10 Key Factors That Will Affect Your Laser Tattoo Removal Outcomes

By and large, tattoos are considered as a form of art and expressions of one’s personality. In some cases, people get tattoos to give themselves a remembrance of a significant event in their lives or certain person/s they care about. However, there are also individuals who get tattoos out of impulse, only to realize later on that they want it removed. Good thing there’s laser tattoo removal!

Here at our Mentor laser cosmetics practice, we would like to point out that outcomes of the procedure can vary from one individual to another. Each tattoo will respond differently to the procedure and the number of treatments needed for a certain tattoo to be completely removed will also vary.

Generally, it is nearly impossible to predict the specific number of sessions it will take to remove a tattoo. However, the following key factors have been shown to determine the degree of laser tattoo removal success:

1. Skin tone and color – Laser tattoo removal works best if you have lighter skin tones, particularly for those who are within the Fitzpatrick Types I and II group. Darker skin tones tend to significantly absorb more light that lighter skin tones which makes it difficult for laser to focus on the tattoo pigment.

2. Ink color – Darker ink colors such as blue, black, and green are easier to remove than lighter ones. However, there are specific types of laser technology that can work well with light-colored inks. Thus, it is important to ask your laser specialist about specific types of laser that will work best for your tattoo color.

3. Depth, amount, and quality of ink – Professional tattoo artists tend to use more ink than amateurs, resulting to more ink penetrating a bit deeper to your skin. The further the ink has penetrated into your skin, the greater the amount of time needed to have it completely removed. In addition, homemade inks such as henna and kuro sumi are easier to remove than inks made of beryllium.

4. Tattoo age – Since older tattoos have already faded, they are easier to remove than their younger counterparts.

5. Smoking habits – Smoking can negatively affect wound healing due to its ability to reduce oxygen distribution (resulting from its constricting effects on the blood vessels). This study found out that smokers are 70 percent less likely to have success after 10 sessions of laser tattoo removal than non-smokers.

6. Location of tattoo – It is more difficult to remove tattoos in areas with lesser or limited blood supply such as the hands, feet, and legs. The aforementioned areas often require more treatments than tattoos located on the chest and at the back.

7. Size of the tattoo – The study mentioned earlier also found out that tattoos that are more than 12 inches in diameter are more difficult to remove after 10 sessions than those that are less than 12 inches in diameter.

8. Immunity response – A healthy immune system will be an advantage after a session of laser tattoo removal as they are primarily responsible for removing the ink pigments destroyed by laser. Thus, it may be best to take steps to boost your immune system before your laser tattoo removal sessions.

9. Sun exposure – Laser tattoo removal has been found out to be least effective in sunburnt skin. We highly recommend full avoidance of sun exposure before, during, and shortly after each treatment.

10. Layered tattoos or cover-ups – It’s not uncommon for a patient to have a tattoo layered with another one tattoo. Full removal has been proven to be more difficult for cover-ups or layered tattoos.

Your Trusted Laser Tattoo Removal in Mentor, Ohio

If you’ve been thinking of having a tattoo removed via laser, it is important to take the aforementioned factors into account. You might want to figure out which factors can be easily modified such as smoking. The Northcoast Laser Cosmetics team prides in being the trusted laser tattoo removal provider in Mentor, Ohio. Call us at 440.639.3223 or fill out this contact form if you’d like to know more about our laser tattoo removal options. We look forward to helping you!