Top-Rated Laser Tattoo Removal In Kansas City

Laser energy is directed at the tattooed area for a fraction of a second, passing harmlessly through the outer layer of the skin and targeting the tattoo ink directly. The laser disrupts the ink, allowing your body to absorb it and break it down naturally. Our lasers are some of the newest advanced tattoo laser technology.The process is not immediate. After the treatment, the ink that was exposed to the laser will break down and be removed by your body’s immune system over a period of weeks. Once that process is complete, you can come in for your next visit, usually 4 to 8 week intervals, repeating the process until the tattoo is gone. Many tattoos average 5 to 10 treatments for full removal—some can be gone after four sessions, and some take longer (they can take 12-16 sessions or more for stubborn ink) and rarely, some of these may be completely gone after just a few visits for some amateur tattoo inks. Visits are usually spaced about 6-8 weeks apart. Some variances are whether the tattoo is done by an amateur or a professional, also some ink colors are harder to target and require more sessions than other colors(we just treat black ink), the thickness of the ink, and the body location, the more distal or farther from the heart area they are slower to go away. Since it is your body’s immune system that ultimately breaks down and adsorbs the ink, every person’s removal process will be different. Tattoos on distal body parts (i.e., ankle, foot or finger) often are slower going away than those on the trunk (i.e., chest, abdomen, or back). Unfortunately, most patients do not know the type of ink components used for their tattoo. It is common to have some itching after laser treatments and that usually is a sign of the immune system working on the ink. It is possible to have immune allergic reactions to ink products after they have been treated with the laser often delayed a few days (blisters, itching, inflammation, swelling,etc.) (hypersensitivity reactions to things such as chromates, oxides, sulfides and other ingredients unknown in the inks).

Every tattoo is different, so no laser available today can guarantee 100% success or zero skin discoloration. Our office uses very advanced technology available to achieve high success rates for tattoo removal. Advanced technology tries to keep scarring risk to a minimum, but there always remains a theoretical possibility of scarring with any laser system or removal. The laser tries to provide maximum tattoo ink removal while trying to reduce risk to the surrounding skin and tissue.

It is much more difficult to treat tattoos on skin types V and VI (black and African-American type skin) because of laser risks to natural pigment in the skin. We only can treat black ink to try and reduce risk of hypo or hyper pigmentation. Also, we cannot treat skin type IV (some darker ethnic Asian, Middle Eastern or Latino, etc.) without having a risk of hypopigmentation or hyperpigmentation. Thus, black ink can only be removed from darker skin types but there is always some risk of hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation in any case when this is done.

Please avoid sun or tanning to the treatment areas during any tattoo removal treatment series.

We do not treat cosmetic tattoos (eyebrows, lips, etc.) White tattoo inks are very stubborn and may not respond and they also can turn a different color, often darker after lasered. Yellow ink is also very stubborn for all laser tattoo removal systems, and there is no ideal laser for yellow ink, but it will almost always slowly lighten up and fade. Light and medium blues and green inks are very difficult colors.

Laser tattoo removal is generally a fairly low-risk, outpatient procedure. The discomfort of the procedure is tolerable (a 3 to 7 on a 10 scale of pain usually), and has been described as similar to a hot rubber-band snapping on the skin. Most patients do not use anesthetic, but one can purchase a topical anesthetic if you so desire. Topical anesthetics must be on an area for at least 1 to 2 hours though to be effective in reducing the pain. So anesthetic must be pre-planned with the treatment appointment time, or you can buy some anesthetic to take home with you. Cooling can also be done to get through the procedure. Generally, after the procedure, for most people there is only minimal discomfort after 10-15 minutes. You can use a pain reliever of your choice in the first six hours if you so desire. It is relatively common to have some blood in the skin, redness from inflammation, puffiness/edema and even some blistering, and scabbing in the healing process.