What it is
The wavelength is matched to the ink color, and the same approach covers body tattoos, hand-poked traditional and traumatic tattoos, and cosmetic tattooing of the brows, eyeliner, lip and scalp. Work near the eyelid is done with internal metal eye shields in place.
What this page covers
- Professional and multi-color tattoo removal, with wavelength chosen by ink color
- Cosmetic tattoo and micropigmentation removal — microblading, powder brows, tattooed eyeliner and lip, scalp micropigmentation
- Traumatic and amateur or traditional hand-poked tattoos, including embedded road-rash and pencil-lead particles
- Q-switched 1064 nm and 532 nm KTP, and picosecond 1064 / 532 / 755 nm, chosen by target
- Q-switched ruby 694 nm or alexandrite 755 nm for green and blue inks, where such a system is available
- Laser safety protocol: wavelength-specific eyewear, internal eye shields, shielding of moles and other tattoos in the field, and a written record of settings for every session
Who it suits
- Someone with a professional or multi-color body tattoo who accepts that the work runs over spaced sessions, and that ink colors do not all respond alike.
- Someone with a traditional or hand-poked tattoo, often old and often on the face, who understands that what lies under the ink is assessed before the ink is: hand-poked work frequently leaves a scar or a change in texture of its own.
- Someone who regrets a cosmetic tattoo — microblading, powder brows, tattooed eyeliner or lip, or scalp pigment — and who comes to have a test spot read first, rather than to have the whole area treated on the first day.
- Someone who will point out, before the first pulse, any part of the tattoo that itches, sits raised above the skin, has become scaly, or has thickened, and any mole or pigmented spot inside the tattoo or right beside it.
- Not you if you are waiting for skin with no trace left on it. That will not happen, and we say so before the first session; anyone promising a completely clear surface is not telling you the truth.
When we advise delaying or not treating
- Any part of the tattoo that itches, is raised, scaly or thickened. No laser passes over it that day; it is examined first, and the answer may be that it is not treated with a laser at all — see the box at the top of this page.
- A mole or a pigmented spot inside the tattoo or right beside it. It is examined before the first pulse, then covered and not crossed. A pulse fragments pigment, so it erases the very lesion that should have been diagnosed first; a laser does not diagnose. And a mole that has grown, or changed color or shape, or bled, is examined before removing a tattoo is discussed at all.
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding. Removal is elective, and it waits.
- Active infection at the site, broken or crusted skin over it, or an active cold sore nearby. And tell us if you get cold sores at all before any work on a lip line or around the mouth — laser to that area can set one off in someone prone to them, and that changes what we do and when.
- Recent sun exposure or an active tan over the area, or threading, waxing or hair-removal cream over it within the last few days — we postpone.
- Skin thinned by an unlabeled lightening cream or mixed preparation; that is treated first, and bring the container with you.
- A known tendency to keloid scarring, or an existing scar from the way the tattoo was put in, from the injury that left it, or from traditional cautery or cupping at the site. A pigment laser targets ink, not scar tissue, and the scar stays behind after the color fades; this is said before starting rather than afterward.
- Active post-inflammatory pigmentation over the area. Lasering it while it is active often deepens it, so it is treated first — post-inflammatory pigmentation.
- A request to treat the whole area before the test spot has been read. We decline, and particularly for flesh-toned, white, red and brown cosmetic inks.
- A request to have it finished before a date — a wedding, travel, a photograph. We decline; the sessions are spaced by nature, and skin after a pass is more conspicuous than the tattoo was.
- An expectation of complete removal. It will not happen, and we say so before the first session; saying no here is part of the work, not a failure of it.
- The mark left by a black-henna design. That is not tattoo ink and is not lasered: it is the footprint of an allergic reaction on the skin. It usually fades on its own, but it takes months and strict sun protection, and in skin prone to it the reaction can leave a raised scar — so it is looked at rather than assumed. What matters more is that it means you are now sensitized to PPD, so tell anyone who colors your hair or your brows.
Possible effects
Stated in full, because the decision is not sound without them. What is most often left out on this page in particular is not a rare complication but two ordinary ones: ink that can darken on the very first pass, and ink your body may already be reacting to before we start.
- Redness, swelling, pinpoint bleeding and crusting after each pass. Blistering is possible and does not by itself mean the session was set wrongly; do not open a blister and do not lift a crust.
- Paradoxical darkening. Flesh-toned, white, red and brown cosmetic inks contain iron and titanium oxides and can turn dark or gray-black on the first pass, sometimes while you are still in the chair. What has to be said in full here: ink darkened this way is usually harder to clear than what was there before the session, and it may not clear completely. That alone is why a test spot on a brow, a lip line or an eyeliner is a condition rather than an option, and why a whole brow is not treated on the first day.
- Allergic and granulomatous reaction to the ink itself, classically to red: the area itches, rises above the skin, becomes scaly or thickens, and this can begin long after the tattoo was done. Fragmenting that ink with a laser releases it into the body, which can bring out an eruption on skin far from the tattoo and, rarely, a whole-body reaction. This is why such an area is pointed out and examined before anything passes over it, and why its treatment may be something else entirely.
- Incomplete clearance. Green, light blue, yellow and white respond poorly, and a shadow or a ghost of the design often stays after everything around it has faded.
- Pigment loss — scattered paler spots that are slow to recover and that may not fully recover — and post-inflammatory darkening. Both are more visible on deeper skin, and both track with higher energy and shorter intervals.
- Textural change and scarring. Most likely over skin that has already scarred: hand-poked work, burns, and road injuries.
- Infection. Uncommon, and managed early; report increasing pain, spreading redness and warmth, pus, or a fever.
- Work on tattooed eyeliner. Internal metal shields are placed onto the eye itself after anesthetic drops, and that is what makes work at the lid margin possible at all; with them come the possibility of a surface scratch on the cornea, watering and light sensitivity for the rest of the day, and loss of some lashes at the treated margin.
- Traumatic and hand-poked tattoos. Embedded material sits at varying depths, so a small trial treatment comes first; retained metallic particles can spark and cause a pinpoint burn when pulsed.
- Scalp micropigmentation that has turned blue-gray or spread. It clears slowly, and the hair loss underneath it is assessed at the same time rather than afterward — hair loss assessment.
The larger practical risk here is not a rare complication but an expectation nobody corrected: sessions spent on skin for a difference barely worth seeing. Photographs in the same light before each session are what protect against that, and they are also what turn the decision to stop into a decision rather than a retreat.
A note on darker skin
Most people treated here are Fitzpatrick III-VI, and on this page that is not background — it is what sets the settings. The melanin in your skin absorbs the same wavelengths the ink absorbs and competes with it for them, so less energy reaches the target and the surrounding skin takes a share of it. In practice: 1064 nm is favored for dark inks because melanin absorbs it least, energy is kept low, sessions are spaced further apart, and a test spot is read in every case rather than only in doubtful ones. What has to be said plainly: higher energy on Fitzpatrick IV-VI can leave scattered paler spots that are slow to recover and may not fully recover, and it can leave rebound darkening after the inflammation. The 532 nm wavelength, used for red and orange, is strongly absorbed by melanin, so crusting and a period where the site looks darker before it improves are expected with it. Ruby 694 nm and alexandrite 755 nm, the wavelengths reached for with green and blue, carry a meaningful risk of pigment loss in deeper skin — and the honest answer may be that we do not chase the green in your tattoo, rather than trade a colored tattoo for a pale patch that stays conspicuous and may not fully recover. A tendency to keloid scarring is more common in these skin types, and a traditional facial tattoo often sits over old scarring that is assessed before we begin. So we start conservatively, space the work out, and protect the area from the sun between sessions — not because darker skin cannot be treated, but because a mistake in it shows more and lasts longer.
Afterwards
- Leave crusts and blisters alone. Picking and scratching are what turn a treated site into a scar, not the laser on its own. Clean and cover the area as you are shown.
- No hot water, sauna, pool, sea or strenuous exercise until the crust has gone.
- Strict sun protection over the site between sessions, and cover it with clothing where you can. An area that tans becomes harder to treat on the next pass, not easier.
- No waxing, threading or hair-removal cream over the area, and no scrubs or acids, until the skin has settled.
- Photograph the site on your phone in the same light before each session. Assessment rests on the photographs rather than on an impression; memory does not hold the difference between one session and the next.
- Keep the settings record from every session. It is what the next session is planned from, and it is what any other doctor will ask for if something goes wrong.
- Tell any place giving you laser hair removal or IPL that there is a tattoo in the treatment field: it is covered rather than crossed, and so are moles.
- And report — the same day, not at the next appointment — any of these: a spot that starts to itch or rise days after the session; a rash or itching on skin away from the treated area; pain that increases instead of settling, spreading redness and warmth, pus, or a fever; a blister that refills each time it drains; and a brow, lip line or eyeliner that came out of the first pass darker or grayer. That last one changes the plan, and it is reported rather than held until the appointment.
Honestly
Clearance is gradual and often incomplete — green, light blue, yellow and white inks respond poorly — while flesh-toned, white, red and brown cosmetic inks can darken on the very first pass, which is why a test spot is not optional; blistering, textural change and pigment loss are all possible on deeper skin.
Common questions
Will the tattoo come off completely, or not?
Honestly: usually not. The aim is clear lightening and less of it showing, and a shadow or a ghost of the design often stays. Green, light blue, yellow and white respond poorly to begin with. Anyone promising a completely clear surface is not telling you the truth — and we say so before the first session rather than after three.
I have an old hand-poked tattoo on my face. Is it worth doing?
It is worth discussing, and the examination decides. Hand-poked ink is usually black and does respond, but what matters is what is under it: the way it was put in often leaves a small scar or a change in texture, and a pigment laser does not remove that. So the color may fade a great deal while the textural mark stays where it is. We also start with a small trial treatment, because hand-poked ink sits at varying depths. We say this at the start so your decision rests on something.
My brows are microbladed and I want them gone before a wedding next month.
We do not start before an occasion. Flesh-toned, brown and red brow inks contain iron and titanium oxides and can darken or turn grayish on the first pass — and ink that has darkened is usually harder to clear than it was before, and may not clear completely. So we begin with a small test spot and read it after an interval before anything else. A brow that looks acceptable today is not a candidate for a rushed session.
Tattooed eyeliner — how do you work that close to the eye?
With anesthetic eye drops, then an internal metal shield placed onto the eye itself, under the lid. That shield is what makes work at the lid margin possible at all; without it, it is not done there. You will see nothing during the session, and that is expected. Afterward, watering and light sensitivity for the rest of the day are common, and losing some lashes at the treated margin is possible. If eye pain persists, or the foreign-body feeling continues for hours, the eye is examined the same day. If your vision itself changes, that is not a same-day clinic matter — go to the nearest emergency department the same hour.
There is a spot in my tattoo that has itched for a long time and is slightly raised. Is that normal?
No, and this one in particular you should tell us about before any pulse. Itching, raising, scaling and thickening — most often in red ink — can be an allergic reaction to the ink itself. Fragmenting it with a laser spreads it through the body, which can bring out a rash on skin far from the tattoo and, rarely, a whole-body reaction. So the area is examined first, its treatment may be something else entirely, and the answer may be that we do not pass a laser over it. The same goes for any mole inside the tattoo or right beside it: it is examined and covered, because a pulse erases what should have been diagnosed.
My skin is dark. Can I have this done?
Yes, and it is done on deeper skin every day — but with conservative settings, longer intervals, and a test spot in every case. The plain version is that the margin for error is narrower: higher energy can leave paler spots or darkening after the inflammation, both show more and last longer on your skin, and the paler spots may not fully recover. And the honest answer may be that we do not chase one color in your tattoo — green, for instance — because the device that fragments it carries a higher risk of pigment loss in your skin.