To laser or not..

[ian]

I'm having this same dilemma. I was 18 years old and in party mode. Got a huge graffiti piece on my arm. Extremely noticeable especially while working which is annoying. I can feel people judging me to the point where It drives me insane. So I've thought about removal, but what i'm reading is that purple and green are very difficult and sometimes it will never go away. My tattoo is black outlined lettering and shaded purple. Then the background is green, i'm 22 years old and so far it's not even faded at all from sun exposure. I'm really thinking it can't be removed.

Not sure what to do.... I might be forced into keeping it forever.... Yikes I should have thought for the long run of career wise. I've been turned down at jobs because my graffiti looks gang related but really it's just art graffiti not gang related at all. Such a hard decision on what to do. I should have got it on my back or something where it's not noticeable.

You're young and have a lot of life ahead of you, if it bothers you that much you should at least look into it.

I knew I didn't like the tattoo that was on my back but I got some really high price quotes that made it seem like laser wasn't an option. I got a price from a local dermatologist that was affordable enough that it made the decision to do it easy.

[Nacho Sauce]

The problem is will it be completely gone? I have green and purple in my piece and I keep reading those are the most difficult colors.

[ian]

The problem is will it be completely gone? I have green and purple in my piece and I keep reading those are the most difficult colors.

I really can't say. I'd assume it'll just take more sessions to remove than black ink. Maybe @Mike Panic can chime in.

You could lighten it up and cover it with something less offensive/more acceptable than what's there now.

[Nacho Sauce]

I don't want a cover up thats another problem. The tattoo says "Alien" in graffiti style. It's really not offensive. But it looks great, I don't want to completely take a chance to turn a good tattoo into a scar or a green/purple bruise looking effect. I'm about to flip a coin. It could be removed completely or it could turn into disaster is what i'm thinking.

[aleksksks]

My brother is removing a tattoo right now which has quite a lot of green in it. He was also expecting the green to be quite resistant to the laser but it's actually fading pretty fast.

I really can't say whether it would disappear completely or not but from what I've seen it is fading quite noticeably so far.

Of course it depends a lot on the person's skin type, the type of ink, the immune system and other factors.

I don't know how purple reacts though, I'm not sure if he has any in his tattoo.

Just keep researching what are the best lasers for those colours and talk to some specialists before deciding what to do.

[Mike Panic]

I really can't say. I'd assume it'll just take more sessions to remove than black ink. Maybe @Mike Panic can chime in.

You could lighten it up and cover it with something less offensive/more acceptable than what's there now.

Green / Blue / Teal aren't resilient to laser treatments, you just won't start seeing the fading until the technician gets to a point in the tattoo where the joules is more intense. If the tattoo was all blue, you would set the machine up just for that, but I'm guessing you have black in it, so until the black has faded to a point where you adjust the "intensity" of the laser, you won't see a whole lot of progress in that section.

There are some facilities that have a "Ruby" laser, which operates at a different spectrum then most Q-Switched Nd:YAG lasers, but depending on the manufacture of the laser and the tech, the Q-switched one can be adjusted to treat those colors successfully.

What are you being told for total removal, treatment number wise?

[Graeme]

Green / Blue / Teal aren't resilient to laser treatments, you just won't start seeing the fading until the technician gets to a point in the tattoo where the joules is more intense. If the tattoo was all blue, you would set the machine up just for that, but I'm guessing you have black in it, so until the black has faded to a point where you adjust the "intensity" of the laser, you won't see a whole lot of progress in that section.

There are some facilities that have a "Ruby" laser, which operates at a different spectrum then most Q-Switched Nd:YAG lasers, but depending on the manufacture of the laser and the tech, the Q-switched one can be adjusted to treat those colors successfully.

What are you being told for total removal, treatment number wise?

Thanks for always putting forward really solid and useful information.

[ian]

Thanks for always putting forward really solid and useful information.

I'll second this, it's great to have a Laser Technician posting on the forum :D

[Nacho Sauce]

Green / Blue / Teal aren't resilient to laser treatments, you just won't start seeing the fading until the technician gets to a point in the tattoo where the joules is more intense. If the tattoo was all blue, you would set the machine up just for that, but I'm guessing you have black in it, so until the black has faded to a point where you adjust the "intensity" of the laser, you won't see a whole lot of progress in that section.

There are some facilities that have a "Ruby" laser, which operates at a different spectrum then most Q-Switched Nd:YAG lasers, but depending on the manufacture of the laser and the tech, the Q-switched one can be adjusted to treat those colors successfully.

What are you being told for total removal, treatment number wise?

Number wise is like 100.00 per treatment she saying can be up to 10-15 treatments. But I would need to come into the place so they can examine the tattoo rather then guessing over the phone.

[Mike Panic]

@Nacho Sauce - that's below national average for pricing - and they are on point about total number of treatments, 10-12, sometimes it's 9 sometimes it's 14. Too many variables over the phone to tell.

[Nacho Sauce]

Yeah I have an appointment tomorrow to get it checked out. Hopefully no scars and it's completely gone.

[tonyced26]

Get more tattoos!

[Nacho Sauce]

No thanks!

[Regis Gl]

I think PicoSure laser is the most efficient, do you know this laser ?

[Mike Panic]

I think PicoSure laser is the most efficient, do you know this laser ?

Based on?

Efficient in terms of operating at a pico rate, not a nano rate, but that's about it. Sure, there are some pretty dramatic results from the PicoSure, but it's also ineffective on red and from the samples I've seen, has a great chance of hypo-pigmentation.

Until there is a true Pico laser at 1064 / 532nm, I'm not interested in buying one.

[Nacho Sauce]

Yeah I switched to picosure and it has not had the results like the AlexTrivantage. Then I did research on the picosure and realized it uses a wave length a lot lower than the Q switch lazers. Picosure operates at a 700 wavelength which targets greens and blues it hits black but does not penetrate deep enough to remove black. The Q-switch lazers operate at 1064 and go deep enough to remove black. And you can actually adjust the setting for different colors.

My tattoo has black, green, purple and a pinkish salmon color. The picosure only targeted my green and left the rest of my arm pretty hypopigmentated.

Now I'm going to a different place with a a Q-Max lazer.

[Mike Panic]

@Nacho Sauce Just for clarification and accuracy, the PicoSure opperates at 755nm.

[Tattooremoval 101]

Yea that fucking purple is a nuisance. Hard to cover, and just as likely, hard to remove. I'll probably just leave that arm alone until a proper decision can be made. Maybe by that age/sun will have done enough to make lasering a better choice.

Have you looked at the Picosure? Does wonders on purple, blue and green.

[Walter Kerman]

Of course laser is the best option for tattoo removal. Even though the number of treatments depends on the size, colour, depth of ink used, It is most prefered as it is painless and effective. I underwent my laser tattoo removal treatment (Laser Tattoo Removal | Fairview Laser Clinic Toronto) 2 months back and it took about 4-5 sittings. Due to my dark complexion, Q-switched-Nd Yag laser was used for my tattoo removal and my doc also prescribed me some medicines to follow as a part of the treatment. Now my tattoo is completely gone and my skin looks just the same as before.

[SeeSea]

@Walter Kerman - do you have pictures to share showing the tattoo before and the post-laser results? That is the best recommendation you could give.

[Nacho Sauce]

I switched to a new lazer, its the Qx max. It is another Q switch lazer. It's 300$ per treatment. Hoping to fully remove my tattoo with no visible signs. Purple might be my problem.

[xcom]

This thread has become a source for spammers... :(

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@Walter Kerman - do you have pictures to share showing the tattoo before and the post-laser results? That is the best recommendation you could give.

I think he is a spammer...

[knucklehead211]

They're everywhere today!

[SeeSea]

This thread has become a source for spammers... :(

- - - Updated - - -

I think he is a spammer...

Yeah, my post was kind of a "put up or shut up."

[ItchinforInk]

Based on?

Efficient in terms of operating at a pico rate, not a nano rate, but that's about it. Sure, there are some pretty dramatic results from the PicoSure, but it's also ineffective on red and from the samples I've seen, has a great chance of hypo-pigmentation.

Until there is a true Pico laser at 1064 / 532nm, I'm not interested in buying one.

So now that the picoway is here and operates at those wavelengths, will you be purchasing it? I read it just got FDA approved.