Contributor: ZAP that TATT staff writer
We don’t generally wear the same clothes every day. If we did, we might get anxious to change them once in a while. Sometimes, people with tattoos feel like they’re stuck wearing the same clothes day after day.
When it’s time to make a change, look into all the options for tattoo removal. Since tattoo ink is injected into the skin and encapsulated there, there are few practical choices. Complete removal of the tattooed skin removes the ink with the skin but leaves an unacceptable scar and might require skin grafting (ouch).
There are many creams on the market that erode the skin and create a chemical burning of the skin. This leads to damage to the surface and deeper layers of the skin where the ink is embedded. The idea is to liberate the ink from the cells and tissue pockets where it sits. This is a very crude, painful, and ineffective method of tattoo removal.
There’s another method of tattoo removal that involves injection of chemicals into the skin that “pushes out the tattoo ink”. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work well, is very painful, and often leads to scarring. Some of these chemicals are toxic to the skin and have been banned in other parts of the world because the long-term effects of the exposure are thought to be dangerous.
Modern laser technology, specifically, Nd:YAG and Ruby lasers of various wavelengths are capable of treating tattoos of all colors. They target the tattoo ink specifically, and the treatments are generally very well tolerated with amazing results. It feels like having a rubber-band snapped against the skin but the state-of-the-art is to chill the skin just prior to treating which significantly reduces the discomfort. Following the treatment, cooling the skin with a cold-pack is advised. In California, only a physician or certain other licensed medical professionals are permitted to operate a laser for these purposes.
While there are several crude options for tattoo removal, many of which are completely unproven and might be dangerous, tattoo removal with lasers that have been cleared by the FDA for these purposes is proven safe and effective.
After checking out the various options for tattoo removal, you will find that the use of special lasers by experts at tattoo removal is the best option and the highest standard of care.