April 18, 2024

What is Tattoo Removal all about and how it works.

Interesting fact: Tattoos have been around forever, the earliest recorded tattoos to date were found on the body of Otzi the Iceman whose remains were found in 1991, and was estimated to be around 5,300 years old, averaging that he lived between 3350 and 3105 BC. He has around 61 tattoos on his body and scientist are currently still working on how the tattoos were done, they are looking at the possibility they were done with a sharp stone tool and charcoal ash. Check out this link about Otzi the Iceman https://www.sciencenews.org/article/otzi-iceman-tattoos-anthropology-mummies.

These days tattoos are done using machines, and tattoo ink, but over the years countless cultures all over the world have been known to use different methods of tattooing, such as sharp metal implements like a needle or finely sharpened bamboo, which is then used to pierce the skin and an ink solution is then added to the skin where it’s been pierced to create the tattoo. The ink was made from Witch hazel, medical grade glycerine, propylene glycol and the pigment powder. The pigment powder was found in Carbon based items such as soot, bone, and charcoal.

Why people remove tattoos:

The majority of people tend to have their tattoos removed or covered up due to regret, from either having a ex's name removed, or a tattoo that wasnt done by a tattoo artist or maybe doesnt look as good as was expected. Some people just generally change as they get older and realise the tatoo doesnt fit into their lifestyle anymore.

How are tattoos removed?

Q switched lasers work by producing extremely short bursts of energy and can produce massive amounts of power that helps in instantly breaking up even the most stubborn inks and pigments.

Both lasers pass the laser emission through a Potassium Titanyl Phosphate (KTP) crystal that cuts the wavelength in half creating the 532nm energy, allowing for the most effective removal of tattoos, having both the 1064 nm and 532 nm wavelengths means the Polaris Q Switched YAG and Ruby lasers are capable of targeting different ink colours or pigments based on their light absorption ability.

As with other types of laser treatments, darker matter means better absorption and as such, black and other dark coloured inks are easier to remove and can be removed completely using Q-Switched equipment.

Lighter colours such as yellow and green are harder to remove and may require more treatment sessions.

Laser light is absorbed by the ink, which is then broken down into tiny particles which are easily removed by natural body means.

Tattoo removal can be more of an art than an exact science, so it can be difficult to say how many treatments will be needed to remove a tattoo completely.

During your initial assessment, your consultant will assess the age, density, depth, and hues of the tattoo that warrants removal, giving you an estimated range of treatments needed to remove the tattoo.

It can take on average around 6 to 10 sessions (sometimes longer) to remove the tattoo, this can also take several months or even a year as the time span between sessions is around 6- 8 weeks.

And please remember tattoos are meant to be forever so complete removal is difficult. Some degree of scarring or skin discolouration is likely to remain. Decide your design carefully when you get your tattoo.

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