When your Tattoo becomes irrelevant?

You must have heard the saying that, “Your body is a canvas, so decorate it.”
You probably know that body painting is not the topic here, but rather decorating your body permanently with tattoo. To some extent, Tattoos are the new must-haves of the cool generation and have even been a cultural phenomenon. Statistics have shown that about 45 million Americans have at least one tattoo. While Asia is more conservative views about tattoos, Asian societies have become more open with the changing times. And it would not be surprising to see someone tatted walking in the streets, even in Singapore.

Tattoo Love

Thrown out the window are the images of the mafia and crime lords that were closely associated to this art form, as pop culture started to infiltrate the minds of the public with the tattooed images of icons from every field, particularly from the sports, fashion and entertainment worlds. Who could miss the infamous inks of celebrities like football god David Beckham, pop queen Rihanna, action superstar Dwayne Johnson, bombshell Megan Fox, and even some members of famous K-Pop boy band BIGBAND. Such influences are more than enough to convince anyone to go for this very personal art form and it can get pretty addictive, as enthusiasts would warn.

Interestingly, apart from the usual reference of tattoo as a sign of rebelliousness, 35% of inked individuals think that their tattoos make them feel sexy. And even more surprising is that 5% think it makes them look more intelligent.

With its current standing as a status symbol for the achievers and coolest people on the planet, Asia heeded the alluring call for transforming tattoos into a socially creative way of expressing one’s self. For instance, Singapore boasts of having 1 out of 7 of its citizens inked with their personal designs, while Japan continues to use them as symbols of pride with the size of the tattoo dictating the success and power of the wearer.

The Fall Out

One of the most powerful characteristics of tattoos is that it is a permanent representation of a personal belief, whether if it is simply for the sake of art, or an even deeper psychological or emotional meaning to the person. But not every person who gets a tattoo is satisfied with the outcome resulting in some changing their minds at one point in time.

First on the list would be a bad tattoo. By bad, that would mean a terrible rendering of the design that normally looks nothing like what was on the paper where it came from or unfortunate misspelled words that would become the butt of jokes for generations to come. Aesthetic in nature, these botched cases fail in comparison to the life threatening infections that one can get from getting inked by fly-by-night tattoo salons that brazenly uses dirty equipment that become the source of Skin blisters or other deformities.

Other than that, others seek to have their tattoos covered up or even removed because they opt to erase the memory that the inked design is associated with.

Tattoo Removal

Undoing tattoos require money and a lot of creativity for those who do not have the financial capacity for it. The most popular technique would be the cover-up. Cheapest among the available options, the unwanted tattoo is incorporated into a new one, or is completely covered by a new and bigger tattoo. It is usually the artist who gets the upperhand in this scenario with some cases even requiring the fading of the tattoo by a few shades before they incorporate it into the new one.

Other options include tattoo-fading creams that could take a long time before they effectively fade the tattoo away. Whitening creams can also be used, but would also take a long time before anything substantial happens to the tattoo. Sunlight can actually fade tattoos effectively, but can also give you a bad case of skin cancer during the process.

Newer methods include abrasion with a surgical wire brush or diamond sanding disc. Scars can be left behind after this procedure. Scarification, on the other hand, removes the tattoo with the use of an acid solution. However, this can be painful, with the possibility of having scars very open to those who seek this kind of treatment. Surgical tattoo removal use surgical balloons inserted under that skin that causes it to expand, leading to the cutting of the skin area that contains the tattoo. Repeated surgery might be required for big tattoos.

Erase tattoos with skin laser treatments

Considered top of the line, skin Laser treatments are touted to remove tattoos more easily and effectively, despite having to require several visits for some months. Though hypopigmentation, which is the lightening of the natural skin coloring of the affected area and the possibility of having scars, are imminent, it remains to be the most sought after.

Types of lasers

The tattoo that should be taken cared of shall dictate the type of laser to be used. At this point, there are three of them. The Q-switched ruby laser (694 nm) and the Q-switched alexandrite laser (755 nm) are commonly used for tattoos with black, blue and green pigments. For those with red pigments, your best bet would be the Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (532 nm, 1064 nm) while the 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser can also be used for removal of black and blue pigments.

Other factors to consider in choosing the type of laser would be the presumed absorption spectrum of the tattoo that is going to be removed. Size is also a concern as well as the laser’s wavelength and pulse duration. Different shades also different characteristics. Black and India inks are known to absorb broadly across the spectrum. For the shades blue, yellow and orange, the optimal wavelength of these pigments for pigment absorption is in an adjacent color. Green is a bit tricky because its absorption varies because of the multiple components of this shade. For the flesh-colored pigments, which include white and yellow, absorption peaks are not at the wavelength of the Q-switched lasers.

Adverse effects

As one goes through the procedure, it is always good to be aware that there are common adverse effects to be expected and it varies on the type of laser that is used for the operation. For the Q-switched ruby laser, scarring, pigment alteration and textural change may be expected to happen on the patient. Those who opt for the Q-switched alexandrite laser have noted transient hypopigmentation (50%) and textural changes (12%) among them. The Q-switched Nd:YAG laser, on the other hand, is prone to give hyperpigmentation and textural changes. However, these side effects can be addressed with complementary skin rejuvenating treatments that can diminish its appearances.

Also, it should be noted that getting rid of a tattoo is not as easy as getting it done. While you see it on the outermost layer of the skin, the inks are actually embedded on the dermis. This means that laser tattoo removal requires several treatment sessions depending on the size and the colors used in the skin art. Multicolored tattoos are the ones that require the most number of treatments because of the numerous wavelengths that are needed to treat them. There is not one laser system that can be used to remove all the inks in one blow.

Post treatment

Peeling of blistering of the treated area is expected to take place and needs three to four days to completely heal. In some cases, light bleeding happens but all these reactions are pretty normal and you do not have anything to worry about these reactions. An ice pack helps soothe the treated area. After several days, it becomes a waiting game, as the body needs 6-8 weeks to properly dispose of the ink segments.

The dreaded scarring happens in less than 2 percent of laser removal cases. But in the event that it does, use vitamin E oil over the counter silicone scar patches. A good way to prevent scarring is drinking lots of water, sleeping adequately and quitting smoking. These help boost the body’s immune system in the elimination of the pigment.

True that getting a tattoo done is one of the best examples of self-expressions. But, just like any decision, it should not be done in haste and out of whim. It is important to think through it more than a dozen times because the pain and art might not be worth it after all.

If your tattoo has become artistically or emotionally irrelevant and you want to get rid of it, Dr. Tyng Tan of the Aesthetics and Hair Clinic in Singapore will provide you with the best skin laser treatment using Q-switched Nd:YAG laser for your tattoos.

To schedule your consultation with Dr. Tan, simply fill-out our inquiry form or call us now!

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