During a laser tattoo removal procedure, the practitioner guides a laser over the area of the tattoo. Unlike a laser pointer that produces a continuous beam of light, tattoo removal lasers produce pulses of light energy. The type of laser we have in the clinic is called a Q-switched laser by ACROMA. Q-switched lasers are very safe for the surrounding skin but effective when targeting and breaking down the pigment of a tattoo.
How does it work?
Each pulse of energy penetrates the skin and is absorbed by the tattoo ink. As the tattoo ink particles absorb the energy, they heat up and then shatter into tiny fragments. Then, over the weeks following treatment, the body’s immune system flushes the tattoo ink particles away from the location, lightening the appearance of the tattoo. Each laser treatment breaks down more and more of the tattoo ink until none remains.
What can we treat?
Tattoos come in all different colours but the colours we can treat successfully are black and red. We cannot treat cosmetic tattoos.
The number of sessions needed differs with every patient, so a consultation is required along with a test patch before any appointment for the full treatment is made.