No matter how excited you were about your tattoo when you got it, feelings often change when it comes to permanent ink. Advanced Life Clinic in Huntsville, AL, is pleased to offer high-quality laser tattoo removal. Laser removal is widely used and is the safest removal method. We’re happy to answer any remaining questions you have about laser removal during your consultation.
Can Any Type of Tattoo Be Removed?
Powerful Technology
We use the UltraLight-Q laser system to carry out our tattoo removal. This advanced system was designed to handle a wide range of tattoos, which means both amateur and professional-quality tattoos can be treated. We can also address surgical and traumatic tattoos, which can be caused by accidents or injuries.
Each case can be unique, which is why we offer complimentary assessments so we can take a look at your tattoos. We’ll discuss your treatment options with you and make sure that our laser system is a great fit for your needs.
What Can I Expect During Treatment?
Your Decision
Before you commit to removing your tattoo, we encourage you to take some time and make sure you’re ready to take this step. Most patients who look into tattoo removal are already completely sure that they don’t want the tattoo anymore. That said, once the removal is complete, it’s permanent. We don’t want any of our patients to regret removing their tattoos. Once you’re sure that you’re ready for a clean slate, we’d be happy to meet with you.
Your Consultation
A consultation is an opportunity for you to ask questions and for us to go over your expectations and the treatment process with you. Once you finish your consultation, we’ll be able to offer personalized advice and start planning your treatment with you.
Your Treatment
The UltraLight-Q will target your tattoo’s ink with a range of light-based wavelengths. This targeting ability allows the wavelengths to pass through the skin and directly reach your ink. As your ink absorbs the wavelengths as energy, it forces the ink’s pigment to fracture. This allows your body to begin clearing the microscopic ink particles away from the skin, so the tattoo will begin to fade and eventually disappear entirely.
This is basically speeding up the way tattoos naturally fade over time. You may notice that older tattoos are often more blurry and less vibrant than when they were first made. That’s because the body slowly disposes of tattoos over time. Usually, the process is so slow that most patients will be stuck with their tattoo for life unless they seek out removal methods, like laser removal, to help the body along.
How Long Will Tattoo Removal Take?
Your Treatment Timeline
There are various factors that can affect how many tattoo removal sessions you’ll need. In general, most patients who want to remove a professional tattoo will need between six to eight treatments. Amateur tattoos can often be removed in four or five treatments.
Spacing the appointments out allows your body to carry away the pigment fragments, so we recommend spacing appointments out every six to eight weeks. After each appointment, you should continue to see your results improve as the tattoo continues to fade.
Your Appointment Length
Now that we’ve gone over what your treatment series may look like, you may be wondering what you can expect from the appointments themselves. The length of your appointment will partly depend on your goals, your skin’s health, and the size of your tattoo. When you come in to visit us, we can assess your needs and talk through how long each appointment would take.
If you’re concerned about scheduling your appointments within a certain time frame or any other concerns about how long the appointments may be, feel free to ask us. We will do our best to help you fit your appointments into your schedule. We have listed some factors that can affect your appointment length below.
Tattoo Size
Large tattoos may take more sessions simply due to a larger treatment area and a higher amount of ink. Laser treatment works by breaking down pigment, so when there’s more pigment to break down, it may take a bit longer. On the other hand, patients with small tattoos may be able to see results faster than expected.
Don’t be discouraged if you have a large tattoo that you want to remove. Our quality laser system can get results as quickly as possible, and laser removal is considered very effective, even when tattoos are on the larger side.
Tattoo Pigmentation
Some patients find that tattoos with darker pigmentation may respond faster to treatment. These tattoos tend to be easily targeted by lasers. That said, a high-quality laser system can target tattoos regardless of whether they’re colorful or in greyscale.
Tattoo Age
Since friction, sunlight, and the body itself can all slowly break a tattoo down, an older tattoo may not need as many laser treatments if it has already faded. That said, we’re happy to assess your tattoo regardless of how old it is.
Why Should I Choose Laser Removal?
Well-Respected
There are several ways a tattoo can be removed, but laser removal is usually the most recommended method. It is widely considered to be the safest option. Alternative tattoo removal methods usually involve damaging the skin in some way, either through abrasion or surgery. Laser removal is completely non-surgical, so it’s able to keep your skin intact and still deliver excellent results.
Mental Relief
Sometimes a person just finds themselves bored or tired of their tattoo. In other cases, a person may be upset by or embarrassed by their tattoo.
Whether you just don’t want to look at it anymore or have concerns that your tattoo may stand in the way of your career, laser removal can offer patients a sense of relief. You won’t have to worry about choosing an outfit based on whether it covers your tattoo completely or having to disguise the tattoo with makeup or jewelry. This treatment can help patients live a bit more comfortably and spontaneously.
Making Memories
There are many moments in our lives that we choose to memorialize by taking a picture. However, some patients don’t want to look back at all those special memories and see their unwanted tattoo memorialized as well. Moving forward with treatment can allow you to capture future memories without being reminded of your tattoo.
If you have an important event on the horizon, feel free to let us know and we can talk through your timeline. If there’s enough time before the event, you may be able to completely get rid of your tattoo beforehand. That said, even if you’re only able to fit in a few sessions before your event, it may still make the tattoo easier to cover up.
Increase Confidence
While an accepting attitude towards tattoos has become more common with time, many companies still have restrictions when it comes to visible tattoos. Some people who are hunting for a job or looking to advance in their field may start to worry about whether their tattoo could be holding them back. This concern could negatively affect their confidence during interviews.
If you think removing your tattoo could help you feel more confident and less stressed in the workplace, it may be a good idea to look into laser removal.
Moving Forward
Matching tattoos are a nice idea at the moment, but if you’ve suffered a falling out with the friend or romantic partner you got a tattoo for, you might just be left with a painful memory.
Depending on where you got the tattoo, you could be forced to relive the memory every day when you look at it. You may be afraid of having to answer awkward questions during dates, or feel like a part of you is stuck in the past. Removing these tattoos can be a cathartic experience, and symbolic of being able to finally move on.
Changing Tastes
Sometimes the reason for wanting to remove a tattoo can be as simple as changing tastes. As the years go on, sometimes a client’s tastes in tattoos can drastically change, even if they still enjoy getting tattoos.
Maybe your first tattoo is a poorer quality than your other ones, or maybe the style doesn’t quite match. Removing the unwanted tattoo could even free up some “canvas space” so you can get a better tattoo in the future!
Have More Questions?
We welcome you to bring any questions or concerns you have along with you so we can talk through them. Contact us at Advanced Life Clinic in Huntsville, AL, today and get your free consultation set up!
