When tattoo ink is embedded in your skin, the needle puncture creates a small wound that immediately triggers your immune system to heal the tattoo site and remove the alien ink particles. Bacteria eating cells called macrophages are released and begin eating away at the ink particles. However, the pigment particles in tattoo ink are quite large, making it difficult for macrophages to completely remove a tattoo. Instead, the macrophages are only able to remove tiny pieces of pigment, which explains why tattoos are permanent but gradually fade over time.

Laser tattoo removal essentially speeds up your immune system’s natural fading process by shattering the pigment particles in a tattoo. During a laser treatment, our Duality laser sends ultra-quick pulses of light energy over the unwanted tattoo. The light energy travels through the epidermis and targets the tattoo ink particles while leaving the surrounding skin tissue unharmed. The tattoo ink particles selectively absorb the light energy, causing them to heat up and shatter into tiny fragmented particles that the macrophages can more easily engulf and remove.

Over the weeks following a laser treatment, your immune system will flush out the shattered ink particles, causing the tattoo to fade. Multiple laser sessions are needed to shatter the varying layers of ink that make a tattoo. Each session with the laser shatters more ink, speeding up the fading process until no ink is visible in the skin.

Laser tattoo removal assists your body’s natural immune process to remove tattoo ink from your skin. During a laser treatment, light energy is selectively absorbed by a tattoo’s ink particles, causing them to shatter into tiny fragments. Over the weeks following a treatment, your immune system naturally flushes out the fragmented particles, causing your tattoo to fade. This process is repeated until all of the ink in your skin is completely erased.

On average, most patients require 5 to 10 treatments for complete tattoo removal. Patients with older, faded tattoos may need fewer sessions. Patients interested in fading their tattoo for a cover-up tattoo may require as few as 2 to 4 treatments. The number of treatments needed varies case-by-case and depends on a variety of factors including the age of the tattoo, colors of the tattoo, location of the tattoo, the density of the ink, patient health, pre-existing scarring, and more.

Laser tattoo removal is often compared to a rubber band repeatedly snapping the skin. Overall the procedure is very tolerable, however, some patients may experience discomfort depending on their pain threshold. Minnesota Brow offers skin numbing solutions to alleviate any pain from the laser and maximize patient comfort.

Unlike tattoo application, laser tattoo removal is a very quick procedure that lasts anywhere from 1 to 15 minutes depending on the size of the tattoo being treated. Treatment times may take longer if multiple tattoos are being treated in a single session

Laser tattoo removal is the safest method for removing unwanted tattoos. Minnesota Brow uses the latest FDA-cleared laser technology and custom protocols for each patient skin type to ensure the safest, most optimal results.

That being said, patients may experience temporary redness, itchiness, swelling, scabbing, blistering, hypopigmentation, and hyperpigmentation. All of these side effects are natural reactions to the laser and will heal over the weeks following treatment. As long as proper aftercare is applied, patients should not experience any scarring.