Help! I Want My Tattoo Gone ASAP

Getting a tattoo can be a very personal experience, or it may be a bold statement. According to public opinion surveys, about 30% of adults in the United States, about 80 million people, have a tattoo.

However, many are thought to regret getting tattooed in the first place, leading to technologies that help remove unwanted ink effectively.

At Associates in Family Medicine, Dr. Mahshid M. Hamidi and our staff offer laser tattoo removal for our patients in Clairemont, San Diego, California, who no longer want their body ink, for whatever reason. If you’re looking to get a tattoo removed safely and completely, here’s what you need to know.

What is a tattoo?

A tattoo is a type of body art that may be applied for a myriad of reasons, including personal, romantic, or cultural. The tattoo artist uses a needle to deposit ink particles in the dermis (middle) layer of the skin. It can be a monochrome piece or it can be full-on color, with all the variations in between.

Because the ink particles are large, your body is unable to break down the pigment, which is what gives the tattoo its staying power. It also means that if you regret having gotten the tattoo, it’s not an easy process to get rid of it.

Until the 1990s, tattoo removal was quite painful and often created deep scars. Modern laser technology, though, has made removal a safer, less painful, and easier process.

Using lasers to remove tattoos

There are three types of lasers currently used for tattoo removal: Q-switched ruby laser (operates at 694 nm), Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (operates at both 532 nm and 1064 nm), and Q-switched alexandrite laser (operates at 755 nm). The different wavelengths of light target a tattoo’s different colors.

Laser tattoo removal uses concentrated light beams that break large ink particles into microscopic fragments. The body treats the fragments as waste, and the lymphatic system flushes them away over time, causing the tattoo to fade.

Depending on the complexity of the tattoo, the specific colors it contains, and how long ago you got it, you may need to have multiple sessions to clear it completely.  

How the process works

The high-intensity laser light pulses through the top layer of skin (epidermis) to target the ink particles. The energy in the pulses heats up the particles, causing them to break into fragments. These fragments are small enough for your immune system to absorb and flush out through the lymphatic system.

The fragments are processed over time. Since the immune system can handle only so many fragments at once, multiple sessions may be needed for complete erasure. Generally, we recommend 6-8 weeks between sessions to eliminate all the fragments generated at the session before.

You’ll probably experience some discomfort during your sessions, but we manage that with numbing creams and air coolers. After each session, keep the treated area clean, dry, and covered and make sure to avoid direct sunlight and swimming for the period we specify.

If you’re experiencing tattoo regret, don’t worry. Associates in Family Medicine can help. Call our office at 858-565-6394 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Hamidi, or send us a message online. We also accept telehealth appointments.