Laser Tattoo Removal Covers Regrets

Laser tattoo removal was more than just a long time coming. For many people, it was something they had been anxiously hoping for, for much of their lives.

For as long as tattoos have been around, individuals who decided to get them have gone on to regret them. While the vast majority of those who decide to get them remain pleased with them throughout their lives, it is estimated that between 15 and 20 percent of those who get them regret the decision to do so and would like to remove them.

Prior to the advent of laser tattoo removal, there were many treatments, methods and old wives' tales about ways to remove permanent ink. These were largely ineffective or only partially effective at best and included methods such as scrubbing the skin with various materials, actually having skin grafts performed to remove the tattooed area and cleansing the area with various foreign substances.

In the end, however, none of these were completely effective. When laser tattoo removal was first developed, it was the most effective, long-lasting and safest method to completely remove permanent ink from the body, and it still is today.

Tattoos are made up of many small particles of pigment present beneath the surface of the skin. Most unnatural particles are excreted from the skin through the natural growth and healing processes, but each pigment particle is too large and therefore remains permanently. Laser tattoo removal heats up the particles of pigment and causes them to break down into many smaller pieces, which are then excreted through natural processes to leave the skin clear.

The specific lasers used in this process perform an action known as "Q-switching." This is when lasers emit a pulsed output beam of extremely high power that is used to break down the pigment, which involves a process known as photothermolysis. Various types, colors and other variations of tattoos respond better to this for a number of different reasons, but it is largely effective in removing the majority of most.

The process can be painful and result in scarring, although it is typically minor depending on the size of the treated area and the type of tattoo. Local anesthesia and other various forms of topical pain medications are available depending on the patients' preference. Despite the pain, it is still typically much less painful than other methods of permanent erasure such as grafting and other types of surgery.

Laser tattoo removal, like tattoos themselves, are considered permanent and should only be considered and eventually undertaken by patients who are completely sure they must have their ink removed. Then again, any person can decide to change his or her mind again after having one removed, and just have it re-done all over again.