HomeFeaturesHealth › Everything You Should Know About Tattoo Removal
 
 
 

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We had the chance to sit down and chat with Medical Director, Dr. Mundt at Delete, a Tattoo Removal & Laser Salon. She talked to us about the struggles of removing tattoos, some little known facts, and different things to consider when removing a tattoo. The best thing we learned? “The healthier you are, the better things work. That stuff totally helps remove your ink faster.”

AFM: What are some things that the general public may not know about tattoo removal?

Dr. Mundt: I would say the biggest thing is that inks are different. Inks are different and how they get put in are different. Taking them out can mean a whole different ball game from one person to the next person. The other thing that goes along with that is not every laser is the same either. Let’s say someone has got really easy ink and the laser takes it off in one or two treatments whereas another treatment can take six or eight treatments. There are a lot of differing strengths as far as the lasers go.

AFM: Is there any way of knowing the types of ink when you get one?

Dr. Mundt: Not really. I think the tattoo artists these days want to do a really good job and want to get ink in there that’s going to stay in and stay bright. I think the quality of ink has gotten better over time. It’s also the technique of the tattoo artist as well.

AFM: Are there any risks to removing tattoos too early or too late?

Dr. Mundt: No that doesn’t make too much of a difference. If it’s brand new we wait six to eight weeks before we start removing it. The older the tattoo is, the better. For most tattoo removals it’s about the layers of ink. The older the ink is, the more the body has faded it, the more the sun has faded it, and basically there’s less layers for us to have to get through. The colors make a really big difference too. When it comes to my end of the removal process I have lasers that do all the colors. The hard ones are usually yellow, purple, blue and green. Then the easier ones like black and red.

AFM: What are some things to make sure of when getting or removing a tattoo?

Dr. Mundt: There are options. No. 1: It really hurts without numbing. Some places will do numbing and not just the topical cream numbing but they’ll do the injectable kind of numbing like I do here at Delete. You’ll feel the rubber snap but it doesn’t actually hurt. You can feel the pressure of the tapping coming through but beyond that it’s really easy. Topical numbing is OK it just can’t soak in far enough so people still feel that one a lot. It’s really painful and I’m sure that’s out there as far as what people know already. No. 2: It just takes time. In between treatments you need to wait six to eight weeks for the skin to truly heal. If you go in there too soon, the skin can thicken, and form scar tissue because it’s trying to defend your skin. If you wait longer that doesn’t happen and your skin stays totally soft. So it’s a much better look afterwards when we get done.

AFM:  Are there any long-term risks to removing tattoos?

Dr. Mundt: No not that I have seen. I have seen more patients who have issues if there ink stays in. I’ve had some people who are allergic to their ink. And if it stays in it continues to bother them. But if we take it out and keep an eye on them in the medical sense and get it out of them sooner rather than later then it can really benefit them. As far as skin cancers or anything like that, no there’s no issues of that as far as actual ink and the removal part. Now there are studies out there that show if somebody already has a mole that’s growing weird underneath their ink where we’re going to remove it with a laser there can be problems. Hitting that with a laser can cause it to turn into something really bad so we’re always going to check under the skin and make sure we’re safe before we can do anything else.

AFM: Are there any spots on the body that are easier or more difficult to remove tattoos?

Dr. Mundt: Closer to the heart is always easier. Heads, necks, chests, upper backs and abdomens are easier than say on a finger or top of the foot or a toe. It’s all about the circulation so when the laser hits the ink its only job is to break that ink up into little tiny pieces so the body can absorb it. The further away from the heart is, the longer the body takes to absorb that ink. Sometimes we have to wait longer than the six to eight weeks for the bodies to absorb it. Once that last laser hits it and breaks it up the ink just sits there and doesn’t go anywhere until the body comes in there and sweeps it away.

Visit www.deleteitnow.com for more information on the tattoo-removal process.