The Tattoo
A tattoo is made up of large particles of pigment injected into the skin, which the body considers to be invasive.
It rejects foreign objects and attempts to remove them, but the particles of ink that make up a tattoo are too large.
The body therefore responds by encapsulating the particles in a wall of collagen that effectively traps it within the skin permanently.
Tattoo Removal by Laser
Q-Switched Lasers work by producing very short pulses of intense light that pass harmlessly through the epidermis layer (top layers) of the skin to be selectively absorbed by the tattoo pigment laying in the dermis.
This energy, measured in nanoseconds (ns) heats the particles rapidly which causes an explosive fragmentation of the collagen capsule and the tattoo pigment. The process is known as the photoacoustic effect
The laser light penetrates the particles without cutting or burning the skin.
These tiny fragments are then small enough to be recognised by the body as a foriegn object and removed through the body's own immune system over the next 4 to 8 weeks (although can still be for up to a year). After the 4 to 8 week period, as long as the skin has fully healed the treatment can be repeated to remove further layers of pigment.
A series of treatments are usually always necessary for the tattoo to progressivly fade. This can take anywhere between 5 and 20 treatments, depending on the colour and depth of the tattoo. Anti-bacterial ointments are used after the procedure and some continued skin care is necessary until the removal site heals completely.