It seemed like a good idea at the time.
That’s permanent, they said. You’re going to brand yourself forever, they said. Not anymore! With RevLite SI laser tattoo removal treatments you can get rid of that unwanted ink and move on with your life. The latest in laser technology makes it faster and safer than ever before without side effects or scarring.
We can even clean up tattoos that have bled for a crisp-again look or partially remove for cover-ups.
How Does It Work?
The RevLite SI’s Q-switched Nd:YAG advanced laser technology uses powerful laser beams to reach below the surface of the skin to fade away unwanted tattoos. These laser pulses target the ink and break it up into tiny pieces that can be expelled through your body’s natural processes. After the first session, your tattoo will begin to fade and will eventually be removed completely. RevLite laser tattoo removal can eliminate the entire spectrum of coloured inks on all parts of the body.
What Can I Expect?
Tattoo Removal is definitely not one of the more pleasantly feeling treatments, but it also depends on your pain threshold. The pain will only last a few minutes and then will feel like a bad sunburn. We recommend lidocaine numbing cream like Dr. Numb (sold in clinic) or Emla if you feel the pain might be too much (which is applied 40 minutes prior to treatment). A single laser tattoo removal treatment takes less than 30 minutes, sometimes as little as a few seconds, depending on the size. The number of sessions needed to completely remove a tattoo depends on the size and colour and how healthy you are. It is typically recommended for patients to wait 6-8 weeks between each session. Laser tattoo removal has minimal side effects, including some temporary swelling, whitening of the skin and possible blistering, which will subside in a few days.
After Care – Possible side effects
The best aftercare for laser tattoo removal is to do nothing: rest and let your body heal. The most common side effects are: blistering, itching, swelling, and redness. For the first hour after laser tattoo removal, it is important that you ice the area on and off. This will decrease the possibility of blistering. Blistering will happen between 8 and 24 hours after the session and is a sign that healing has begun. The blistering is more likely to form with dense ink areas, and the blisters look like bubbles. Your body will reabsorb the liquid from the blisters and scabs will form. Don’t worry and stick it out, don’t pick the scabs or pop the blisters. If you get itchy, apply ice, use rubbing alcohol, cortisone cream, or anti-histamines.
After the tattoo removal session, wait two hours before having a shower and do not let the tattoo soak in water (bath, hot tub, swimming pool) until it is healed.
Will I Scar?
Laser tattoo removal is completely non-ablative, there is no physical intrusion into the body and so there is no scarring. The laser works with photoacoustic energy (light you can’t see and sound you can’t hear) and only targets foreign matter in the skin layers (chromophores). The pulse lasts 3-7 billionths of a second (nanosecond) and this is not enough time to heat the surrounding tissue (thermal relaxation time) and so there is no internal or external scarring. It is NOT the same as microderm abrasion or other ablative treatments, neither is it fractional laser or IPL (intense pulsed light).
