Tattoos have always been used as a way to identify oneself with a history in the arwmed forces and motorcycle gangs as a right of passage.  In recent years tattoos have become more accepted and almost 1 out of every 4 people today has a tattoo of some sort.  The unfortunate thing is that some people get a little carried away and place names of girl friends and spouses or have a tattoo done in Vegas at 2 am that they later regret.  The problem is that it is much easier to get a tattoo than to remove one.  In removing a tattoo there are a few options.

You can have a new tattoo placed over the old tattoo hiding or incorporating the old tattoos features so they will not be seen.  This is very effective, but will require an even larger tattoo which will be even harder to remove later on.  Some have had rectangular black box tattoos applied which will cover up the old tattoo or name and are the cheapest route, but are the ugliest of alternatives.  A new tattoo that incorporates and hides the old tattoo can run from an average of $200 to over a thousand dollars depending on the size of the original and replacement tattoos and colors.  Some colors like black and blue can be more difficult to hide and incorporate so they are more expensive.

Lasers and medium depth chemical peels are the latest tools used by dermatologists and plastic surgeons in tattoo removal.  Only in rare cases does a surgeon advise the use of excision and possible grafting.  Surgical excision is used in only the most extreme of cases as it will leave permanent scars, is very expensive and patients are usually much happier with the results from laser and chemical peel therapy.  Lasers and chemical peels are usually used together as it multiplies the effects and results. 

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The laser works similar in part to the way the lasers operate in laser eye surgery.  It can be a continuous or pulsed beam of intense light that removes layers of the skin and breaks up the ink used in the tattoo.  There is usually a big difference after the first application as the tattoo will look faded, but in order for the tattoo removal to be complete several more treatments will be necessary.  Some doctors will use a TCA peel (a medium strength chemical peel) to either do the same treatment or to remove any scar tissue and or thickened skin as a result of the laser treatment.  TCA peels have been documented to increase the production of collagen and aid in the healing process increasing the turnover of skin resulting in more youthful and healthy skin.  TCA peels will also help in the tattoo removal by further fading it and blending the edges. 

Both the laser and chemical peel therapies for tattoo removal will result in some minor and temporary pain.  And the required number of treatments will all be dependent on the depth and inks used in the original tattoo.  Professionally applied tattoos will be harder to remove as they use premium inks and tend to be injected deeper in the skin (this is why they maintain their color and resist fading better over the years).  Regardless, a good regimen of treatments using both a laser (it is important to note that some color inks require different types or colors of laser for proper tattoo removal) and chemical peel like the TCA skin peel has been proven to greatly fade and even completely remove many tattoos.  Article courtesy of Bestskinpeel.com