Laser tattoo removal is an exciting process for both patients and professionals alike, but the science behind the treatment is understood by few. This section of our website offers an introduction to the mechanics of removing laser tattoo and discusses why laser tattoo removal is the most successful solution for unwanted ink.
The Removal of Simple Laser Tattoo
The practitioner directs a laser over the tattoo area, during a treatment procedure. Unlike a laser pointer which produces a continuous light beam, tattoo removal lasers emit light energy pulses.
Each energy pulse penetrates the skin and gets absorbed by the tattoo ink. As the particles of the ink absorb the energy, they heat up and break into tiny fragments afterward. Instead, the body’s immune system flushes the ink particles away from the spot, lightening the tattoo’s appearance in the weeks following treatment. Through laser treatment breaks down the tattoo ink more and more until none remains.
What is Q-Switching?
Tattoo removal lasers, also known as Q-switch lasers or ultra-short pulse lasers, are extremely hot, work at very narrow frequencies and are very, very fast. The tattoo removal laser in the video, called the PicoLaser, operates on a picosecond scale, or a trillionth of a second. This speed and heat is key to breaking apart the ink particles.
The Q-switched lasers are particularly useful for removing laser tattoos. Tattoo ink particles are incredibly small, so they need heating to warm up and erupt for a very brief period of time.
By comparison, the skin cells are much bigger and will need to be heated to be weakened for a longer period of time. Since a Q-switched laser pulse is so brief, it can heat and shatter tattoo ink without heating up the underlying skin tissue. The Q-switched laser pulse’s briefness effectively helps practitioners to selectively damage the tattoo ink particles while leaving the surrounding skin intact.
Tattoos come in all possible colors. Yet, like all other objects around us, various tattoo colors absorb and reflect different wavelengths of light at differing levels. A red tattoo looks red for example, as it absorbs green light and reflects red light.
Since the purpose of laser tattoo removal is to have the tattoo ink absorb the laser light, you want to make sure the tattoo absorbs the wavelength you are using.
Removal of tattoo is not an instant remedy-it is typically a patient effort of several months. To achieve full removal, most tattoos need between 5 and 10 treatments, and the treatments have to be spaced at least 6 weeks apart. Patients often ask why removing tattoos requires so many treatments and why they should wait between treatments. As a practitioner, to provide an informative patient consultation, it is important to know the answers to those questions.
Removal of laser tattoo requires multiple treatments, as not all tattoo ink can be shattered in one session. When applying a tattoo the ink is injected into the dermis at different depths. The shallowest layers of ink in the dermis absorb the energy and shatter as the laser light is applied to the skin but the deeper layers may not have been affected. The deeper layers can only be viewed after the body flushes away the top layers of blood. Any successive treatment for tattoo removal in turn causes deeper and deeper layers of ink until none remains.
Patients have to wait between treatments because it takes time for the body to flush the broken tattoo ink away from the tattoo site. The ink flushing process involves the phagocytic cells of the immune system slowly transferring the ink particles to the lymph nodes, where the pigments are stored. Since the body can only flush away the ink at a certain pace, waiting as long as possible between treatments to see optimum fading from each session is beneficial. The waiting time also allows for recovery of any scabs or blisters, reducing the risk of over-treating the region and causing unintended side effects.
A Fast Deal on Alternatives
The removal of laser piercings is the only efficient, non-invasive solution for unwanted inks. People with unwanted tattoos had very few choices in the past decades – either they could undergo costly excision surgery, use a dangerous CO2 laser (which often leaves a long scar), or just live with the design.
There are a number of tattoo removal creams or treatments on the market today but both of these should be avoided. The creams are actually ineffective – they are repackaged bleaching creams that are unable to penetrate into the dermis, where tattoo ink is contained. Methods of injection are often highly questionable, and sometimes cause severe scarring.
To get the best laser tattoo removal in Bangalore meet Dr Rajdeep Mysore is a best dermatologist in Bangalore. His key expertise and area of interest are Dermatol Surgery, Acne, and Anti-ageing Treatment. He believes in not just treating his patients but developing a good relationship with them to understand all their needs and provide affordable treatment using state of the art techniques and technology.