Ways To Remove Tattoos
Have you regretted getting that tattoo in your college years, just because your friends had it? Are you looking for options to remove them? Here we have all the information for you to choose the best way to remove your permanent tattoo.
Tattoos have become one of the most popular forms of body art these days. Initially starting off as a form of body art with cultural significance, tattoos today are more of a fashion statement than anything else. Tattoos have become a way to express a person’s individual convictions and beliefs. Some people even get a loved person’s name or image tattooed on their body parts. Sometimes, we end up regretting many of these decisions. These could be due to personal as well as professional reasons. There are times when people want to get their tattoos removed to get a more professional look. Sometimes it is due to personal reasons, such as breakup with a lover or simply no longer being part of certain group or belief. If you are one of these people, you need not worry any more. There are many ways to get your permanent tattoo removed. We will look at some of these options to help you decide the best course of action.
Some Options for Tattoo Removal
It is important to know that although there are a host of options to remove tattoos, none of these are quick or easy. Added to that is the fact that tattoo removal cost is a lot more than actually getting a tattoo. Therefore, it is imperative that should be prepared to face the costs that tattoo removal involves.
Tattoo Removal by Laser
The most common tattoo removal option is removal using laser. In case of laser removal, highly concentrated pulses of lasers are made to penetrate the skin. This makes the ink in the tattoo to break up into smaller fragments. This process requires a person to go through many laser sessions to completely remove a tattoo, depending o the size of the tattoo, the area where the tattoo is located and also the colors used in it. It almost guarantees complete removal of all traces of your tattoo. However, one should consider certain side-effects associated with this type of tattoo removal. Due to exposure to laser for extended periods, it can harm the skin, causing blisters and scabbing and can therefore some times lead to scars being formed in that area. These side effects usually occur because the laser removal has not been done properly. Laser removal of tattoos has advanced in the recent years, so it is important to visit an experienced laser removal doctor for this purpose to minimise these side effects. Though scarring is a big drawback of this tattoo removal option, the pain and costs associated with this cannot be ignored. So it is very important to consider all other options before zeroing in on the best option for you.
Some Other Options Available to Your Doctor
There are less expensive options available to remove tattoos medically, apart from laser. Dermabrasion and tattoo excision are two methods that doctors use to remove tattoos. Dermabrasion is a process where the tattoo is scrubbed with a rotary abrasive brush. Again a very painful procedure, this requires the patient to be anesthetized. This method too requires multiple sessions to complete the procedure, and is not really a very desirable option since there is a possibility of finding traces of ink on the skin even after the process is complete. Excision, the other medical option available for removal of tattoos, uses surgical intervention. Here the tattooed skin is removed and then skin from other part of the body is grafted on to that area. As evident here, this too is not without its side effects. These options are usually used when the laser removal option is not feasible for some reason.
Intense Pulse Light Therapy
Another treatment that is quite similar to laser removal is intense pulse light therapy. The one advantage of this procedure is that it is not as painful as laser treatment. In this treatment, a gel is applied on the area followed by some high intensity light pulses. This process usually requires fewer sessions to remove the tattoo in comparison to laser removal. However, intense pulse light therapy is very expensive, with costs starting from USD 10 for every pulse applied. If you do the math about the number of pulses needed during each session and the number of sessions required, the cost can be quite exorbitant.
Tattoo Removal Creams
There are painless ways of removing tattoos as well. There are quite a few tattoo removal creams available in the market. This process however is quite slow and it takes a long time to see visible results. Also, these creams do not usually remove the tattoo completely and some traces can still be visible after the treatment is complete. There is also an added drawback that some ingredients in these creams cause damage to the skin and can lead to dermatological problems. Therefore, one should study the composition of these creams carefully to see if they contain chemicals like TCA i.e. trichloroacetic acid, hydroquinone, etc. These ingredients are effective on some types of skins, but there are cases where a person’s skin is very sensitive to these chemical. This can lead to severe skin problems for such people.
So we have now explored many ways of removing tattoos for you to make your choice. A majority of people tend to opt for cheaper options to remove their tattoos, but these methods are not very effective. Therefore, it is important to consider all the options available. One should consult their doctor and weigh the pros and cons of all these methods to ward off associated skin problems.