Avoid soaking your tattoo in baths, saunas, spas, pools and the ocean whilst there is any scabbing on your tattoo. You may swim or surf for short periods as long as you avoid sun exposure, gently pat the tattoo dry afterwards, and adhere to any other relevant instructions within this guide.
Avoid swimming, using a hot tub, and going to the sauna until the skin has completely healed. Avoid activities that will cause excessive sweating during the first two to seven days after treatment. Exercise and other physical activities can cause you to sweat, which can disrupt the healing process.
Avoid excessive heat to the skin. Whilst it is ok to shower 2 hours after a treatment. Please avoid high-pressure hot showers. Or soaking in a bath or sauna for at least 24-48 hours afterwards.
The pain and discomfort of laser tattoo removal is worth it and should subside in about a week or two. But the skin won't be fully healed for several weeks after the treatment. To avoid the risk of scarring or poor results, our clients should wait for a minimum of six weeks before scheduling their next appointment.
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.
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. Given six to eight weeks between each session, you can expect the results to start showing a few months after the process starts.
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.
After your laser tattoo removal treatment, you must use Bepanthen cream and a soothing agent like Lira Clinical repair balm for 24-48 hours on the treatment area. A non-stick dressing will be applied by your therapist after your treatment and must be kept in place for the first 24-48 hours after treatment.
So, can you drink alcohol after tattoo removal? Yes, but keep in mind that drinking alcohol and smoking will slow down the removal process. Read more about how you can speed up laser tattoo removal here.
Occlusive moisturisers – ones that form a barrier layer over your skin – like Vaseline and Aquaphor can help to soothe the area at this stage. However, we'd recommend using aloe vera to soothe and hydrate the skin. Vitamin E ointment can also be useful, as it can encourage cell rejuvenation and speed skin healing.
Your post treatment efforts are as important a part of the process as the laser itself. Just by staying hydrated and keeping your immune system healthy, for example, you can speed up the process by several weeks. And by protecting your wound, you'll avoid opening the scab, which helps it heal without interruption.
Drink Water
Water is vital for healthy skin and more so following a laser tattoo removal session. Drinking at least half a gallon of water per day will hydrate your skin and help it create new skin cells so that it fully heals.
Once the skin has fully healed and any crusting or scabbing has disappeared, we recommend the regular application of a moisturiser such as Vitamin E. This will help to improve skin hydration, reduce potential itchiness and assist in the ongoing healing and soothing process.
Sunburn, swelling, blisters, and scabs are just a few of the consequences of laser tattoo removal. The treatment prompts your body to attack the foreign pigment in your skin, and the result is often a localized reaction to the procedure.
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.
Laser Tattoo Removal Could Be the Right Choice for You
Proven to be safe and effective over years of use, laser treatments harness the power of concentrated light to shatter apart those unwanted ink particles, breaking them down into small enough sizes that the body can then flush them away naturally.
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.
Laser tattoo removal has an average success rate of 71%, with 95% of patients saying the process was worth it.
Gradual fading of the tattoo occurs over a series of treatments and under normal conditions, the process which breaks down the tattoo ink begins two weeks after the laser treatment. The ink will continue to evacuate the body for approximately 4-6 weeks.
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.
The majority of tattoo removals will result in a complete removal, however not all tattoos are made equal, and there are a variety of factors that can affect the tattoo removal process. The success of the removal is dependent on the size, depth, position, and colour of the tattoo itself, as well as your skin type.