The reasons for tattoo regret are almost as varied as the number of tattoo designs. Most of the time, people regret the name of an ex that was etched into their tattoo. Sometimes they simply outgrow the design or work in a field that doesn’t allow tattoos. Or, perhaps the tattoo was poorly executed and they regretted it from Day One.
Although most tattoos take only minutes to hours to get, they’re not so easy to erase. Even a small tattoo may need several treatments before it’s faded enough to leave your skin clear and tattoo-free.
That’s why Jeffrey Gosin, MD and our team at Shore Vascular and Vein Center in Somers Point, New Jersey chose the groundbreaking enlighten® III picosecond laser for tattoo removal. The enlighten works about 2-10 times faster than other laser-based tattoo removal modalities.
Nevertheless, even the enlighten may not completely restore your skin in just one session. Here’s why tattoo removal is — literally — a multi-layered process.
Tattoo ink is really skin deep
Although you view the tattoo on the surface of your skin, the ink doesn’t just reside on your epidermis. When your tattoo artist applied the ink, they stuck the needle deep into your skin’s dermis layer, adding pigment from bottom to top.
Even if you completely scrubbed away the top layer of your skin with DIY tattoo remedies (don’t try them!), the tattoo would still be visible. And your skin could be permanently damaged.
The trick with tattoo removal is to remove only the unwanted ink, while leaving your skin unaffected. The enlighten PICO Genesis™ laser uses pulses of mechanical energy to break apart the tattoo ink.
In fact, the laser features multiple wavelengths, each of which targets a different color. Unlike other lasers, which may not be able to treat very dark or very light inks, the Genesis shatters them all.
Your body must eliminate the ink
Once the enlighten laser shatters the pigment into tiny pieces, your immune system goes to work. It recognizes the pigment particles as foreign objects that must be eliminated.
Over the next weeks to months, your body processes the ink particles. That’s why it takes a while before you start to see the results of your laser tattoo removal session; your body excretes the pigments gradually.
Your skin needs time to rebuild
Even though the laser’s energy is directed toward the pigment in the tattoo ink, your surrounding skin may be tender and slightly swollen for a few days after your treatment. In fact, you may need to apply ointment and carefully wash the area for up to five days.
Another advantage of the enlighten, though, is that the laser’s energy triggers a wound-healing process in your skin that actually causes it to produce more strengthening collagen and elastin. This skin remodeling process means your skin will be healthier and stronger after your tattoo removal than it was before.
Enlighten lightens quickly
Most lasers take up to 10 sessions to completely remove a tattoo. The enlighten, however, leaves your skin clear and tattoo free in just 1-3 sessions. Because you must leave about a month between each tattoo-removal treatment, enlighten saves you about a year or more of time to get the look you want.
Of course, you can also opt to remove just part of your tattoo. Or, if you want to cover your old tattoo with a new one, you may only need one or two sessions to fade it to the degree you need.
Even though tattoo removal isn’t instant, turning to the enlighten makes it faster and safer than ever. To book your first tattoo removal session, call our team at 609-297-5992, or use our handy online contact form.
