Tattoo Removal

There are only two ways of reliably getting rid of, or fading a tattoo. These are Q Switched or Pico second Lasers which are the gold standard method of reducing the appearance of a tattoo. The second modality that might be suitable for a specific group of tattoos is surgical removal of the tattoo. Currently no other treatment modalities can work, you can certainly have another tattoo on top of the present tattoo to camouflage the deeper tattoo.

These are specialised Lasers which emit a laser light that has got a lot of energy packed into a very short burst of time (nanosecond or picosecond).

When the laser beam hits the ink particles of the tattoo, the intense energy it carries within it, is transferred to the tattoo ink droplet, which bursts into tiny particles. These small particles are then removed gradually by the white cells (Macrophages) in the skin reducing the amount of ink in the tattoo, thus fading it.

Dr Prashant’s Reforme Medical Clinic in Cardiff is one of the premier Laser Tattoo Removal Clinics in the UK.

Given that the short burst of laser light, pack a lot of energy, we use cooling devices to reduce the discomfort of the treatment. You can expect to feel a sharp sensation similar to a rubber band hitting against your skin, with some short-lived warm sensation.

The Laser Tattoo removal can take 10 – 30 minutes depending on the size of the tattoo and the colours in the tattoo.

You should start seeing a mild fading of the tattoo about 2 – 4 weeks after the treatment. While the laser is breaking up the particles of the tattoo ink at each treatment, the colour fading happens only when the white cells or Macrophages remove these shattered ink particles. This removal of the tattoo ink by the Macrophages is the Rate Limiting Step of the whole treatment.

To see significant improvement in the fading of your tattoo, you will generally need about 4 – 6 treatment sessions for amateur tattoos, and between 6 – 10 sessions for professional tattoos. Each treatment session is done between 1 – 2 months apart, as doing the treatments at shorter intervals will not make the fading process any quicker.

Yes, the ink in amateur tattoos is generally placed higher in the skin compared to professional tattoos, therefore you might need less treatments to fade these out.

Yes, Laser Tattoo Removal is the only reliable method of permanently removing the tattoo.

Laser Tattoo removal Lasers can work with most colours, some colours can present a challenge. You will get an idea of how effective the treatment is going to be for you, when you come for your consultation.

Given that the laser is depositing a lot of energy into your skin, you can get thermal effects like blistering and scabbing, these are generally of a minor nature and often heal leaving behind a better reduction of tattoo pigment.

Yes, you can do a few laser tattoo removal sessions and have a new tattoo to overlay and camouflage the old tattoo.

While surgical removal of the tattoo is always a possibility, you have to be happy to trade of the tattoo removal with a scar. You can discuss this option with Dr Prashant.

While theoretically possible, this gives very poor patchy results and is not a recommended technique.

The simple answer to this question is NO! At best the chemicals in these creams will cause a mild fading of the tattoo, but we routinely see patients who have had severe skin burns and scars as a consequence of these creams.