When you get a new tattoo, you might be very pleased with the changes in your appearance. However, your personal tastes and artistic ideas may evolve as you become older. Fortunately, you can easily remove an old, unwanted tattoo by receiving a series of laser tattoo removal treatments from Bentley Skincare & Wellness and Wellness in Springfield, Missouri.
How Many Laser Tattoo Removal Treatments Do You Need?
During your laser tattoo removal treatment, we will use a special laser to damage the pigmentation in your unwanted tattoo. Disrupting the ink in this location will cause your old tattoo to look lighter and less visible. Although you will see improvements after you get one treatment session, you will achieve more significant changes in your unwanted tattoo if you get multiple laser tattoo removal treatments.
The specific number of appointments that you receive will depend on the type of tattoo that you have. That said, it’s common to receive six to 12 laser treatments. Before we use our laser to improve your appearance, we will carefully analyze your unwanted tattoo. At this point, we will give tell you more information about the number of laser sessions that you will probably receive.
How Should You Prepare for Your Initial Laser Treatment?
You’ll need to avoid tanning your skin or getting a sunburn in your target area. In addition to limiting your sun exposure, you will need to avoid putting powerful skincare and beauty products onto the skin around your unwanted tattoo. Further, you should not receive a chemical peel or exfoliation treatment that affects the skin in your target area.
On the morning of your appointment, you should refrain from applying creams or makeup onto your treatment area. It’s also a good idea to wear comfortable, loose clothing to your laser session.
How Does This Laser Treatment Work?
After we turn on our laser, this device will send energy into your unwanted tattoo. This energy will target the pigmentation that was used to create your design. Our laser energy will cause your pigmentation to shatter into very small particles.
Over time, your lymphatic system will flush out these tiny pieces of ink. As your lymphatic system uses natural methods to eliminate these particles, your tattoo will begin to fade.
What Factors Will Impact the Total Length of Your Treatment Plan?
The size of your tattoo, the location of your design, and many other factors will impact the total length of your treatment plan.
The Size of Your Tattoo
Your laser treatment plan will probably be shorter if you would like to fade a relatively small tattoo. For example, each of your sessions might last for a few minutes if you are treating a small rose design on your shoulder. If you would like to remove a large, intricate design that covers your entire back, each of your sessions will take longer to complete, and you will probably have to receive more laser treatments.
The Location of Your Design
Your circulation can impact your tattoo’s reaction to our laser treatments. If you have a tattoo that is located closer to your heart, your design will probably fade more quickly. Since your blood flow will be weaker in your arms and legs, tattoos that are in these locations may take longer to improve.
The Type of Ink in Your Design
The colors in your tattoo may impact the total length of your treatment plan. In general, you will receive fewer treatments if you are removing a tattoo that contains darker pigmentation. In contrast, a tattoo that contains fluorescent shades will take longer to fade. Since fluorescent shades reflect a larger amount of light, this type of ink will not absorb as much of the laser energy that we will transmit during your laser treatment.
That said, you don’t have to accept an unwanted tattoo that contains a large amount of fluorescent ink. This ink will respond to our laser, and receiving multiple laser sessions will allow you to fade this type of unwanted tattoo.
The Age of Your Tattoo
In general, your treatment will last for a longer period of time if you would like to remove a tattoo that is less than 12 months old. In the years after you acquire a tattoo, the pigmentation in your design will gradually fade. Since an older design will probably be less visible, we may be able to quickly remove this type of tattoo.
If you are interested in removing a newly acquired tattoo, we may advise you to wait for six weeks before you start your laser sessions. Waiting will give your skin time to recover from your tattoo application and increase the effectiveness of the removal process.
The Quality of Your Tattoo
On average, professional tattoo artists will use a large quantity of ink to create tattoos. In contrast, amateur tattoo artists may use less ink to create their designs. As a result, a professional tattoo may take longer to remove than a design that was created by an amateur.
Downtime After Laser Sessions
You won’t be required to spend days resting at your home after you receive a laser session. Since this tattoo removal method is gentle, you will be able to continue going to your office, caring for your children, and doing other daily tasks. That said, we may advise you to apply an ointment onto your skin during the next couple of days. In addition, we will instruct you to stay out of the sun while your skin is adjusting to your laser treatment.
How Long Will You Need To Wait Between Each Session?
Since you will need to give the skin in your target area time to recover from your laser session, you will not be able to receive all of your laser treatments during a single week. Instead, we will usually advise you to space out each of your aesthetic treatments.
During your waiting periods, your tattoo may continue to fade and become less noticeable. As a result, spreading out your appointments may allow you to receive fewer laser sessions.
Can You Remove One Aspect of Your Unwanted Tattoo?
Sometimes, you might want to remove one or two aspects of an old tattoo. For example, you might decide to eliminate a design element that you dislike. In addition, you might decide to remove a misspelled word from your tattoo. Under some circumstances, we might be able to use our laser to send energy into one part of your tattoo.
If you are interested in improving a specific part of a tattoo, you should tell us about this goal during your initial consultation. After we have looked at your tattoo and discussed your goals, we will let you know if we can eliminate one part of your design.
Can You Do Anything To Speed Up the Removal Process?
If you are interested in quickly fading your old tattoo, you should try to adopt healthy habits while you are completing your laser sessions.
Start an Exercise Program
Beginning an exercise program can strengthen your immune system and enhance your blood flow. For example, you might decide to go on hikes, swim, or bike while you are receiving your series of laser treatments. Alternatively, you may begin taking exercise classes. Improving your health may increase your lymphatic system’s ability to eliminate the ink particles in your old tattoo.
Drink Water
Drinking adequate amounts of water can be a good way to boost your immune system. If you make sure to receive sufficient hydration during your laser treatment sessions, your lymphatic system may be able to quickly clear away the pigmentation in your tattoo.
Don’t Smoke
If you regularly smoke cigarettes, you can enhance your health and improve the efficiency of your laser treatments by quitting this harmful habit. When you stop smoking, your immune system will become stronger, and each of your removal sessions will be more effective.
Avoid the Sun
If you develop a sunburn during your treatment plan, we will have to delay one of your sessions while your skin is healing. Delaying your session will increase the total length of your plan and cause you to spend a longer amount of time addressing your unwanted tattoo. Fortunately, you can avoid this frustrating issue by limiting your sun exposure. When you do go outside, you should protect your skin by covering your unwanted tattoo with clothing.
Can You Remove an Unwanted Tattoo on Your Own?
When you decided to eliminate your old tattoo, you might have heard about at-home removal kits and creams that promise to quickly remove the ink in your design. Unfortunately, these at-home remedies are not a good way to address this aesthetic issue. Since lotions and creams may not reach the deeper tissues in your skin, these techniques are unlikely to produce impressive results.
Instead, using creams and lotions may cause you to develop uncomfortable burns, infections, scars, and other skin problems. These inefficient treatments can also be very expensive. To remove an old tattoo in a safe and effective manner, you will need to receive professional treatments. When we use our laser to break up the pigmentation in your old tattoo, we will use our extensive experience and training to protect your safety.
Can You Use Laser Treatments To Achieve Other Cosmetic Objectives?
In addition to laser tattoo removal treatments, we can use lasers to eliminate unwanted hair. This technique can remove unwanted hair on your face, underarms, chest, back, arms, legs, and many other places. During this treatment, we will use our laser to transmit powerful energy into your hair follicles. As these follicles absorb this energy, they will become damaged.
In general, you will see the most significant reduction in your hair if you get more than one laser treatment. Each of your hair removal sessions will usually last for less than 60 minutes. However, if you have very thick hair or are treating a large target area, your appointment might take longer. Over time, the unwanted hair in your target location will become thinner and your regrowth will decrease.
Address Your Unwanted Tattoo
You don’t need to spend decades of your life feeling unhappy about an old tattoo that no longer reflects your current artistic preferences. Receiving a series of laser tattoo removal treatments is a good way to fade your unwanted tattoo. To learn more about the benefits of using laser treatments to eliminate an old tattoo, contact us at Bentley Skincare & Wellness & Wellness in Springfield, Missouri.