Tattoo removal – Professional laser tattoo removal

Getting a tattoo is always a minor surgical procedure. You should also be aware that you are wilfully damaging intact skin. This is precisely why it is so important that you place yourself in professional hands for a tattoo and that all hygiene regulations are always adhered to.

Depending on the technique, tiny needles penetrate the epidermis up to 120 times per second during a tattoo. They penetrate one to three millimetres deep into the dermis. Here, the colour pigments that are crucial for the tattoo are recognised as foreign substances by macrophages, the scavenger cells of the leukocytes, and encapsulated. This turns the tattoo into a permanent work of art in the skin. However, the skin remains damaged. A scab forms on the wound, which must not be scratched off under any circumstances. Sauna, solarium and bathing are also taboo until the tattoo has healed.

With every tattoo, a large proportion of the excess colour is absorbed or removed by the body. However, if not done professionally, too much colour can remain in the top layer of skin. This disappears with cell renewal, causing the tattoo to fade or disappear. An unprofessional tattoo artist can also ink too deeply. This leads to injuries or bleeding in the subcutis. These mistakes make the tattoo look blurred.

But the good news comes at the end: relatively fresh, but already healed tattoos can be lasered well after healing, because often not all colour pigments are completely encapsulated.

For the specialists at the ETHIANUM, one thing is certain: the laser method of tattoo removal is the most effective. The state-of-the-art Q-switched NDYag laser used at the ETHIANUM generates the light in very short, extremely intense pulses in order to achieve optimum colour destruction.

The modern laser devices are much more effective than their predecessors. They work faster and emit shorter pulses. The use of the specific combination of wavelength and fast pulsing light keeps skin damage to a minimum, while at the same time achieving maximum pigment and dye destruction.

The high-energy light from the laser penetrates the skin and reaches the encapsulated colour. The encapsulated pigments burst and are partially ejected directly from the skin. But above all they are broken down by the scavenger cells of the body’s own immune system. Surrounding areas of skin remain unharmed, and the extremely short pulses do not cause burns. The shorter duration as well as the gentler method thanks to state-of-the-art lasers ultimately also causes less pain during tattoo removal.

Please note: Never treat unloved tattoos yourself! Under no circumstances should you try to remove the tattoo with salt, a pumice stone or bleaching agents. You risk inflammation and pain. In the worst case even blood poisoning and scarring!

The easiest tattoos to remove are freshly engraved but already healed tattoos. In general, the fresher the tattoo, the easier it is to remove, as the colour is not yet fully encapsulated.

In terms of colour, it can be said that black ink is the easiest to remove. Red and green colours are more difficult. Yellow and pastel colours are also often problematic. These colours absorb less light energy and are more reflective. However, thanks to the latest laser technology, as we use at the ETHIANUM, even light colours can usually be successfully removed.

When removing a tattoo motif, the decisive factor is how often it has been touched up. The fewer colour pigments there are in the dermis, the easier they are to remove. Sometimes a cover-up can be enough to make an unwanted motif disappear completely. A cover-up is a new tattoo with a different design that is applied over the existing, unwanted tattoo.

The duration of a tattoo removal treatment is as individual as your design. The more complex or longer or larger a design is, the longer the treatment will take. Generally, a treatment session lasts 20 to 30 minutes. You should expect at least three sessions. However, up to 15 sessions may also be necessary. A break of four to six weeks must be taken between each treatment. This allows the skin to regenerate and the dispersed colour particles to be removed. Wound care is not necessary after treatment. A wound cream can be applied as an obligatory treatment. Sauna, sunbathing or swimming should be avoided. However, other sports and showering are possible.

Please note: It is not possible to simply laser as much as possible per session. The body can only break down a certain amount of colour pigments after a treatment session.

The tattoo will become lighter and lighter as the treatment progresses. In most cases, the tattoo is lightened after the first session. After the second session, however, an effect is already clearly visible.

The pain of tattoo removal is comparable to the pain of getting a tattoo. The laser is often perceived as an unpleasant prick on the skin, but it is easily tolerable. At the ETHIANUM, the specialists usually apply an anaesthetic cream before the treatment, which reduces the sensitivity.

Generally speaking, this is a question of the level of suffering. Tattoo removal is possible all year round. We recommend the winter months for tattoo removal, as the lasered skin must not be exposed to the sun. In addition, the skin tone is paler in winter and therefore offers the best conditions for laser tattoo removal.

Unfortunately, there is no generalised answer to this question. The decisive factors are the size of the tattoo, the intensity of the tattoo and the number and choice of colours used. The specialist will calculate the price for your tattoo removal after a personal consultation.

The answer to this question is a clear “yes”. However, the skin in the treated area is more sensitive as it has very fine scarring. This means that a new tattoo can be more painful. In addition, planning a tattoo can be more difficult as there are now tiny irregularities in the skin. In any case, you will need patience. It should be at least six to eight months before the treated area is tattooed again.

There are numerous reasons why tattoo removal should only be carried out by a specialist or laser expert. These are

• Frequent skin redness and swelling as well as scabbing after treatment. However, these disappear after a short time. Infections that can occur due to non-compliance with hygiene regulations
• Some tattoo inks contain iron oxide and/or titanium oxide. These can cause a so-called colour change during laser treatment.
• In rare cases: Allergic reactions to the blasted colour pigments
• The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment is currently researching the chemical components into which the colour pigments that are broken up by the laser treatment disintegrate. Research is also being carried out into how toxic or carcinogenic these are and where in the body they can accumulate
• It is certain that nanoparticles of colour pigments and thus also traces of their sometimes harmful chemical components can accumulate in the lymph nodes, for example.

There are three other options for tattoo removal that we would like to briefly discuss. These are lactic acid, dermabrasion or surgical removal. We strongly advise against lactic acid treatment. This has a highly damaging effect on the skin and represents a real risk factor. Dermabrasion, which is used to treat scars, is also not a modern method of tattoo removal and does not provide optimal aesthetic results. Surgical removal is only an option if a tattoo is located in the cleavage line of the skin, for example. However, surgical removal naturally leaves scars.