The Permanency of Tattoos
Tattoos are designed to be permanent by embedding ink into the dermis, the deepest layer of skin. Once embedded, your body detects the ink particles as foreign material and sends phagocytes, white blood cells that protect your body, to remove them. Phagocytes are white blood cells that protect your body’s immune system by eating harmful foreign substances such as bacteria, dead cells, and ink particles.
Due to the deep insertion and large size of the ink particles, your body’s immune system is unable to “eat up” the foreign ink particles, allowing tattoos to remain trapped in the dermis permanently.
The Removal Process
Laser tattoo removal is an exciting procedure that uses advanced laser technology to shatter the ink in your skin and help your body flush it out. Laser tattoo removal is the only noninvasive method that can safely penetrate deep into your skin, effectively shatter ink, and leave your skin tattoo and damage free.
During a treatment, our Astanza Duality laser will emit wavelengths of light energy onto your tattoo to be absorbed by the ink particles. Upon impact, the ink particles will shatter into tiny fragments that are small enough to be eaten and removed by your body’s phagocytes. You will see your tattoo fade more and more the weeks following each treatment until no ink is visible. Our Astanza Duality produces ultra-high peak power for optimal ink shattering and fast removal.
Your Body’s Immune System
It is important to understand that laser tattoo removal relies heavily on your body’s immune system. Laser tattoo removal is a team effort that requires 50% of work from the laser and 50% of work from your body.
Many patients believe that the laser does most, if not all, of the work to remove ink. However, the laser only shatters the ink – it is your immune system that works to remove the ink from your skin. Maintaining a healthy immune system will guarantee faster removal and improve the results of your laser tattoo removal procedure.