Tattoos: Laser Removal of Tattoos

Tattoos are considered to be permanent, but in many cases, it is possible to remove them using laser technology. In general, black and other dark inks are more easily removed. Unfortunately, getting rid of a tattoo using a laser tends to be more taxing (both financially and physically) than obtaining one. On the other hand, laser removal has many advantages over previous methods of tattoo removal, which include dermabrasion, scrubbing the skin with salt, and removing and replacing the skin with skin grafts.

The lasers used in laser tattoo removal react with the ink in the tattoo and break it down. This ink is then absorbed by the body and eliminated. The process by which the body eliminates the ink is very similar to the process that causes tattoos to fade over time, both due to natural attrition and sun exposure. Because all of the inks in tattoos have specific wavelengths at which they absorb light, a tattoo-removing laser must be able to produce light of the required intensity at these wavelengths. Some tattoo colors, such as yellow and green, as well as fluorescent inks, are harder to remove, because the wavelength of light that is needed to break them down is not easily produced by lasers.

Removing even a small tattoo using lasers can require multiple visits. In addition, the laser can cause scarring, though newer lasers have reduced the extent of the problem. The chance that scarring will occur is lowered depending on the thickness of the skin, so thinner-skinned areas are more likely to scar than thicker-skinned ones. Different kinds of lasers are better at removing each color of tattoo ink, and some of the newer ones even specialize in the hard-to-remove yellow and green inks. One hazard of tattoo removal is that some of the inks used, including a form of yellow ink, become toxic when broken down by light rays.