Tattoos are designed and applied with the idea that they last forever. Unfortunately a tattoo sometimes may become undesirable, and when this happens you can have it covered up with a different tattoo, or removed altogether. There are various ways available to remove an unwanted tattoo, but tattoo removal can result in some discoloring or scaring of the skin, depending on the method used. The size of the tattoo, how long you've had the tattoo and the amount of experience the tattoo artist will all also affect the amount of damage the skin receives during the removal.Salabrasion is a rather painful method of tattoo removal. The tattooed area is giving a local anesthetic then covered in a mixture of water and salt then scraped until the area is deep red. A more common version of this is called dermabrasion in which the tattoo is frozen then sanded until the skin peels off along with your former tattoo. Both of these methods require bandaging because bleeding will occur.
Excision is a method that will result in heavy scaring of the skin, but then entire tattoo will be completely removed. In excision the area around the tattoo in given some anesthetic then the tattoo is cut away with the skin pulled together and sewn shut. This is really only for small tattoos although it has been done for larger tattoos with a skin graph being used to cover the area that was cut away.
Laser tattoo removal is less painful then these previous methods, and does less skin damage. Q-switched Nd:Yag, Q-switched Alexandrite and the Q-switched Ruby are the types of lasers used in tattoo removal, and each are applied in a similar manner. The laser bombards the skin with bursts of light targeting the ink in the tattoo allowing your body to remove the ink internally. This method can does cause some pain that leaves blisters, irritates the skin, and light scaring. Skin numbing creams do exist that can reduce the pain. Some tattoos require multiple treatments, and with each treatment the damage to the skin increases.
One of the most effective method of tattoo removal is intense pulsed light therapy which is applied in a way similar to the laser, only using a different type of light. Intense pulsed light therapy is less damaging to the skin, less painful than a laser treatment, and also more effective. However this is the most expensive method of removing tattoos. Intense pulsed light therapy charges per pulse of light, which for larger tattoos can get quite expensive.
Tattoo removal creams are another option available. These creams are applied regularly to the tattooed area, and over time lighten the tattoo until it's completely gone. The success rate for the creams varies from person to person, but unlike the other methods the creams have no risk of scaring the skin.
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