Tattoos :: Dr. Weaver Dermatology Blog

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Worried That Getting Your Tattoo Removed Will Be Painful?

Do you want to remove a tattoo? Tattoos have become a lot more popular in the last decade than they have ever been before.

The Harris Poll of 2,016 adults surveyed online between January 16 and 23, 2012 by Harris Interactive showed the following results.

Currently one in five U.S. adults has at least one tattoo (21%) which is up from the 16% and 14% who reported having a tattoo when this question was asked in 2003 and 2008, respectively.

Adults aged 30-39 are most likely to have a tattoo (38%)
Adults aged 25-29 (30%)
Adults aged 18-24 (22%) of those 18-24)
Adults 40-49 (27%)
Adults 50-64 (11%)
Adults 65 and older (5%)

The statistics also show that 23% of Women versus 19% of men are more likely to have a tattoo.

Even with their growing popularity studies have shown that close to 20% of people who get tattoos regret it at some point in their life for one reason or another, whether it’s a lifestyle change or just feel it was a bad decision. Many will also look for a way to hide this regret, whether it is a cover up a tattoo or seek out some form of Dermatology tattoo removal. There are several barriers to getting tattoos removed and one of the biggest ones is fear of pain.

Hands down the most effective tattoo removal approach these days is laser tattoo removal. Laser treatment involves using high powered light energy of specific wavelengths to interact with pigment granules under the surface of the skin.

This reaction is known to generate heat and the more ink there is, the more light energy there is to get absorbed and the skin reaches a higher temperature which can lead to discomfort during the treatment.

There are several ways to reduce the amount of discomfort that you might feel during a tattoo removal treatment session.

The first approach involves using cold packs to cool the skin and limiting the amount of discomfort that can occur.

Another approach is to apply a topical anesthetic cream to the area of the tattoo that is going to be removed and temporarily decrease sensation in the area.

When necessary, it is also possible to inject an area with local anesthetic to completely numb the area so that nothing is felt at all during the laser treatment.

As stated before laser treatment is the most effective method of tattoo removal.

Laser removal usually takes a series of sessions ranging from 3 or 4 sessions on up to ten sessions, so it is important to be able to go through these treatments without having to worry about enduring high levels of pain. This will permit the progressive treatment of the tattoo away until it is completely gone!
Laser removal is able to trace the tattoo with great precision making sure not to go over any skin that does not need to be treated. In general, the tattoo removal laser won’t have any interaction with normal skin at all.
Furthermore among the Dermatology community Laser removal is referred to as the “gold standard” because of its very short list of side effects and minimal scarring. By keeping the level of pain low during treatment the full benefits of laser treatment can be obtained.

In conclusion, when it comes to Dermatology tattoo removal there are various routes one can take to reduce pain and discomfort so this should not be something that you fear.

Remember, the most effective and preferred method among the medical community is Laser tattoo removal. When laser treatment is done with Q-switched technology, it usually leaves minimal to no scarring and has a very high success rate. Although it takes several sessions to be completed it has very few side effects and the level of pain experienced during and after treatment can be minimized. So whether you’ve had a lifestyle change or just flat out regret your decision to ink yourself up, Laser removal is the way to go among the many Dermatology tattoo removal methods and with special measures, you can do so without pain. Watch the video below for more information about laser tattoo removal