Page 47 - An Introduction to Laser Tattoo Removal

Chapter 2 – Fundamentals of Laser Tattoo Removal v1.0
Remember, scar tissue (fibrosis) is inevitably formed after EVERY laser tattoo treatment – it is a part of the skin repair process. Therefore, each laser treatment generates more and more ‘micro-scarring’ which may eventually be visible to the naked eye, if enough damaged tissue accumulates. Scar tissue also makes further laser treatments more difficult since it increases the scattering of light in the dermis and, hence, loses clinical efficacy, particularly for deeper ink particles.
Figure 22: Frosting immediately after a treatment
with a QS Nd:YAG laser. Note the erythema and oedema around the tattoo.
However, some ink colours simply will not turn white (frosting) or generate the audible crack sound. There is no point ‘chasing’ these indicators, especially when they are not required.
It is important to understand that different colours respond differently to laser treatment. In particular, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to predict how they will respond. This is due to the fact that many coloured inks are not what they appear to be!
Have a chat with any tattoo artist and they will tell you that they rarely use the base colours alone. They inevitably mix colours to create ‘new’ colours for the particular tattoo they are working on. Consequently, many coloured tattoos contain a wide range of colours, some of which are not obvious to the human eye. (They will also tell you that they apply the tattoo machine perpendicularly to the skin when drawing lines, while they hold the machine at an angle when applying shade. This results in shaded areas usually being more superficial than lines - which explains why lines are typically harder to remove!)
Mike has treated many ‘light green’ ink colours which have turned darker with treatments (with 532, 694 and 1064 nm). This is because the laser has reacted with some colour embedded within the green and removed it, leaving behind the original darker green pigment.
Occasionally, you might find an iron compound (usually red) which will oxidise during a treatment causing it to change colour completely – see our ‘crab tattoo’ results below.
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Chapter 2 LEVEL A Laser Tattoo Removal
© The Laser-IPL Guys, 2021