At Tattoo MD, we ask our clients whether their tattoos are professionally-made or the amateur variety.  We ask this because there are certain common differences between the two types that affect the ease of laser tattoo removal with the q-switched laser.

Professional tattoo artists are expert tattooists.  That means that they know how to make a tattoo last.  An artist does not want a tattoo to fade away after placing it just months earlier.  That means that he or she will place enough ink, deep enough and of the right composition to make it last for years and decades.  That means that the tattoo ink tends to be dense and adequately deep in the skin.  Also, tattoo artists have access to certain inks, such as metal oxides, that an amateur probably wouldn’t.  The more ink that is in the skin the more laser treatments are required.  Also, certain inks, such as those containing iron oxide, are harder to clear with laser tattoo removal.

Amateur tattoos can be made in all sorts of ways.  Someone may make a tattoo gun using a guitar string and a battery.  Or they may simply use a needle by hand.  The ink could be pen ink, charcoal, or soot.  It is unusual to see colors other than black in amateur tattoos.  Since these tattoos are usually light and made of organic ink, they tend to be quite easy to remove.  A caveat to this is that if the ink was placed extremely deeply in the skin, such as with a deeply penetrating needle, it may be below the range of the laser.  However, as long as the tattoo is visible to the eye, it should also be visible and affected by the q-switched laser.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 7:25 pm and is filed under Laser tattoo removal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.