Unwanted Tattoos

A tattoo is permanent because its ink particles are simply too large for your immune system to carry away. Removal lasers work by breaking those particles down: the pigment absorbs a pulse of light energy and shatters, and your lymphatic system gradually clears the fragments. The smaller the fragments, the faster your body can finish the job — and that's exactly where the technology has leapt forward.

Our PicoLO platform delivers energy in picoseconds — trillionths of a second — where older Q-switched systems worked in nanoseconds. That ultra-short pulse shatters ink into far finer fragments, which is why tattoos that historically needed ten to twenty sessions now typically clear in six to ten. Each session's results compound: your body keeps clearing ink for weeks afterward, which is why sessions are spaced six to eight weeks apart.

How fast your tattoo fades depends on a few honest variables. Black ink clears fastest, while certain greens and bright blues are the most stubborn. Older tattoos clear faster than fresh ones, professional work behaves differently than amateur work, and location matters — ink closer to the heart clears faster than ink on the extremities. At your complimentary consultation we assess all of it and give you a realistic session estimate, not a sales pitch.

Sessions are shorter than most people expect — five to thirty minutes depending on the tattoo's size. We apply topical numbing before treatment; the laser itself feels like quick snaps, similar to a rubber band. Immediately afterward the area shows a frosted white appearance that fades within an hour, followed by mild redness and swelling much like a sunburn. Most clients go straight back to their day.

Aftercare does real work here. Keep the area clean and protected, apply the provided ointment twice daily until healed, and for the first 48 hours skip hot showers, saunas, pools, intense exercise, and tight clothing over the area. Don't pick at any scabs or blisters, and keep SPF on the treated skin until the tattoo has fully cleared — sun exposure slows results and risks pigmentation issues. Then the spacing does its job: six to eight weeks between sessions gives your body time to clear each round of shattered ink before the next.

Two candid notes. We don't remove cosmetic tattoos — microblading, lip blush, permanent eyeliner — because cosmetic pigments respond unpredictably to laser. And removal isn't appropriate during pregnancy or breastfeeding, with a history of keloid scarring, active skin infections at the site, or Accutane use within the past six months. We screen for all of this at your consult.