Why are tattoos so hard to remove?

Tattoos are injected pigment to the lower layer or your skin, the dermis. The pigment is sealed into the skin through a tough collagen ring, which is very difficult to release again without damaging the tissues surrounding it. 

This tattoo pigment can be removed via a skin graft or by chemically destroying the pigment using concentrated salts or acid.  Both of these treatments are not only painful, but also damage the surround area and lead to significant scarring.

If this all sounds very painful with poor results – fear not. We use a specially designed “Q-Switch” Nd-Yag laser for optimal results.

How does it work?

The laser delivers energy to the carbon particles or dyes that make up a tattoo, this allows precise destruction of the “foreign” pigment (i.e. the colour in the tattoo trapped within the skin) while minimising damage to the surrounding skin.

This energy is absorbed quickly into the tattoo ink so that the foreign pigment is mechanically broken down into tiny fragments. These fragments are then removed by the body’s natural immune system.

How is a Q-switched laser different from other lasers for tattoo removal?

The Q-switched laser produces short pulses of high-energy light, which is strongly absorbed by the tiny particles of the tattoo, but not by the surrounding skin. The tattoo particles heat up and break down into minute particles that are flushed out of the body through its natural immune system.

The Q-switch Nd-Yag laser allows this very specific targeting, which means that the surrounding tissue is not heated up to such a high temperature, and therefore there is no lasting skin damage. Other lasers cannot guarantee this.

What will I feel during the treatment?

You will probably experience a tingling feeling of the skin. However, this should never be an overpowering sensation. Some patients decribe this as the feeling of an elastic band being pinged against your skin. The feeling of heat and some redness is to be expected. The skin will blister, but this is normal and should die down in 24 hours.

How long will it take to see results?

The area to be treated in one session has to be no large than the size of your hand, and the treatments need to be spaced between four and six weeks. Results will be visible immediately. However, depending on the size and intensity of the tattoo, results may take several months.