Laser tattoo removal is growing in popularity these days due to the fact that most people have realized they’re not stuck with the tattoos they have and have the ability to remove and or lighten them. Having options for your existing tattoos is such an amazing opportunity IMO because it really helps you be able to fix or eliminate things you’re not happy with.
How Laser Tattoo Removal Technology Works
Laser tattoo removal works by emitting pulses of high-intensity light that target the pigment in the tattoo ink. The light energy causes the ink particles to break apart into smaller fragments, which are then gradually eliminated by the body’s immune system. Obviously, there’s a far more technical way for me to explain all of this but that’s the simple side of it.
The 3 wavelengths of our laser
The Quanta Q-Plus C operates with 3 wavelengths each designed to target a specific color spectrum allowing us to remove a tattoo completely. Below is a breakdown of those wavelengths in nanometers.
- 1064nm – This wavelength handles all of your inks based in black.
- 694nm – This wavelength will target the Blue spectrum of colors. Blue, Green, purple, etc.
- 532nm – This wavelength targets the Red based inks. Red, Orange, Yellow, etc.
As you can see with these 3 wavelengths we are able to target all the colors in a tattoo, or even just 1 of those colors if need be.
Can we remove specific colors?
To a degree yes. Now that you have a general understanding of what each laser wavelength targets let’s talk colors. People like to ask about removing the red or blue from a tattoo so they can re-color it because maybe at the time it wasn’t executed properly and they want to redo it. The answer to that is “yes, to a degree”.
Let’s say I have a Blue circle on my arm that has a black outline around it. As we target the blue ink specifically the laser we’ll also zap some of the black outlines that’s because the blue ink will bleed into the black ink when the tattoo is being created. The same goes for all colors.
Now it’s not going to remove the black ink completely because the blue wavelength (694nm) isn’t set up to see black but it can affect the black line’s edge and cause it to possibly look worse in the end. That being said if my plan is to say remove the blue ink inside the circle and color it in with green, or purple then this becomes less of a worry. If I want to try and remove the blue ink so it’s simply a black outline with no color in the middle, this can prevent a challenge only because we aren’t sure just how much the outline would be affected by the blue ink being removed.
How accurate can the laser get?
Lasers, as we all know, are very accurate, once set up properly they’ll shoot at a specific mark perfectly each time but that’s also not quite what we are talking about here. In this case, we are talking about “can you remove this letter of my tattoo?” or “can we get rid of just that line that was messed up?”. The answer is, “YES WE CAN!”
I have a few clients I’m currently working with and we are doing just that. These clients have full sleeves and we are targeting specific tattoos in their sleeves or say a set of words inside a candy heart. It’s fun! Laser technology has brought us the ability to do so much more than just remove a tattoo completely.
In conclusion, you are never stuck with what you have these days. With some time, patience, and laser tattoo removal you really have the ability to do whatever you want to do with your tattoos in regards to coverups, removal, or even just fixes. Don’t let your old or simply poorly done tattoos discourage you from having the beautiful work we all strive for and don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any and all questions you might have regarding an idea or plan you thinking about!