Beyond Ink: The Journey of Undoing Tattoo Regret
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. Laser technology makes it faster and safer than ever before without side effects or scarring.
We can also refine tattoos that have migrated, providing a fresh look, or partially remove them to pave the way for cover-up tattoos. Your path to freedom from tattoo regret starts here.
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.
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 a minimum of 45 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. Lightly shaded tattoos take fewer sessions than dark thick ink. It is typically recommended for patients to wait 8-12 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, swimming pool) until it is healed (5-7 days). Avoid excessive heat; sauna, hot tub, and hot bath.
Keep the area covered in Vitamin E for the first 48 hours, applying three times a day. On day three you may apply vaseline or aquaphor. The laser affects your skins ability to hold in moisture, called Transepidermal water loss.
Session Frequency
If you to undergo another laser tattoo removal session in less that 6 weeks, it can lead to several potential issues and complications:
- Increased risk of skin damage: The skin needs time to heal and regenerate after each laser treatment. Undergoing sessions too frequently can cause excessive irritation, blistering, and even scarring, as the skin may not have fully recovered from the previous session.
- Incomplete ink elimination: The body needs time to break down and remove the fragmented ink particles from the treated area. Rushing the process may hinder the body’s ability to efficiently clear the ink, resulting in less effective tattoo removal.
- Reduced efficacy: Waiting for the recommended 8 to 12 weeks between sessions allows the body’s immune system to work on flushing out the ink particles. If the sessions are too close together, the body might not have enough time to do its job effectively, leading to less noticeable results.
- Uneven treatment: Overlapping treatments in such a short period can cause overlapping areas of treated skin, leading to uneven fading or potential skin damage in those areas.
- Increased discomfort: Frequent sessions can also lead to increased discomfort and pain during the procedure, as the skin may not have recovered fully from the previous treatment.
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).
