Owning a regrettable tattoo design on your body? Well, welcome to the club. Have you ever heard of anything like laser tattoo removal? Which normally it related with "insanely painful" terms? I mean, if I had a nickel for every time I've heard, "Doesn't that hurt even more than actually getting the tattoos?". Well, what happens if you grow to no longer love that little shooting star or random Latin phrase (ahem, see below)? One of my friend had recently gone through a laser tattoo removal & she regretted it. I've picked up plenty of tips & put together a list of everything I've gathered.
Natural tattoo removal
1. Doctors.
My friend, Jane, previously had one tattoo zapped at a spa (she was living in small-town Canada where there weren't plastic surgery offices or dermatologists), where an aesthetician used an outdated heat laser that ended up burning and scarring her skin.
2. Time Consuming - a Month or Worse a Year.
Tattoos don't just disappear after a once-over with the laser. (I wish!) Jane had six sessions, and she'd wager that she need about five more, despite the fact that her initial estimate was six to eight sessions. It takes a long time to complete because each time the tattoo is lasered, particles are broken down and digested by the body's immune system. The regeneration period is up to eight weeks, and the next time you go, the laser breaks down new particles of pigment. And so on and so forth.
3. Extremely expensive.
Unless you are extremely rich, if you have your procedures done by a doctor, the bill for each visit can run you hundreds of dollars. Brace yourself: The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) estimates the average cost per session at $463.
Natural tattoo removal
4. Beware of needles.
"Laser treatment - Should be quick, easy & painless", that is the first thing comes in mind when someone thinking of the laser treatment. Guess what? It's not at all!! You should be mentally prepare for visits to consist of more than just a quick and easy laser moment. Jane have been taking about 45 minutes because they take before photos, clean the areas, inject them with lidocaine for freezing, laser, ice and then bandage them. Oh, and sometimes a weird thing happens where she taste metal when the laser hits her skin.
5. Extreme Pain Afterwards.
And it doesn't stop when you leave the office. It is advised that you budget for discomfort for about a week. For Jane, the sites blister and need to be covered in a salve and bandaged for a few days; then they start to depuff, scab, peel, and regenerate. There is good news though: The more treatments you have, the less aftercare there is (since there's less ink reacting to the laser), but the more money you need to spend on for each additional treatment.
Natural tattoo removal
Tattoos don't just disappear after a once-over with the laser. (I wish!) Jane had six sessions, and she'd wager that she need about five more, despite the fact that her initial estimate was six to eight sessions. It takes a long time to complete because each time the tattoo is lasered, particles are broken down and digested by the body's immune system. The regeneration period is up to eight weeks, and the next time you go, the laser breaks down new particles of pigment. And so on and so forth.
3. Extremely expensive.
Unless you are extremely rich, if you have your procedures done by a doctor, the bill for each visit can run you hundreds of dollars. Brace yourself: The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) estimates the average cost per session at $463.
4. Beware of needles.
"Laser treatment - Should be quick, easy & painless", that is the first thing comes in mind when someone thinking of the laser treatment. Guess what? It's not at all!! You should be mentally prepare for visits to consist of more than just a quick and easy laser moment. Jane have been taking about 45 minutes because they take before photos, clean the areas, inject them with lidocaine for freezing, laser, ice and then bandage them. Oh, and sometimes a weird thing happens where she taste metal when the laser hits her skin.
5. Extreme Pain Afterwards.
And it doesn't stop when you leave the office. It is advised that you budget for discomfort for about a week. For Jane, the sites blister and need to be covered in a salve and bandaged for a few days; then they start to depuff, scab, peel, and regenerate. There is good news though: The more treatments you have, the less aftercare there is (since there's less ink reacting to the laser), but the more money you need to spend on for each additional treatment.
Looking for other ways to remove your tattoo?
