of the possible results is the complete removal of the tattoo, which is usually only possible if the ink particles are very small. For smaller tattoos, laser tattoo removal is not usually recommended as it does not completely destroy the cells in the skin. There are other options such as using a combination of creams and lotion which does almost the same thing. Sometimes after the treatment, the skin will be red and bruised for a few days as the ink particles are still in the skin and need to go somewhere. For larger tattoos, most methods leave no visible results but may require repeated treatments.
Another result is the lightening of the tattoo. The ink may have been darker than the surrounding skin before the treatment, and this will disappear once the ink particles are gone. Another issue is that the colors might still be distinct rather than blending together. The best results seem to be seen after several treatments where the skin color is near to normal.
It's also possible that after laser tattoo removal scarring will be visible. It's difficult to get rid of permanent scars, which are made by natural collagen protein. There are more sophisticated laser treatments that can reduce or even eliminate the possibility of scarring from these tattoos, but they're still very visible on the skin.
In the case of laser tattoo removal process there are several ways it may cause temporary pigment changes in the area being treated. This usually happens in areas with darker pigments such as the eyes. The pigment changes are also temporary and are often a lighter shade than the original tattoo, but there may be a chance to fix it at home later. For example, if the pigment is dark blue, but the eye has a brownish cast to it, the difference will probably be healed over time as the body adjusts itself to the new color. If it's very noticeable, then a trip to a specialized doctor may be needed. These doctors are specially trained in the laser tattoo removal process.
There are some alternative laser tattoo removal methods that can be used to treat ink colors that will be hard to remove. One of the most common is called fade testing, this involves placing the patient in a chamber with varying amounts of ink. The idea is that over time as the ink absorbs the energy from the lasers, it will change color. If the color changes then it means the ink has absorbed the laser energy, but if it doesn't, then there is still hope. Some fade testing machines use a rubber ducky to allow some color to transfer through the device. The downside to this is that because there is not a lot of ink involved there isn't a guarantee that the color will stay permanently changed.
Some patients may also experience an allergic reaction or irritation to the black ink. To treat this, you would have to go to a doctor and ask him to prescribe something to help deal with the discomfort. There are also numbing ointments and creams available for this purpose. As well as numbing creams there are creams that can be placed directly on the skin to make it easier to get the medication into the skin, as well as topical numbing sprays. You should never have to worry about getting an allergic reaction as many people do not react to the black ink when having laser tattoo removal treatments.
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