Tattoo removal is not a new invention. In fact, it has been practiced for centuries. At one time, treatments consisted of applications of urea with acetic acid. These took the form of applying pigeon poop mixed with vinegar or urinal foam mixed with vinegar. Cantharidin (Spanish fly), a skin irritant, was also used, mixed with sulfur and oil.

A treatment used during the fourth century begins with the application of saltpeter and white spirit directly to the tattoo, followed a week later by pricking or scrubbing the area with salt. This is followed by a new application of the saltpeter and turpentine mixture, which then sits on the tattoo for 20 days. Oh.

Centuries later, tattoo removal is still an exciting experience.

Any success achieved by any of these methods was obtained by irritating and then abrading the skin. This produced a prolonged inflammation that favored the migration of the pigment to the surface. Scarring and skin discoloration of the skin were quite common, and tattoo removal was usually incomplete. As time passed, pharmaceuticals and instruments became more sophisticated. But, until lasers came into use during the 1990s, all tattoo removal techniques were more or less improvements and variations on the abrasion/inflammation method of yore. Dermabrasion, for example, uses chemical agents (such as caustic acids or salt) or sandpaper to remove layers of skin, including the layer that contains the tattoo pigment. This method has limited success because the tattoo ink is often implanted very deep into the skin, and a dermatologist can only go so far in removing the skin before beginning to skin the patient. Understandably, dermabrasion can cause severe and traumatic permanent scarring that can be worse than the original tattoo.

During a related process known as microdermabrasion, layers of skin are sandblasted away. It does not seem to be more successful or less painful than dermabrasion. Glycolic peels, while effective at rejuvenating the skin, burn only the top layer with glycolic acid and don’t go deep enough to remove tattoos.

Current Tattoo Removal Methods

Chopping and cutting:

Small tattoos can be surgically removed through a staged excision; the surgeon cuts the tattoo one section at a time. Permanent scarring results and the technique does not work well on “homemade” tattoos where the ink has generally been injected deeper into the skin than professional tattoos. (Laser surgery works with “homemade” tattoos because the ink used is not permanent and breaks easily.) Larger tattoos can be surgically removed using a technique called tissue expansion. A balloon is placed under the meat and inflated. Over a period of time, the skin is slowly stretched and the tattoo is cut off. The stretched skin is pulled over the excised area, and the suture leaves only a slight, linear scar.

Laser tattoo removal:

“Dissolving” a tattoo with a laser is currently the method of choice, although it requires months and possibly even years of sessions three to four weeks apart and rarely removes all of the pigment. The principle behind the process is that the tattoo pigment absorbs intense pulses of laser light which then breaks the pigment into smaller pieces. These pieces are more easily attacked and destroyed by the body’s own defenses.

There is never a guarantee that a tattoo can be completely removed with a laser. Success depends on the size of the tattoo, how old it is, what pigments were used, your immune system, and a myriad of other factors. Colors such as turquoise, light green and yellow require more treatments than black ink, and where white (titanium oxide) has been used, the client must wait for it to fade before lasering; fading can take up to 10 years from the time the tattoo was created.

Tattoo Removal Costs: When It Really Starts To Hurt

While laser treatment isn’t as bad as a tattoo needle stick, greater pain comes with the medical bill you’ll incur. Insurance does not cover cosmetic tattoo removal and the bill will likely be a minimum of $1,000. The maximum is equivalent to something like a new car, depending on where you live and how complex the disposal process is.

In some areas, there are programs that offer teens free laser gang tattoo removal.

Yes, tattoos are a pain to get rid of. Because? For the same reason you got that tattoo instead of using a decal, you wanted something permanent.