The process of laser tattoo removal is a mystery to a few. It’s not a miracle it’s science! Laser removal of tattoos is an exciting procedure for both patients and practitioners alike, but not many people know the science behind it. This section on our website will provide an overview of the science behind laser tattoo removal and explains why laser removal is the most effective method for getting rid of unneeded ink.
The Basic Laser Tattoo Removal Process
In a laser tattoo removal procedure, the patient guides a laser over the area of the tattoo. As opposed to a laser that produces a continuous beam of light, tattoo removal lasers produce pulses of light energy.
Each pulse of energy goes through the skin and is taken up by the tattoo ink. When the tattoo ink particles absorb the energy they heat up and then split into tiny pieces. Then, over the days following treatment, your lymphatic system in the body cleanses the tattoo ink particles from the site, thus reducing how the image appears. Each treatment with laser breaks down increasing the amount of tattoo ink until it is completely gone.
How do you define Q-Switching?
Q-switching is a particular type of laser pulse creation. Q-switched lasers produce intensely powerful, brief pulses of energy , usually lasting only a few nanoseconds. This fast, intense pulse of energy is a big aspect of the answer of how laser removal of tattoos works.
Q-switched Lasers are extremely beneficial for removal of tattoos by laser. Tattoo ink particles are extremely small (typically nanometers in diameter) which is why they need to be heated for a brief amount of time in order to warm and explode.
The skin cells are much more extensive and will need to be warmed for a greater amount of time to be damaged. Since a Q-switched light pulse is short it’s adept at heating up and breaking tattoo ink , without heating the adjacent skin cells. The shortness of the Q-switched laser pulse permits practitioners to target the tattoo pigments while keeping the skin surrounding it intact.
The focus is on the Tattoo Ink
Tattoos come in every color imaginable. Like all other objects we see various colors of tattoos reflect different wavelengths of light with different rates. For instance, a red tattoo looks red due to the way it absorbs green light while reflecting red light.
Since the primary goal of laser removal of tattoos is having the ink used to tattoo absorb laser light, you want to ensure that the wavelength you use is well absorbed by your tattoo. Referring to that red-colored tattoo the red ink must be treated with green laser light because it absorbs green light (which causes the ink particles to become hot and shatter). The 532 nm wavelength of laser light appears green, it’s the perfect wavelength to treat a red tattoo.
When treating multicolored tattoos, it is crucial to have access to a variety of laser wavelengths for treatment flexibility. The most common wavelengths used for removal of tattoos by laser are 1064 nm and 532 nm which can be used to treat 95%or more of tattoos. Other wavelengths that practitioners use are 755 nm and 694 nm. These wavelengths work in a similar way and are great for treating rare ink colors, such as bright blue or green.
Allowing the Body to Do Its Work
Removal of tattoos isn’t quick fix, it’s generally a lengthy commitment for patients. Most tattoos require between five and 10 treatments to get complete removal, and the treatments must be performed at least 6 weeks apart. Patients often inquire why tattoo removal near me requires so many treatments and the reason they must have to wait between treatments. As a professional it is essential to know the answer to these questions in order to provide an informative patient consultation.
Laser tattoo removal requires multiple treatments since not all of the tattoo’s ink can be destroyed in one treatment session. When tattoos are applied, the ink is injectable at different levels within the dermis. The laser light that is applied to the skin, the ink’s thin layers are absorbed by the dermis energy and shatter, but the more dense layers might not be affected. After the body flushes off the top layer of ink will be treated with the deeper layers. In essence, each successive removal procedure affects the deeper and more ink layers until no trace remains.
Patients are required to have a wait between treatments as there is a time frame for your body to flush out the shattered tattoo ink from the site of the tattoo. This process for flushing the ink requires the immune system to release phagocytic cells , which gradually move the ink particles to lymph nodes, where the pigments remain. Since the body is able to flush out the ink at the speed of a specific amount, it’s beneficial to delay until the longest possible time between treatments to see maximum fade of each session. Furthermore, waiting lets any blisters or scabs to heal, thus reducing the possibility of over-treating the area and causing unwanted negative side results.
A brief discussion of the Possible Solutions
Laser removal of tattoos is the most efficient, non-invasive method to remove unattractive ink. In decades past, people who had unwanted tattoos had few options . They could undergo costly excision surgery (which creates a visible mark), use a damaging CO2 laser (which also leaves a huge scar), or they would be forced to live with the tattoo.
Today, there is a variety of tattoo removal creams or injections on the market, however they are all to be kept out of. The creams aren’t effective They are just recycled bleaching creams that are unable to penetrate the dermis, which is where the tattoo ink found. Injection methods are also highly suspicious and can cause severe scarring.
Tattoos are popular, regrettable tattoos are high and laser removal is the only real alternative to unattractive tattoos.
