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State Of The Art Equipment in Laser Tattoo Removal

20th April, 2010 - Posted by health news - No Comments

The newest technology for removing tattoos with a laser is called Q-switch. There are several offices in the St. Louis area that use this technique. Here’s a little bit about it.

Lasers have been used for removing tattoos since the early 1990s, although the effectiveness of the method was first reported in the late 1960s. Lasers are also used for other cosmetic purposes, such as permanently removing hair and rejuvenating the skin.

Places to get this procedure performed include hair-removal clinics, dermatologists, cosmetic surgeons, some spas, and even some tattoo shops. They may refer to the procedure as Q-switch, pulsed light or simply laser therapy. Q-switch technology is use by most modern clinics and spas that perform these services.

The first lasers put out a continuous stream of light. Q-switching creates a pulsed beam which has a much higher output then the old continuous beam lasers.

The pulsed beams are used today because they are more effective, require fewer treatments and are generally regarded as less painful. It feels similar to having a rubber band snapped against your skin. The pulsed beams also have the advantage of being less likely to burn or cause other damage to the area being treated.

There are many lasers that use the Q-switch technology, but the Medlite C6 is regarded as being the best for tattoo removal. The high energy, short pulse technology of the Medlite C6 allows tattoos to be treated with minimal risk of scarring and less discomfort than any other laser system. Another big advantage it has over other lasers is the ability to output four different wavelengths. This makes it possible to treat more colors, as opposed to other laser systems which are less effective on all but the darker colors.

Lasers remove tattoos by taking advantage of the body’s immune system that naturally removes impurities from the body, and cause tattoos fade over time. By shattering the tattoo ink into very small particles, lasers speed up this process. This makes it easier for the particles to be cleared by the body’s lymphatic system, causing no harm to the body.

Laser tattoo removal is most effective when the ink is dark. For example black and red are easier to remove than yellow and green.

Some parlors are using a new kind of ink for their tattoos. The ink is called Infinitink. It was created with the purpose of being able to be removed in one laser treatment. Other inks on the market will take several treatments (at least 3) to produce the results most people are after.

If you got your tattoo before 2009 and live in the St. Louis area, you would most likely need no less than three laser sessions to see a drastic fade in the colors. Infinitink was not widely used until 2009. At first it was only available in black, but currently it can be found in other colors as well.

Professionals in St. Louis who perform laser tattoo removal advise their clients to wait 6 to 8 weeks between treatments. The ink continues to break up and fade over that period of time. Allowing several weeks between appointments also reduces the risk of burning or damaging the skin.

The fees charged by St. Louis tattoo removal specialists vary greatly. You can expect to pay between $100 and $400 per visit, depending on the size and number of your tattoos.