Laser Tattoo Removal - Reaction of Light and Ink

laser tattoo removal The word “laser” stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated
Emission of Radiation.

Laser Tattoo Removal involves lasers that emit intense beams of light that target and are absorbed by pigment thus breaking it apart. Different pigment colors absorb different wavelengths of light, which determines how effective a laser is on each color. The more light a color is able to absorb, the faster the ink pigment fades.

Black ink is the easiest of tattoo colors to remove as black absorbs the full spectrum of light, enabling the laser to work at full capacity breaking down the ink pigment.

All of the other ink colors are slower to remove with laser as each absorbs varying portions of light spectrum. Blue and green ink only absorb red light; red, purple, and orange ink only absorb green light. Yellow ink is the most difficult color to remove with lasers, because it tends to reflect the laser light, rather than absorb it.

Tattoos are most often treated with Q-switched lasers. Most cases of laser tattoo removal require 6 to 16 treatments, scheduled at 6 to 8-week intervals. Complete fading and removal of a tattoo may not always be possible.

Types of Q-switched Lasers used in tattoo removal:

Ruby lasers remove black, blue and green inks.
Alexandrite lasers remove black, blue and green pigments that are resistant to the ruby laser.
Nd:YAG-Invisible removes black and navy inks that are resistant to ruby and alexandrite lasers.
Nd:YAG-Green targets red pigments, as well as some black, navy, and purple inks.

Laser treatments are essentially burns, so it is not surprising to see temporary pain, redness, bruising, blistering, infection, pigment changes (brown and white marks), and or scarring.

And it is also not surprising laser removal treatments are described as feeling equivalent to hot bacon grease splattering on the skin or the smart sting of a rubber band snapped on the skin over and over again.

And, a good thing to remember is the easiest tattoo to remove is the one you never got.