Tattoo removal

teabag29

Hi guys. Well I had my test patch done and it was fine, it did ting a bit but was nothing i couldn't cope with, not half as bad as I was expecting. It does feel a bit like hot fat splashing on you but doesnt last long enough to start feeling severe pain and my finger doesnt hurt at all. I am bk in 2 weeks to have my first full laser

oligeo

geoffky wrote: »

How can a cream break down the ink that is deep in the skin...unless it contains acid..;)

Yes there is some form of scid in there, can't remember what off the top of my head. I guess time will tell, only been using a week.

oligeo

*acid* not scid!

Toothsmith

oligeo wrote: »

Yes there is some form of scid in there, can't remember what off the top of my head. I guess time will tell, only been using a week.

It doesn't work!

UKTigerlily

Both sk:n clinic & the place I now get lasered say they've seen terrible results from the e-raze & other type removals, I think laser is the best way?

Toothsmith

I actually have a laser tattoo removal service in my practice. I just set it up as I was curious and thought that there would be a demand!

We see patients coming in following treatments like the Rejuvi and E-Raze, and there is often significant scarring.

The problem is that if the ink is incorporated into the scar tissue, then nothing is going to shift it.

There is no perfect tattoo removal method, that will remove every trace of every tattoo.

Laser is excellent at removing the types of tattoo it can remove.

Laser is not good for bright, light coloured inks, and for the newer 'plasticy' shiny irridecent inks.

Nd: Yags are dual frequency lasers and do Black, Dk blue and red inks very well. It can do oranges and browns if the wind is in the right direction, and occasionally it can have an effect on some darker greens (Although it shouldn't!)

Ruby lasers will do black and green inks (the darker the green the better) but are more aggressive than Nd Yags, and you need to be careful with them as they are more likely to damage the skin. You cannot treat more pigmented skins with Rubies either, so asian and afro-carrabian skin with tattoos can only be treated with Nd Yags.

There are also Alexanderite lasers tuned for tattoo removal, but these can be really nasty and can do a lot of damage. There aren't many of these around now though.

On the internet there are all sorts of potions and products with impressive photos for getting rid of tattoos. They are, without exception, complete cons put there to trick the desperate and the gullible out of cash.

So - to summarize - A tattoo should always be thought of as a PERMANENT change to your skin.

If the ink is dark, if it's in a place on your body with a good blood supply (The trunk or meaty parts of the limbs) and you have patience and the money - then laser removal offers you the best chance of a good result with the least chance of damage.

If the ink is very colourful, then although laser might partially remove it, you might well be left with an ugly non-descript splodge of bright ink. This might be OK if all you want is another tattoo to cover it up - but you will almost certainly not get back to virgin skin.

This leaves you with the Rejuvi sorts of methods. Whilst this undoubtably gets rid of ink - you have to be EXCEPTIONALLY careful with the aftercare and the healing - and even then scarring is quite likely. It's just a question of what would upset you more? Keeping the tattoo or a tattoo shaped scar.

There is also surgical excision.

This will be incredibly expensive, as obviously it would not be done on the NHS, and no private health insurance would cover it either. The smaller the tattoo, the better the result, but some sort of trace would still be likely.

Grumpygit

UKTigerlily wrote: »

I'd imagine the finger to be a painful area as there's a hell of alot of nerve endings, just being stitched there was terrible & more painful than the face. Lasers for cosmetics I believe aren't as painful as for tattoos according to all i've spoken to but I only have experience of tattoo ones myself

I agree that cosmetic lasers wouldn't be as strong but I am not talking about those and believe me, the face has loads more nerve endings than a finger - especially when you're constantly being zapped.

Grumpygit

teabag29 wrote: »

Hi guys. Well I had my test patch done and it was fine, it did ting a bit but was nothing i couldn't cope with, not half as bad as I was expecting. It does feel a bit like hot fat splashing on you but doesnt last long enough to start feeling severe pain and my finger doesnt hurt at all. I am bk in 2 weeks to have my first full laser

That's the thing, your mind is sometimes your own worst enemy in things like this.

well done though