The Basic Laser Tattoo Removal Process

How lasers work to remove tattoos 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 those who practice it, but very many people are unaware of the science behind this procedure. This part of our website will provide an overview of the physical physics behind laser tattoo removal near me. We will also explain why laser tattoo removal can be the most efficient option for unneeded ink.

The Basic Laser Tattoo Removal Process

In a laser tattoo removal procedure, the practitioner uses a laser to guide areas of tattoo. Unlike a laser pointer that emits a continuous beam of light, tattoo removal lasers produce pulses of light energy.

Each energy pulse goes through the skin and is taken up by the ink used to make tattoos. When the tattoo ink particles absorb the energy they begin to heat up, and eventually shatter into tiny fragments. Over the course of the months following treatment, the bodies immune system clears the particles of ink from the site, thus reducing how the image appears. Each treatment with laser breaks down more and more of the tattoo ink until there is no trace left.

Is Q-Switching a thing?

Q-switching is a special type of laser pulse creation. Q-switched lasers produce intensely fast, powerful waves of energy lasting only one or two nanoseconds. This quick, intense burst of energy is an integral component of determining the nature of how laser removal of tattoos operates.

Q-switched Lasers are extremely beneficial for removal of tattoos by laser. Tattoo ink particles are extremely tiny (typically nanometers wide), and so they require heat for a short amount of time in order to warm and explode.

However, skin cells are much more extensive and will need to be heated for a longer amount of time to be damaged. Since a Q-switched light pulse is short it’s efficient in breaking tattoo inks without heating the surrounding skin tissue. The fact that it is so short of the laser pulse that is Q-switched allows practitioners to target the tattoo pigments while protecting the surrounding skin.

The focus is on the Tattoo Ink

Tattoos come in every color imaginable. And, just like all other objects in our world the different colors of tattoos reflect and absorb the different light wavelengths at different rates. For instance an image that is red appears red due to the fact that it absorbs green light and reflect the red light.

Since the primary goal of laser removal of tattoos is having the tattoo ink absorb the laser light, you want to make sure that the wavelength you choose is well-absorbed by the tattoo. Referring to that red-colored tattoo the ink that is red should be treated using green laser light since it absorbs the green light (which causes the particles of ink to heat up and shatter). Because the wavelength 532 nm of laser light visibly looks green, it is the perfect wavelength to treat a tattoo with red.

In the case of treating tattoos with multiple colors, it is important to have access to a variety of laser wavelengths for treatment the flexibility. The most common wavelengths used to remove tattoos using lasers are 1064 nm and 532 nm that can treat 95percent or more of tattoos. The additional wavelengths that some professionals employ are 755 nm and 694 nm – these wavelengths function very similarly and are useful for treating unusual ink colors such as bright blue or green.

Let the Body Do the Work

Removal of tattoos isn’t an immediate fix. It’s generally a long-term commitment for patients. The majority of tattoos require between 5 and 10 treatments to achieve complete removal. Furthermore, the treatments must be separated by between 6 weeks. Patients frequently ask why tattoo removal needs so many treatments and also why they have to be patient between treatments. As a doctor it’s essential to know the answer to these questions in order to provide an informative patient consultation.

Laser tattoo removal requires multiple treatments as not all the tattoo’s ink can be destroyed in one treatment session. When the tattoo is placed by laser, the ink gets injected at different depths within the dermis. The laser light that is applied to the skin the shallowest layers of ink on the dermis take in the energy and then shatter, however, the layers beneath may not have been affected. After the body flushes away the top layers of ink can be treated for the deeper layers. In essence, each successive treatment for removal of tattoos alters deeper and deeper layers of ink until no trace remains.

Patients need to have a wait between treatments as they need time to allow the body to flush away the damaged tattoo ink the area of the tattoo. It is the procedure of flushing out ink relies on the immune system phagocytic cells gradually moving the pigments to the lymph nodes and the areas where the pigments are. Since the body can only flush out the ink at an optimum rate and therefore, it’s important to allow as long as possible between treatments to see maximum fade of each session. Additionally, waiting will allow any blisters or scabs to heal, thus reducing the chance of treating too much region and causing undesirable adverse effects.

A quick overview of the options

Laser tattoo removal is the only efficient, non-invasive method to remove unattractive ink. In the past, those who were unhappy with their tattoos had limited options. They could either undergo expensive excision procedure (which leaves a visible scar) or use a harmful CO2 laser (which also leaves a significant scar), or they would simply have to live with the tattoo.

Today, there is many tattoo removal creams or injections on the market, but these must be avoided. The creams are simply ineffective They are just repackaged bleaching creams that cannot penetrate the dermis, which is the area where tattoo ink is found. Injection techniques are also suspect and often cause significant scarring.

Tattoos are in high demand, but regrettable tattoos are high, and laser removal is the only solution for tattoos that are not wanted.