Lasers Don’t Remove Tattoos 100%, but the Human Body is an Incredible thing!

Tattoo removal services, full tattoo removal, tatoo removal for coverup, fading a tattoo for coverup

Why lasers don’t remove tattoos 100%

The real answer to the question of why lasers don’t fully remove tattoos is that we simply don’t need to try to laser it 100% away. The less we can attack the skin with a laser, the better. Laser tattoo removal always has a risk of scarring or pigmentation changes, but if we can avoid that, we always will!

How a laser removes ink

Tattoo removal lasers break the ink in your tattoo down into tiny particles. This allows your body to remove and flush these particles. Over time and with repeated laser sessions, your tattoo will away”

Tattoo removal isn’t a short process, and if you want removal with no scars, blistering, or pigment loss then you have to have a bit of patience. You’re not going to hear a laser technician tell you “lasers don’t remove tattoos 100%”, ever. Why would we want to be negative to you about the process? My approach to this business is to educate as well as be honest. I do my best to educate my clients about the process as much as I can, simply because you should always know what you are getting into and exactly how it works.

Is there a faster way to get tattoo removal?

Yes – with a major catch. There are “faster” ways to make it happen out there, but I can tell you from my experience those only lead to scars. Now ask yourself this “do I want a scar of this tattoo left on my body when the process is finished?” 9 out of 10x the answer is no. So why rush things? This is definitely a time when taking the long road helps immensely.

Full tattoo removal typically takes 12/13 sessions and we strive at all times to make sure you only go home with red swollen skin that will heal up in 24/48 hours. The idea is to keep the laser breaking up the ink to the best of its ability without hurting your skin in the process. Throughout your laser process, you’ll see the tattoo breaking up slowly, typically you don’t see a huge difference right away, it’s around treatment 3 or 4 that you really start to see the results happening. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule but all of this information is simply the averages of what we see in the industry.

When will the tattoo be 100% gone?

Upon your last session, it is very common for you to be left with a light grey version of your tattoo, I like to call this a “shadow”. The remaining ink particles left over will eventually be eaten up by your body over the course of a year or so. Again patience is key. Below is a great example of what your body will do in 1 year’s time.

lasers don't remove tattoos — Original Tattoo

How the body is doing its job.

First, we have the original Tattoo, a Dark black outline with grey wash shading and a little red and yellow in the face. This type of tattoo is one you will generally deal with the line work the most, as the shading isn’t done very heavily and should give us great results quickly.

Next, we have the tattoo after 6 treatments and you can see a significant difference which is what we always strive for at the 1/2 point to full removal.

This client was going to do a coverup eventually so at this point we went as far as we needed to in order for them to be able to get a brand-new tattoo. The key to coverups is to get the old ink light enough that the tattooer won’t have to compromise the new design as well as having this tattoo show up underneath the new one after the new ink settled in their skin. You can learn more about the coverup process in my article here.

Now, this is my favorite part, this is that same tattoo 1 year later having never treated it beyond her initial 6 treatments. This shows you what the body is doing on its own and again how patience is key here.

Not only Is fading of the tattoo significantly better but their skin looks amazing as well. no scars, no loss of pigment, etc.

Since lasers don’t remove tattoos 100% we have to rely on the body and the body never really stops working until it simply has no ink left to take care of.

In Conclusion

Lasers don’t remove tattoos 100% but your body is also a factor in the removal process. The body is an amazing thing! It’s also great to know that there are options out there that leave us with beautiful skin and great results at the same time. I know searching for laser tattoo removal and looking at images on Google can be a super scary thing so I really hope this post will give people hope and more worthwhile information.

Thanks for reading.

August 16, 2022August 25, 2022

Tattoo cover up journey: Cats, lasers and a brand new tattoo

This tattoo cover up has been over 20 years in the making

It’s always exciting for me to get big new projects for laser tattoo removal! Our newest project is a large piece intended for a tattoo cover up, so our goal will be to lighten this as much as possible into a gray wash type tone. This will allow my client to choose any tattoo artist they desire for their cover up, and get a great result that will last for many years to come. This is my first post saying farewell to this cat, and I’ll document the journey from start to finish.

This cat piece is around 20 years old and roughly 10″ wide by 8″ tall. Colors on this tattoo to be removed include black, grey, green and purple. I would consider the ink saturation level to be medium to heavy. I’m estimating that laser removal sessions will probably range from 4-8 depending on how their body and ink respond to the process.

Large Cat tattoo for eventual tattoo cover up — Large cat design for tattoo cover up

3 factors that effect laser tattoo removal results for a tattoo cover up:

Health of the person: Your health plays a large role when you get laser tattoo removal- blood flow is everything! This means that underlying health problems or those that smoke may cause laser tattoo removal to be a slower process. After all, laser tattoo removal blasts the ink in your skin, so that it can be broken down by your body and then processed out. Any extra burden like smoking can slow this process down.
Age of the tattoo: Tattoos that are 10 years or older are prime candidates for laser tattoo removal. The sun and time have already lightened up the tattoo for us. This isn’t to say we can’t remove newer tattoos, because it’s definitely possible. The process may take a little longer, but results depend on multiple factors. Our buddy the cat here is a 20+ year old tattoo, which ensures we will see great results within the first 2-3 lightening sessions. Lots of us have made questionable ink choices- if you have a really old tattoo you hate, it’s typically easier to get rid of those. Many of my clients didn’t consider laser tattoo removal until they learned they could lighten up their old tattoos to get a tattoo cover up. This has now become the go to option for many people who desire to renew their canvas. Tattoos are no longer permanent, and our technology ensures the integrity of your skin so it can be covered with something you love.
Ink Density: The heaviness of the ink can speed up or slow down the process. As you can see, we have some pretty heavy ink on the cat’s head, as well as some thick line work throughout this tattoo. If you notice how “fuzzy” the tattoo looks, that gives the impression of broken down ink, which definitely plays in our favor when we’re looking to laser this old tattoo. Time and sun exposure can cause this process to accelerate, and if you have a tattoo that you hate looking like this, you’re in a good position to be considering laser tattoo removal.

As we work on this tattoo removal process I’ll be updating you with new posts to show you the progress each month on as we laser it away, to monitor how well the tattoo removal treatments are working. You’ll also get to see the coverup process including the drawing, stencil and tattoo progress as it goes. I’m excited to see how this one turns out. Stay tuned!

Cheers!

-Jim

August 11, 2022November 15, 2022

Gain awesome new ink with a tattoo cover up

Tattoo removal for tattoo coverup Denver Colorado

Laser tattoo removal can help achieve a long lasting, quality tattoo cover up

Have you ever seen someone with a tattoo cover up, and you can clearly tell it’s a cover up because of the dark lines showing through? This typically happens a couple years after getting a cover up when the ink settles into the skin. For those with the patience and interest in a long term tattoo cover up solution that will look great for years to come, laser tattoo removal is a great choice.

It’s so tempting to want to cover up a bad tattoo immediately, especially one with emotional bonds connected to it. Sometimes this can work, but especially for larger cover ups, this can be disastrous. Tattoo removal for cover ups can work wonders for those looking to upgrade their skin’s canvas, because it allows you to ultimately choose almost any artist, instead of just the ones willing to throw on a dark cover up just to get it covered fast. Does it take some time and patience? Absolutely, but the results are worth waiting for.

Don’t rush into a tattoo cover up

If you’ve already rushed into getting a tattoo you dislike enough to cover it up, don’t rush into getting it covered with just anything. I’ve worked with many people who have quickly covered up an old tattoo, only to come to me later regretting the black blob they now have in its place. It’s also much more difficult to remove what is now essentially a double layer of tattoos. We’ve all made these rash decisions, but there are now other options for us!

You have choices, and you can choose to renew your canvas so that you can choose most any artist and artwork after lightening your tattoo through laser tattoo removal. Typically, our goal with tattoo cover ups is to lighten the existing tattoo to a “gray wash” look. This allows it to easily be covered by the tattoo artist of your choice. Here’s a great example of this:

Tattoo cover up results after lightening an old tattoo with laser tattoo removal — A beautiful end result for a cover up after laser tattoo removal

We work with all tattoo shops

We work with all Colorado tattoo shops for cover ups, so we can help you consult with your artist on how light we want to get the tattoo depending on your goals. A lot of our new clients are referred to us directly from local tattoo shops, where they’ve chatted with an artist about their tattoo ideas. It’s much easier for an artist to work out a cover up when it’s already been lightened- it allows more creative freedom and lets you choose the artist you really want.

How long does it take?

People ask all the time how many sessions will be required to get a tattoo in shape to be covered with another piece of art. The answer is: it depends. The age of the tattoo, how much ink was put in (tribal, anyone?), and how much color the tattoo has all dictate how many sessions it will take to lighten enough. For a regular black & gray tattoo, I’d estimate 4-8 sessions, but again, this depends on a lot of different variables. Your health, whether or not you smoke, and how old the tattoo all also dictate how easy the ink will lift out of your skin.

Each tattoo removal situation is unique to the individual. To find out more information that’s specific to you, it’s best to book a free, no pressure consultation where you can talk directly to a laser tattoo removal specialist about your options and get their opinion on how the process will go depending on your specific ink. It’s a time to ask questions and get a professional assessment of the tattoo you’re interested in removing- hit me up.

Cheers,
Jim