Quick answer: Laser tattoo removal can typically take between 6–15 sessions at 5–30 minutes per session (depending on the tattoo).
Tattoos have a fascinating history across pretty much all cultures around the world. They might be ritual, religious or signifying belonging to a certain culture or tribe. And in modern times, getting inked has been more a matter of personal expression, with individual stories to tell about the wearer.
But there has always been one thing they had in common: their permanence. Being tattooed was a commitment, an irreversible mark on your body. Once it was there, there was no going back.
All that started to change in the 1980s, when scientists discovered that pigments in the skin can be broken down by certain lasers. Ever since, the technology has been refined to the point where today, tattoos of all colours, ages and depths can be removed or greatly reduced using lasers in a clinical setting. In this article, we’ll break down the process and put a rough timeline on it so you know what to expect.
What is happening during laser tattoo removal?
First, we’ll briefly describe what makes tattoos so long-lasting, and why lasers can remove them. This will help to explain the timing later on.
When you get tattooed, the ink is injected using a needle into the dermis. This layer is underneath the epidermis, which is the outer layer of skin (although the epidermis is technically divided into several sub-layers). Normally, when foreign substances enter the skin, your immune system kicks in to remove it. But because the tattoo ink is made of large particles, the immune system can’t carry it away, so does another remarkable thing – it forms a protective layer around it, and there it stays, regenerating itself indefinitely. That’s what makes a tattoo permanent.
What lasers do is break down these large particles into smaller ones. Now, the body’s immune system can deal with them in a different way, by carrying the pieces away to be processed and expelled by the body.
There are quite a few different materials used for the ink, which give them their colour. The laser needs to be tuned to a certain frequency to shatter these different materials, so black tattoos need slightly different laser treatment to coloured ink. As a general rule, black is easier to remove.
Your first consultation
Before your treatment can start, we’ll ask you to come in and talk about your tattoo removal goals. We’ll inspect the artwork, and give you our best estimate of how long the treatment will take. That will be dependent on its size, location, colour and age, as well as your skin type and certain other determining factors.
We’ll also be able to give you an idea of how effective the treatment will be. Sometimes the tattoo can become all but invisible to the naked eye. Other times, some residue, or a faint ghost image, might remain. It depends on when, how and where it was done, and what pigments were used.
We’ll then perform a small test on a part of the tattoo that you want to be removed. It will help us to discover how your skin and body react to the specific treatment we have used, and will give you an idea of what it will feel like. You will go back home and over the coming days and weeks, we can observe whether things are progressing normally, which they do 99% of the time.
Your first treatment visit (average 5 to 30 minutes)
Once we’re all satisfied with the success of the test, and you’re happy to proceed, we can get to work on the removal process. The laser is an extremely fine, focused beam of light that covers a tiny area of the skin with each flash. The laser is moving, so the removal takes place bit by bit, rather like the dots on a printer.
A small, black tattoo can be given this first treatment in as little as five minutes, but with larger tattoos, or where there are various colours, it can start to take more time. Most visits for complex tattoos will last about half an hour per session, but it can last even longer. However, this can also be influenced by how much tolerance to the discomfort you have, and our clinicians will also need breaks to help them stay focused.
Also, part of the session will involve things like pain relief measures, and application of creams and sterilisation, which will add to the length of the visit.
Recovery time (6 to 12 weeks)
Now, the real tattoo removal works, all thanks to your body’s immune system carrying away the particles. There will also be small wounds on your skin, which might resemble scratches, small cuts or a loss of pigmentation for a few days. These will usually turn to scabs, and the scabs will fall off after a week or so. It’s often a good idea to keep the treated area covered with sterile bandages or gauze during this stage. Avoid sunlight and swimming, too.
After this, your skin needs to fully recover before you have your next session. The absolute minimum we recommend here is about six weeks, but if you can wait three months, that is preferable.
Repetitions
That’s your first session done. Once you’re all healed, there should be a noticeable reduction in the tattoo’s intensity, but it will be very much still there. Your second visit will follow exactly the same process as the first, and you’ll also need another period of recovery after it.
Some tattoos can be completely erased in five or six sessions, but deeper or more complex ones can require ten or even more visits. That’s why a complete job can last anything from a year to three years.
It all comes down to whether it’s physically possible to remove the pigment, what level of remaining tattoo you can live with, and ultimately how much you want to pay for the treatment. However, after ten or more sessions, most tattoos can be removed to the point where people wouldn’t notice them unless they were really looking for them. At this point, they can usually be hidden with clothing, cosmetics or your natural hair growth.
Find out more about our technology, and how to book your appointment.