Type of Ink Ink pigments are all made up of different ingredients, this largely effects the tattoo removal process. Black ink is the easiest to remove completely, followed by green and blue which can be a little more difficult. Pigments such as purple, yellow and white are the most difficult to remove completely.
Tattoos can now be targeted with lasers that remove the pigmentation without damaging the skin, meaning you can go back to your old ink-free look. Some tattoos are challenging to remove. These include things like metallic ink, light greens, light blues, and permanent makeup.
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.
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.
If you have some ink that you no longer want or like, we have good news. Today's treatments can completely remove a tattoo and give you back the skin that you thought you might have lost forever.
Some companies charge $10–25 per inch for removal. Someone removing a 36-square-inch tattoo might pay $400 for a session, whereas someone with a 4-square-inch tattoo might pay $175. Usually, the more inches you pay for, the less you pay per inch. Other companies charge by size category.
Black ink is the easiest to remove completely, followed by green and blue which can be a little more difficult. Pigments such as purple, yellow and white are the most difficult to remove completely. In order to successfully remove a bright, multi-coloured tattoo, different laser wavelengths are required.
Green is the hardest color to remove followed by light blue. Neon colors are also incredibly difficult to remove, and typically require multiple treatments with the Ruby laser. As a general rule, the greater the contrast between the color of the tattoo pigment and your skin, the better the result.
Participants told us they regret getting tattoos on these spots: upper back, upper arms, hips, face and butt. Size matters. Apparently, the smaller your tattoo, the more likely you are to regret it. We found that 63 percent of people with a tattoo smaller than the palm of their hand regret it.
Dermabrasion The oldest form of tattoo removal was primitive dermabrasion; rubbing at the skin using some sort of rough surface like sandpaper until the layers peeled off.
Don't smoke
This includes suppressing the action of the macrophage white blood cells which engulf small particles of tattoo ink and remove them from your skin. Vaping is probably not as bad as smoking conventional cigarettes, but it's still not great.
This causes the ink to break down so that it can be removed by the body's lymphatic system. if the tattoo is too deep for laser treatment, or is quite small in size, the skin with the pigment can be cut away and the edges sewn together to close the wound.
If you have a history of skin hyper-sensitivity, scarring (keloids), skin infections such as impetigo or are prone to cold sores (herpes) then laser treatment may not be advisable. People with darker skins are at more risk than those with lighter skins.
Black tattoos are some of the most difficult to cover up. This is because black ink is very dense and has a large particle size. As a result, black tattoos tend to hold their pigment better than other colors.
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.
The most difficult form of realism in tattooing is probably portraiture, because it requires the artist to capture both the likeness and character of a real person. Realistic tattoos can be created using colour, or in black and grey form.
Research from the UK, US, Australia, Canada and surveys by notable organizations report that 78% of tattooed people regret at least one of them. In the US alone, 23% felt regret. Half of these regrets were due to tattooing someone's name, as revealed by a British study. WebMD states that 11% have sought removal.
The European Union (EU) has effectively outlawed the use of colored inks in tattoos from Tuesday citing health concerns. Officials say that around 4,000 chemicals used in the inks can cause “cancer or genetic mutations.” However, the decision is being opposed by tattoo artists and their customers.
They aim to reduce harm to the general public from chemicals and chemical compounds. They're banning any pigments that may cause cancer, genetic mutations, and reproductive difficulties.
The ban included two pigments, Blue 15:3 and Green 7, based in part on decades-old research that linked their use in hair dyes with elevated risk of bladder cancer.
Name Tattoos
A spokesman for Premier Laser said that without a doubt the most common tattoo to have removed is the name of an ex-partner. It may seem like a romantic gesture at the time but in the long run these tattoos often end up getting the laser.
One of the most common home tattoo removal methods we see talked about is salabrasion or rubbing the skin away with salt. It's an old method, and it does technically work, provided you rub enough skin off to reach the layer where the ink is held. You could also achieve the same effect with coarse sand or sandpaper.
If you have a very large tattoo that you'd like to have removed, you probably have a lot of questions—like whether removal is even possible. Fortunately, laser tattoo removal can remove a tattoo of any size.