Changes in pigmentation of the skin is common after laser tattoo removal, but the skin will almost always return to normal after it is fully healed and all the pigment has been reabsorbed. Post tattoo removal pigmentation changes typically take from six months to a year to disappear, if they arise in the first place.
From the Second Week Onwards After Tattoo Removal
You might notice the treated skin looking darker as the pigment rises to the surface of the skin. The area around it might lighten (hypopigmentation) or darken (hyperpigmentation) too. This is completely normal and will fade with time.
The most common method for removing a tattoo is with a laser, but this technique can still leave a ghost image of the tattoo behind, never truly eliminating its appearance. For complete tattoo removal, a more effective method is to surgically remove the section of skin that is inked and suture the area back together.
Initial Laser Tattoo Results in As Little as 18 Weeks
Getting rid of a tattoo completely takes multiple sessions, but the results accumulate with each one. The sessions are spaced six to eight weeks apart, which allows your skin to process the treatment. Many people start to see their ink fade after three appointments.
The body will continue to eliminate the ink's particles for months and even years after your final treatment.
Laser tattoo removal not fading can be caused by several factors. Some of which are the type of laser used, laser wavelength and ink colour, the laser technicians experience, recovery time between each session, and your immune system. Tattoo removal using laser treatment is not magic.
Older tattoos are easier to remove because they've already been exposed to the sun and absorbed by the body for some time. New tattoos can still be erased using the same laser removal techniques but they take more sessions.
Hyperpigmentation after laser tattoo removal is usually correctable—the body naturally eliminates this extra pigment over a period of time. “Some people take three months to remove it; some people take six months, some people take a year to clear it,” says Chelsea.
Traditional laser tattoo removal technology is prone to a phenomenon known as ghosting. This occurs when the tattoo removal process causes a faint outline of the original tattoo. This results in a “ghost” image of the tattoo. While the ink may be gone, the ghost image of the tattoo remains.
Your skin is comprised of protein and requires it to produce antibodies and reduce inflammation. If your protein intake is low, your skin's recovery time may slow down, impeding the tattoo removal process.
If you consciously drink plenty of water during the weeks and months of laser tattoo removal, your body will do a better, speedier job flushing away the ink. Along with a nicely hydrated body, it is important that the other liquid inside us all – blood – is moving well.
You must also be patient and keep in mind that your lymphatic system can't flush away all of the broken-down pigments at once. Your results will continue to improve over time.
Why Does The White Frosting Appear? he beam of the laser heats the pigment in the skin, which creates gas or plasma. This gas rises to the epidermis and is released from the skin in the form of carbon dioxide, which looks like a chalky layer on the tattoo.
It is possible for a tattoo to appear darker after laser treatment. One reason for this is that once ink has been broken up by the laser, the immune system is free to move the smaller particles around in the skin. The immune system can flush the ink away internally or push it out externally.
Your skin will likely be pale or pink as the scabs separate from the skin. Complete healing usually takes about six to eight weeks. Here are some suggestions that you should follow after a tattoo removal session. Your skin is likely to experience some frosting in the area where the treatment took place.
Specifically, lighter colors like white, yellow, light blue, and pink are the most difficult to remove, as are green, red, and neon colors. White ink (and light colors that were made by combining darker ink with white ink) sometimes turns darker before it begins to fade.
The age of your tattoo is a factor in how easy it is to remove. Older tattoos do tend to be removed more easily because they have typically already had some fading over time. For this reason, older tattoos will often take fewer sessions to remove than a newer tattoo would.
Black tattoos are the easiest to remove because the laser is able to target the black pigment more precisely. Other colors such as red, blues, and greens can become more difficult to remove depending whether the tattoos were amateur or professional. Green is the hardest color to remove followed by light blue.
The risk of failure is high with an inexperienced clinician who does not understand skin anatomy or laser parameters for tattoo removal. Having a laser safety certified, qualified and experienced skin therapist will optimise your result.
This is because as long as there is ink under your skin some frosting will appear. Once all or most of the ink has been treated, no more frosting will be visible.
The tattoos will not disappear at once. It can take months or years for the effects to be complete. Even then, you may notice that the tattoo fades as opposed to disappearing completely. You need about six to eight sessions of laser removal treatment, depending on the color, size, and age of your tattoo.
Generally, amateur or homemade tattoo may be removed within 3 to 7 sessions, while professional tattoos done with harder inks can require anywhere from 8 to 20 treatments. It is possible for some tattoos to require more than 20 laser treatments.
Because the ink is processed by your body's natural filtration system (kidneys and liver) intense removal sessions or back-to-back sessions without much downtime between can put undue stress on your bodily system, causing them to work overtime, and potentially leading to other health issues down the road.
Exercising increases blood flow. Increased blood flow actually helps to break down the ink particles in your skin. You should take a few days off exercising immediately after treatment. But once your skin scabs over, physical activity can help the tattoo removal process along.