6 Common Myths About Tattoo Removal

Every year, more people are getting themselves tattooed for several reasons. Some people get tattoos as part of their personal expression or as a way of memorializing a particular person, event, place, culture, or meaningful memory. Others may get them due to media influence. Meanwhile, others may get a tattoo for the wrong reasons, such as peer pressure, rebellion, or because they’re heavily influenced by drugs or alcohol.

Even if you got a tattoo for the right or wrong reason, there might come a point in your life where you’ll regret it. Perhaps you got tattooed while drunk, which means you weren’t thinking clearly during that time. Or, maybe you tattooed your ex-partner’s name or face, and now that you’re not together, it’s not anymore relevant to you. Or, perhaps you got that particular tattoo because that celebrity influenced you, and now that it’s outdated, you ended up regretting it.

Thankfully, there are several options you can try to help you get rid of your unwanted tattoo. Tattoo removal is done in different ways, such as laser treatments, dermabrasion, chemical peels, and surgical excision. Unfortunately, many people would choose to live with their unwanted tattoos instead of having them professionally removed due to the common myths surrounding tattoo removal that are all untrue.

And so, this post will present to you the six common myths about tattoo removal and debunk them.

1. The Pain from Laser Tattoo Removal Is Unbearable

One of the famous and most recommended ways for tattoo removal is laser treatment. Laser tattoo removal treatment uses concentrated energy to apply heat and shatter the ink underneath your skin into tinier particles. Eventually, the tiny ink particles in your skin will be naturally removed by your own body’s immune system.

By the sound of it, laser tattoo removal may seem a painful and very unbearable process. Yet in reality, people who often claim or think that laser tattoo removal is painfully excruciating are those who’ve never tried it before or don’t understand the treatment process.

So, how painful is tattoo removal via laser treatment? To debunk this myth, laser tattoo removal isn’t as painful as many of you may assume. Although you may feel some painful sensations, especially during your first laser treatment session, the discomfort is short-lived. Others who’ve tried laser tattoo removal may compare the pain to having a rubber band snap against your skin.

The thing is, the level of discomfort may depend on where your unwanted tattoo is located in your body. For instance, removing tattoos on your ribs, wrists, or feet may be more discomforting than removing tattoos from your arms or legs. In that case, your tattoo removal specialist will apply a topical anesthetic cream on your skin to ease the pain. After the laser treatment’s over, the discomfort will also subside.

2. You Can Use A Tattoo Removal Cream

Are tattoo removal creams really effective? The short and quick answer to this myth is no.

Your tattoo isn’t an ordinary surface addition that you can remove by simply applying the cream. That’s why tattoos are considered permanent because the ink is injected underneath your skin, not just on the surface. At best, the tattoo removal cream will only fade the ink despite repetitive use, leaving you with a discolored and distorted version of your tattoo, eventually becoming a permanent scar.

Further, using tattoo removal cream without professional recommendation or supervision can be dangerous. They’re not approved yet by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and some of them may contain chemicals, like trichloroacetic acid, that can cause the following side effects:

• Skin peeling;
• Burning;
• Redness;
• Inflammation;
• Rashes;
• Skin discoloration;
• Permanent scarring, and the like.

Thus, whether you have skin allergies or not, it’s best to avoid using tattoo removal creams and consult a professional for a safer and more reliable way of removing your tattoos.

3. It’s Impossible To Get Rid Of New Tattoos

Did you just recently get inked only to regret your tattoo a few days later? In cases like this, most people tend to wait out on their new tattoos to reach a few months or years before they have them removed. This is due to the myth that new tattoos are impossible to remove. In truth, it’s never too soon when removing a tattoo.

As long as your new tattoo has properly healed, you can book your laser tattoo removal treatment when ready. But if you’re wondering, older tattoos are much easier to remove than the newer ones since they have already faded over time.

4. Laser Tattoo Removal Can Burn Your Skin and Leave Permanent Scars

Since laser tattoo removal is the most popular method of removing tattoos, it’s also the one most commonly surrounded by myths. One of these is that many people believe laser tattoo removal can burn your skin and cause permanent scarring simply because it’s a light-based therapy.

The truth is, the concentrated energy used during the laser treatment is aimed at your pigment to break down the ink, not on your skin. This means that during the whole process, your skin is safe and will never experience any burns or scars. Plus, you must follow the doctor’s instructions about proper aftercare to ensure you don’t experience any painful side effects or potential scarring.

5. Tattoos Can Be Removed In One Session

As much as you want to get rid of that unwanted tattoo immediately, there’s no way you can have it removed in one session.

So, if you ever read or find any tattoo removal clinic claiming they can remove your tattoos in one session, understand that it’s only a marketing strategy and you’ll leave their treatment disappointed. If there’s any way you can entirely remove your tattoo in one go, it’s by doing it surgically, which is more painful, costlier, and poses complications.

Removing your tattoo via traditional laser removal will take multiple sessions. You can consult your doctor or dermatologist so they can discuss with you several tattoo removal methods and how many sessions you’ll need before the tattoo is completely removed. This way, you can manage your expectations and, at the same time, prepare your budget.

6. Black Tattoo Ink Is The Hardest To Remove

It’s said that the colors of your tattoo can affect the complexity of the removal process. Some may say black is the toughest to remove due to its dark shade. In reality, black tattoo ink is the easiest one to work on since it has fewer additives than the other colors. Meanwhile, tattoo inks like yellow and red are harder and may require more treatment sessions.

The Bottom Line

Now that the common myths are debunked, you know how tattoo removal works and which method is the safest and most effective. So, if you’re currently wearing a tattoo you regret, find the best tattoo removal clinic in your area and schedule a consultation for your tattoo removal.

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