Tattoo Removal – The Proven Dermatological Techniques

Tattoos have become more and more popular over the years, and also more and more accepted by the general public. However, the passage of time causes individuals to change and a previously treasured tattoo has served its purpose and a desire to remove it can happen.Fortunately, medical advances have also taken place so that tattoo removal techniques have also become more diverse and popular as well. The stigma that used to be attached to tattoos is no longer there. With more people getting tattoos, it logically follows that more people will regret getting them or just decide that they want a new look by having them removed.

Some estimate that at least 50% of people later regret the tattoos they have gotten. The reasons behind this vary; some want them removed because of new jobs, fading color, change in lifestyle, new relationships, bad artwork, and poor placement. Some people also have allergic reactions to ink that may develop over the years.

In the past, many of the available procedures were painful, intrusive, and cost a lot of money. Technology has gotten a lot better, starting with the advent of laser treatments to remove unwanted tattoos.

Because different inks are used by different artists, the way that one person gets a tattoo removed might be completely different from the next. These vary due to quality of ink, placement of tattoo, and the color of the recipients tattoo. The better the tattoo artist, the harder the tattoo will be to remove. Darker inks are hard to remove, as are homemade tattoos. Professional artists will also penetrate deeper and use ultra-quality inks that are hard to get off.

Tattoo removal is much easier these days, and is performed by a dermatological surgeon with or without  local anaesthesia. There is no reason to fear going to the office these days; outpatient procedures to remove tattoos are quite common.

There are several procedures that are more popular than most of the others:

The first and most popular of these is laser treatment. The way this method works is by systematically treating the different pigments with high intensity laser beams specific for the colors of ink contained in a tattoo. This has become the most effective and most often used by virtue of it being safe, with almost limited risks, and no bleeding at all. There are very few side effects. This method of removal often takes a series of treatments to be effective, and can often take up to 6 treatments for a well done professional tattoo.

Dermabrasion is another technique that was popular for a while. This involves the sanding of the skin down to the upper layer of the dermis which is near the layer of the tattoo ink particles. This technique does involve some side effects such as scarring, and is not as popular, or near as effective, as laser treatment since it involves creating and caring for an open wound.

In certain situations a decision might be made to surgically excise a tattoo and stitch the skin back together leaving a surgical scar.  This would be appropriate for smaller tattoos in areas where the scar is not disfiguring or undesirable such as on a covered portion of the buttock.  This technique might also be used for removing a portion of a tattoo that a person has become allergic to such as red, green, or yellow.

There are also a number of home removal products on the market like tattoo fading cream. These take much longer than the dermatologist’s solutions. These have also proven to not be that successful on professional tattoos, as these are very deep.

If you are looking for effective tattoo removal techniques, a dermatologist is definitely the way to go to get rid of that unwanted body art.

To learn more, download the free report “Consumer’s Guide to Dermatological Tattoo Removal” and find out how you can get help for an unwanted tattoo.