How to Know When It’s Time for Tattoo Removal

25 Aug How to Know When It’s Time for Tattoo Removal

It probably started out as a really great idea.

A tattoo strategically placed on your lower backside to help commemorate Spring Break 2004. The ball and chain on your right thigh tattooed during your bachelorette party 12 years ago. The sugar skull you spent hours designing and had to have replicated on your shoulder.

But now, for some reason, you’re regretting that particular episode in your otherwise well-decisioned life. Or perhaps you’ve just outgrown that sugar skull.

Well, according to statistics, you’re in good company – 20 percent of people regret their tattoos. That’s one in five.

When people experience tattoo regret, their initial reaction is to do nothing. Then they typically go through three stages: 1) Denial (“Maybe if I just look at it in a different light…”), 2) Grief (“What was I thinking!”), and then 3) Resolution (“How can I get rid of this thing as fast as possible.”)

When you reach that all-important third stage, it’s time to take action. You basically have three choices: 1) Removal, 2) Cover-up, or 3) Full-body leotard (kidding on the last one).

Before you decide which way you want to go, you need to ask yourself a few questions.

First, what do you not like about your tattoo? Was the application poorly executed? Is the design fading? Is it a bad or outdated design? Or does it just no longer reflect who you are?

Second, what do you like about your tattoo? Would a fresh coat of ink or a design extension help you fall in love with it again? Maybe just removing a few colors would help.

Next, how light is your skin and how bright is the tattoo? Typically, the bigger the contrast between the color of your skin and the color of the tattoo, the easier it is to remove. For example, the easiest tattoo removal is on a fair-skinned person with a very bright tattoo.

And last, where is your tattoo located? Generally speaking, the closer the tattoo to your heart, the faster your circulatory system can help break down the ink.

Tattoo Regret Resolved

Tattoo removal is a very popular and permanent way to get rid of an unwanted tattoo. In 2015 alone, nearly 50,000 tattoos were removed in the United States.

Tattoos are removed using a laser, and it usually takes several sessions for complete removal. There are several different types of lasers used for tattoo removal. At Vivid Tattoo Removal, we use the state-of-the-art Enlighten™ laser.

Enlighten is a revolutionary tattoo removal system that uses nanosecond and picosecond technology to send light pulses to your skin. These light pulses don’t hurt, and the sensation is no more painful that lightly snapping a rubber band against your skin. To give you an idea of how fast the light pulses are, consider that a picosecond is one trillionth of a second, which is a thousand times faster than a nanosecond.

Over the course of several treatments, the laser light breaks up the ink into dust-like particles that are absorbed by your body. After absorption, your body eliminates the minuscule ink particles through its normal processes. With Enlighten, you could require up to 40 percent fewer treatment sessions than other tattoo removal methods.

So if Billy has long since left for other pastures but his memory is still lingering on your upper bicep, perhaps it’s time to let go. After all, with all the technology available today tattoos no longer have to be forever. You have options.

For more information about tattoo removal or to schedule a free consultation, contact Vivid Tattoo Removal today.

Vivid Face is a pioneer in laser technology and is an affiliate of North Beach Vascular & Aesthetics.