Page 17 - An Introduction to Laser Tattoo Removal

Chapter 2 – Fundamentals of Laser Tattoo Removal v1.0
to create puncture marks. However, this device attracted very little commercial success until an Irish-American tattoo artist, Samuel O’Reilly converted it into the world’s first electric tattoo needle. He obtained a US patent for this device in December 1891. Modern-day tattooing was born.
The popularity of tattoos waned somewhat in the early 20th century across Europe but then quickly exploded form the 1980s onwards. Many pop culture and sports people began to exhibit tattoos including Lady Gaga, Angelina Jolie, Megan Fox, Johnny Depp, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Drew Barrymore, Scarlett Johansson, David Beckham, Ryan Gosling and Ben Affleck, to name a few...
When Mike opened the world’s first QS ruby laser tattoo removal clinic in Glasgow in 1990, around 11% of the UK’s population owned tattoos. Today, that figure is nearer 20%, with around 35% of the 30-39 age group owning at least one.
There is no doubt that the popularity of tattoos is here to stay, in many countries across the planet. Many of the old stigmas have since evaporated, probably due to the high numbers of popular figures openly bearing them. As a direct consequence, many more people want tattoos removed, with the laser option often as the first port of call.
What is a tattoo?
Before trying to remove a tattoo with a laser, it would be prudent to know what a tattoo is!
Tattoos – the inks, physiology and location of professional and amateur tattoos
There is a lot of literature and information out there which discusses tattoos. We will only cover an introduction, for the purposes of laser treatments.
There are various types of tattoos, but the main ones are ‘professional’, ‘amateur’ and ‘traumatic’. Professional tattoos are those injected using tattoo machines – they don’t necessarily have to be applied by ‘professionals’, but, for the purposes of laser treatments, these must be considered as ‘professional’.
Amateur tattoos (sometimes called ‘scratchers’ or ‘prison tattoos’) are usually administered by the bearer themselves, or a friend. They usually require a single needle and some ink – typically India Ink.
Traumatic tattoos usually result from accidents where the bearer’s skin has been forcibly rubbed against some rough surface. This often occurs in road accidents or explosions.
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Chapter 2 LEVEL A Laser Tattoo Removal
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