SkinMedica
To get a tattoo is to inscribe your body with art in order to make the inside reflect the outside. Sometimes, changes in life and in yourself mean that the art that we chose in the past no longer describes who we are. Sun City Laser in El Paso, Texas offers laser tattoo removal services to give you control of the story that your skin tells.
How Long Does Tattoo Removal Take?
Treatment consists of using a cutting-edge laser technology called PicoWay to weaken the color particles in your tattoo. Once weakened, the bonds of those particles break apart, making them harder to see until your body can get rid of them completely. One session is enough to notice a difference, but full tattoo removal is accomplished over the course of multiple appointments.
The particular amount of sessions required varies due to a number of factors. Many tattoos can be fully removed in ten short appointments. Our staff of professionals will conduct a thorough review of your particular tattoo and factors such as location, size, and color. After considering the specifics, our experts will let you know how many treatments will likely be required.
What to Do Before Your First Treatment
Keep the tattoo covered, limiting exposure to sunlight to prevent tanning and sunburn. Abstain from using potent skincare and beauty products on and near the tattoo you’ve decided to remove. Do not allow any sort of chemical peel or exfoliation treatment in the region of the tattoo. Don’t use makeup or products applied to the skin in the area of your unwanted tattoo on the day of treatment. Dress comfortably in loose clothing for your appointment.
What Makes Laser Removal Work?
Once the PicoWay machine is prepared, we use it to send beams of high-powered light into the tattoo that you want to be removed. The laser is tuned to damage only the ink in your tattoo. The rapid laser beams fragment the pigments into tiny pieces. Your body then gets to work on its own, washing the ink away and returning your skin to its natural state. This part is accomplished by your body’s lymphatic system removing the bits of pigment over time.
How Is the Number of Sessions Determined?
Size, location, ink type, and various other aspects of your tattoo influence the number of sessions required for removal.
Tattoo Size
In general, smaller tattoos require smaller amounts of visits. A grape-sized smiley face on your upper arm may only take a few sessions of a few minutes each. Elaborate art with delicate detail covering a large area of the body will take more sessions of longer duration.
Tattoo Location
Blood flow to the targeted area influences the effect of the treatment. A tattoo’s distance from your heart determines the power of your lymphatic system in diminishing its appearance. Circulation in the legs and feet is weaker than that of the chest and therefore needs more time for removal.
Tattoo Ink Type
Different colors of tattoo ink can have an effect on the number of treatment sessions required. Another factor to consider is the quality of the ink itself; homemade or improvised ink can be either easier or more difficult to remove, depending on its origin. Darker inks typically require fewer treatments.
Conversely, fluorescent colors need more treatment than their darker counterparts. These pigments appear brighter and more vibrant precisely because they reflect more light, and therefore reflect the laser that we use for removal. Don’t worry! You can still have a fluorescent tattoo removed! Even stubborn colors like green will be affected by the PicoWay laser, even if a greater number of sessions are required.
Tattoo Age
Recently acquired tattoos, such as those from the previous 12 months, will require more sessions to remove. You may already be familiar, even irritated with how an older tattoo fades with time. If the tattoo that you want treated is very new, it’s possible that we will require a waiting period of six weeks before we begin. This will allow your skin to heal from the tattooing process, which allows our treatment to be far more effective.
Tattoo Quality
In general, experienced tattoo artists are very generous with the amount of ink used, creating a higher quality tattoo. Novice artists tend to use less ink due to financial pressure or inexperience. Pressing hard into the skin causes the ink to soak into deeper layers of tissue. More ink being used at greater depth often requires more tattoo removal sessions.
Tattoo Layering
If your tattoo has been touched up or covered up, additional ink has been added to what was already present. The extra ink will increase the amount of work that the laser needs to do. The increased amount of pigment particles for your body’s lymphatic system to deal with will take a longer amount of time to clear away.
Recovery After Your Session
Each individual patient reacts to the treatment differently, but often zero downtime is required. PicoWay is a light and easy treatment that will allow you to continue your life at work and home uninterrupted. Your treatment specialist may recommend an ointment for the affected area for short-term use. It is important to avoid sun exposure while the target area adapts to the treatment.
How Much Time Is Required Between Sessions?
Laser tattoo removal does require healing in-between sessions, so prescribed treatments must be scheduled over a period of time. Our staff will recommend an ideal schedule for maximum results. Between sessions, you’re giving your body the opportunity to flush out the pigments damaged by the laser. Therefore, the downtime from one session to another can reduce the overall number of necessary treatments.
Can Specific Parts of a Tattoo Be Targeted?
It’s possible that you only want a minor edit to your tattoo rather than complete removal. Perhaps something is crooked or oddly shaped. Maybe a word has been carelessly misspelled. Some aspects can be addressed by our high-precision laser.
When we have our first consult, make sure to let us know about any specific edits that you would like to make. The analysis phase of your treatment will allow us to tell you if precision work is an option for your tattoo.
Is There any Way to Make Treatment Go Faster?
A healthy lifestyle will improve the speed at which your tattoo fades. Here are some strategies that you can undertake to boost the effectiveness of your treatments.
Regular Exercise
Regular exercise confers an immense list of benefits, including boosts to your immune system and circulation. You might try increasing the amount of cardiovascular exercise you undertake while undergoing treatment. Running, swimming, hiking, biking, and aerobics are all strong options. The benefits to your health can improve the capabilities of your lymphatic system to remove the shards of pigment in your treated tattoo.
Stay Hydrated
Immune function is dependent upon sufficient hydration. A healthy and hydrated immune system will be better equipped to eliminate the color particles of your tattoo. The lymphatic system runs on a body fluid called lymph. Lymph is primarily made up of water, so make sure you have enough to keep things flowing!
Avoid Tobacco
Smoking cigarettes is a massive drain on your immune system resources that can diminish the efficacy of your treatment. Quitting smoking will give your lymphatic system less to deal with, leaving it freer to flush out the remaining tattoo ink.
Limit Sun Exposure
Getting sunburned while undergoing treatment will force us to reschedule your next session. Rescheduling will push your next session further into the future, causing you to endure the existence of the targeted tattoo for a longer amount of time than necessary.
If you desired removal enough to begin treatment in the first place, chances are that you want it taken care of as quickly as possible. This issue is conveniently dealt with by covering the target tattoo with clothing that blocks sunlight.
Follow Instructions
Our team will provide you with specific instructions for care after your sessions. Make sure to follow them closely, as they are designed to help you avoid discomfort and recover as quickly as possible. Apply any ointments or creams prescribed according to the directions provided for maximum effect.
Can I Remove a Tattoo At Home?
Research on tattoo removal may have turned up advertisements about topical products and removal kits claiming to quickly face unwanted tattoos. The truth is, these products are poor solutions to the problem. Ointments and salves tend not to soak into the tissues where the ink is actually located, and therefore won’t help.
These products may even be poorly made for a quick buck and contain chemicals that could cause serious damage to your skin. After spending a comparable amount of money, you will find your unwanted tattoo unfaded, the problem unsolved. Tattoo removal can be safely accomplished only by experts with adequate training. The PicoWay laser that we use is designed for absolute minimum risk and safety, especially in the hands of professionals.
Are There Other Cosmetic Applications for Laser Treatment?
Laser treatment is a powerful tool with a variety of uses. Our gentle laser treatment addresses drooping, dark circles, loose eyelids, and wrinkles in the area of the eye to restore glow and vigor to your visage. We even offer laser treatments for stubborn toe fungus! Our most popular laser treatment aside from tattoo removal is for the purpose of removing unwanted hair.
Virtually any body hair including that on the face, arms, legs, neck, back, chest, and elsewhere can be eliminated by lasers. This process consists of using our laser to beam light energy into the problem hair follicles. The laser destroys the structures that cause hair to grow in unwanted places.
Most of the time, these treatments require multiple sessions to achieve maximum effectiveness. A typical hair removal treatment takes less than one hour. Large target areas and naturally thick hair might require longer sessions. The treatment reduces the follicle’s capacity to produce hair over time. This produces a noticeable thinning in the hair itself and decreases regrowth.
Take Control of Your Tattoo
No longer do we have to suffer regret, shame, or irritation about tattoos that “seemed like a good idea at the time”. The art portrayed by your body is yours to determine, and no longer a permanent predicament. The best way to address an unwanted tattoo is with laser tattoo removal treatments. Contact Sun City Laser in El Paso, Texas today for information and consultation on how to make an old tattoo just an old story told only at your discretion.