Tattoos have been around for over 5000 years. The desire to get rid of them has probably also existed for that long.
People have many various reasons to get rid of their tattoos. These often include things like outgrowing the design or purpose for wanting the tattoo, career change or beginning a new job or maybe just buyer’s remorse.
Fortunately, there are a variety of removal options now available. The most popular are listed in this article.
Excision
This option basically involves a doctor or surgeon cutting the tattooed skin off. It usually begins with a doctor consultation where the risks, benefits and costs are reviewed. For smaller tattoos, it often just involves removing the tattooed area and stitching the opening closed. However, for larger ones, a skin graft may be needed. Excision carries the risk of infection and other complications but today excision is rarely ever used.
Dermabrasion
This technique involves using an abrasive tool to sand the layers of. The most common risk is a change in pigmentation; the skin where the tattoo was can sometimes become lighter. This is normally quite an expensive procedure but is less common than other procedures
TCA skin peel
Peels have been used for over fifty years now. In the 1980’s tattoo removal experiments were done and it was discovered that a 25 – 50 % acid concentration was the most effective.
Peels create a controlled burn that peels the top layers of skin which are then replaced by new skin. Peel kits are now widely available online. They are not affected by color, unlike laser equipment so they will work on any tattoo color.
Laser tattoo removal
Now considered the gold standard for removing tattoos, they break up the ink by using a variety of pulsed wavelengths. The method allows for precise focusing of intense light to eliminate the tattoo while protecting the surrounding tissue from heat damage.
Several treatments are usually needed and the total number of sessions will depend on a few different factors like the tattoo size, colors, depth and quality of ink. It doesn’t come without pain and the treated area often has a sunburned feeling afterwards.
Fading usually takes several months and it is considered very effective but is not full proof. This is because some inks will not respond well to laser light. Also, lasers sessions have been known to leave a ‘shadow-like’ appearance in the treated area. Another risk is skin pigmentation changes. The laser removes pigment from your normal skin pigmentation as well as from the tattoo and this may be permanent.
Salabrasion
This is now considered an older method and it is rarely used today. The tattoo is rubbed aggressively with salt or a salt sanding block. It often involves a lot of pain.
Intense Pulsed Laser Treatment
This method involves the use of short bursts of light beams pointed, through a prism, at the tattoo. The prism is placed on the skin, over the tattoo. It creates different light colors which are required for different colors of ink. The prism creates literally every color of the rainbow and can therefore target all ink colors. Just like laser treatments, the light breaks up the inks which are then absorbed by the body over time.
Cryosurgery
This method involves freezing the top layers of skin, then the next layer beneath is frozen and so on. It usually does involve pain after the thawing takes place. It is quite uncommon these days.
Tattoo removal cream
More and more consumers are choosing to combine laser treatments with a tattoo removal cream to lighten their tattoos before having expensive laser sessions. This will hopefully lower their overall cost since they could require fewer laser treatments. They usually function as bleaching agents and many products such as Wrecking Balm and Tat B Gone are now widely available on the internet.
Some offer guarantees while others do not. They are a lower cost method, although their success rates are not 100% proven. They do not have the risks associated with the surgical methods and prices are usually from $50-$100 for a trial kit.