Tattoo Removal Specialist
CareLife
Internal Medicine & Primary Care located in Annandale, VA
About 17% of all people with tattoos regret them. If you have unwanted ink, CareLife Style offers an easy solution: Convenient tattoo removal using the state-of-the-art enlighten® laser. Learn more about this industry-leading laser and its impressive effects by calling the Fairfax, Virginia, office or clicking the online appointment booking tool.
Tattoo Removal Q & A
What is tattoo removal?
Tattoo removal is the process of removing ink from beneath your skin. There are a few options for tattoo removal, including surgical skin excision, dermabrasion, and laser treatments.
Surgical tattoo removal
Surgical tattoo removal involves removing the entire section of skin with the ink. Then, your surgeon stitches the surrounding skin together. It's only a possibility for small tattoos, and as with any surgery, surgical tattoo removal carries some serious risks. Plus, this type of tattoo removal can cause very serious scarring.
Dermabrasion for tattoo removal
Dermabrasion essentially sands away skin layers until it reaches the ink. While dermabrasion can be effective for smoothing the face, it can have unpredictable and unfavorable results on tattoos because it requires removing many skin layers.
Laser tattoo removal
Laser tattoo removal is, beyond question, the aesthetic industry gold standard for tattoo removal. Laser tattoo removal doesn't remove any of your skin; instead, it targets and destroys the ink itself. Then, you flush out ink particles naturally in time.
CareLife Style offers the most advanced method of laser tattoo removal: the enlighten laser.
What is it like to have laser tattoo removal?
The enlighten laser sends measured pulses of light energy through your skin and directly into the tattoo ink. Your tattoo ink absorbs the light, at which point it transforms to heat that shatters the ink into particles.
The enlighten laser is unique among tattoo removal lasers because it's the first laser to use two pulse durations — nanosecond and picosecond — to target ink without harming the surrounding skin.
Large ink particles respond particularly well to longer laser pulses, but after the initial pulses, those large particles become much smaller, responding better to short laser pulses.
With both types of pulse durations in one system, as well as a variety of spot sizes and energy levels, enlighten offers the most customized tattoo removal possible.
You might feel some snapping — similar to getting a tattoo but much quicker — during treatment, but most people tolerate the treatment quite well. You may need topical anesthetic cream, but there's no other anesthesia needed for this outpatient treatment.
How many tattoo removal sessions do I need?
The number of sessions you need can depend on many factors, including:
- Size of your tattoo
- Tattoo colors
- Total amount of ink
- Ink type
- The ink depth within your skin
Most people have a series of tattoo removal sessions, with each lasting anywhere from 2-30 minutes, to achieve lasting ink removal.
If you have any unwanted ink, there's no reason to live with it any longer. Reach out to CareLife Style by phone or through online booking for tattoo removal.
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