Okay, you’ve finally made the decision to get that tattoo that was way cool in 1982 but not so cool in 2010 removed. You know there are lots of removal methods, from do-it-yourself creams to surgical procedures, but you don’t know which one is right for you. You’ve heard of IPL tattoo removal but you don’t know much about it. What is it, are you an appropriate candidate, and what does it cost?

What is IPL?

IPL, or intense pulsed light, is an intense light that is sent in short bursts at the skin. It is often confused with laser treatment, but it is not a laser. With IPL, light is sent through a prism; laser light is highly focused light.

How Does IPL Work?

IPL targets only the tattoo ink. The light breaks up the pigments, which are then absorbed by the body during the healing process after the treatment.

What are the Side Effects?

The most common side effect is discomfort from the treatment. It can be moderately painful, some say more painful than getting a tattoo. The pain can be moderated somewhat by anesthetic gels. Post-treatment, the pain can last for several days.

There can be some blistering, depending on your skin sensitivity, but that will disappear in a week or so. Once the blistering subsides, there may be some slight skin discoloration where the tattoo ink had been.

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There are many reasons for people wanting to have a tattoo removed, the most frequently cited is regret. It was done at a time when they were young and immature and now that they have moved past that stage in their life they no longer want it. Others have missed out on certain job opportunities due to their tattoo being highly visible. A small amount of people want it removed because they no longer like the way it looks. As we age or have babies our skin changes and what was once a beautiful dolphin now bears more of a resemblance to a humpback whale!

Whatever the reason for wanting your tattoo removed, thankfully modern technology has now provided a method that, in most cases, can remove the tattoo completely. The most common form of tattoo removal is laser therapy. A small laser is pulsed at the skin for 60 – 90 seconds breaking down the ink. This broken down pigment is then slowly reabsorbed by the body.

Be aware, this is not a quick process. For laser treatment to be most effective a gap of approximately 6 weeks needs to be left between each treatment to allow the skin to heal properly and give the body enough time to absorb the pigment. The result is a slow fading of the tattoo over a couple of months. Certain colours are also more difficult to treat. Green, yellow and fluorescent pink are the most difficult colours to remove and may require substantially more sessions than perhaps a black tattoo would.

Thinner skin is also more likely to scar than thicker skinned areas, the forearm and ankle are usually the most difficult areas to work with and could take significantly longer to completely remove the tattoo. This form of removal is also contraindicated in people who, for whatever reason, have a depressed immune system. The skin is more likely to scar and the body will not be very effective in reabsorbing the pigment.

A topical anesthetic is usually applied to the area that is going to be worked on just before the treatment begins and most people report that this form of removal is a relatively pain free process, although this will also depend on your own personal threshold for pain and how sensitive your skin is.

The risks associated the with laser tattoo removal are minor and very few people have reported any form of scarring or permanent skin discolouration, although the successful outcome of the treatment depends largely on how well the skin is looked after between each session. So, happily what was once a permanent reminder of a misspent youth, can now be removed as if it was never there!

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