Page 44 - An Introduction to Laser Tattoo Removal

Chapter 2 – Fundamentals of Laser Tattoo Removal v1.0
Figure 19: Photo kindly supplied by Helena Carter, ‘DeInk’, Auckland, New Zealand.
This is a tattoo soon after laser treatment with a Q-switched Nd:YAG at 1064nm. You can clearly see the erythema (reddening) and oedema (swelling) in and around the ink.
Also visible are plenty of small ‘holes’. These are caused by a reaction to the laser energy in the hair follicles. If you look to the lower right of the photo, you can see more hair follicles which have not been lasered. The hair follicles have absorbed some of the laser energy which has resulted in their rapid heating and vapourisation. The ‘holes’ left behind are the empty follicles!
It should be noted that the ‘limiting’ factors in laser tattoo removal are:
Limiting factor
Limitation
Wavelength
depth of penetration
Pulsewidth
size of particles/aggregates
Spot size
depth of penetration
Skin colour
excessive melanin absorption
Ink colour
poor laser wavelength absorption
Ink constituents
poor reaction to light/heat
Not all tattoos can be completely removed using lasers. Many will be too deep for the energy to reach. Many will have colours which just do not absorb the energy well. Some may not respond well to the laser pulsewidth – it may be too long!
Unfortunately, it is a limitation of the available technology that we can never guarantee a complete removal of any tattoo!
________________________________________________________________________ 44
Chapter 2 LEVEL A Laser Tattoo Removal
© The Laser-IPL Guys, 2021