FADED PODCAST
Metallic Taste During Laser Tattoo Removal Explained
If you’ve ever noticed a metallic taste during laser tattoo removal, you’re not alone. It’s a common experience that often surprises people during treatment. Many assume it’s ink or metal somehow traveling through the body to the mouth, but that explanation doesn’t hold up. The sensation has nothing to do with pigment moving to your taste buds and everything to do with how the nervous system responds to laser stimulation.
Laser tattoo removal uses high-powered energy that stimulates sensory nerves in the body. That signal travels quickly to the brain, which tries to interpret what’s happening. Because taste and smell are closely linked, the brain translates that intense sensory input into the perception of a metallic taste-even though nothing has actually entered the mouth. It’s a perception, not a physical reaction.
This sensation tends to occur more often with larger tattoos, darker or more saturated pigment, and areas where more nerve endings are located. Sensitivity definitely varies from person to person. Some people experience the metallic taste during one session and not another, while others never experience it at all. Factors like tattoo placement, laser intensity, and individual nerve response all play a role.
What's Actually Happening During Laser Tattoo Removal?
Understanding what’s happening can make the process far less intimidating. The metallic taste isn’t harmful and doesn’t indicate anything going wrong – it’s simply the nervous system reacting to intense sensory input. Knowing what to expect helps reduce anxiety and allows people to go into their laser tattoo removal sessions feeling informed, calm, and confident.
To dive deeper into this topic, watch Episode 17 of the Faded Podcast for a full breakdown and explanation.
FULL TRANSCRIPT
[00:00:00]
When you’re getting laser tattoo removal and you taste that metallic taste, it is your nervous system. It’s your nerves that are reacting and creating that perception of a taste. And it’s not actually pigment with metals in it traveling to your mouth. Like if you have a tattoo on your foot and you’re getting laser done, it definitely one hundred percent is not instantly traveling from your foot.
[00:00:23]
To your mouth. The taste perception that you have is just that, a perception. It’s not anything that’s entering your mouth, it’s just what your mind and your nerves are perceiving as happening. So why does it happen more with certain types of tattoos? Welcome back to the Faded Podcast.
[00:00:44]
This is Episode 17, and today I’m going to talk about that metallic taste that you get in your mouth when you’re getting laser tattoo removal. Have you had a metallic taste in your mouth when you got laser tattoo removal? If so, leave a little comment and let me know what you think it was or what you thought it was before you watched this video.
[00:01:06]
I’d love to know what most people think it is. I have a good idea about what people think it is, and most of you are not correct. Most people think that taste is coming from metal that’s breaking up in the pigment and traveling to their taste buds within a millisecond, and it’s really not possible for that to happen. It’s completely untrue.
[00:01:31]
What’s actually happening is your nerves are being stimulated by the laser, and it’s your perception that you have this taste in your mouth, but it’s actually not even there. It’s just a perception. So let’s dive into it a little bit deeper so we can get to the bottom of this. First, let’s clarify that nothing is traveling into your mouth from your tattoo.
[00:01:55]
Like if you have a tattoo on your foot and you’re getting laser done, it definitely one hundred percent is not instantly traveling from your foot to your mouth. The taste perception that you have is just that, a perception. It’s not anything that’s entering your mouth, it’s just what your mind and your nerves are perceiving as happening.
[00:02:18]
So it’s nothing that’s entering your mouth. Your taste buds are not actually tasting anything. It’s just a perception. It’s completely normal to have this taste, and it’s nothing that’s dangerous. But if you don’t know what it is and you start tasting it, that’s a good reason to worry a little bit.
[00:02:38]
So let’s put that to rest right now. It’s nothing that can harm you, and it’s only a perception of taste. The trigeminal nerve controls your jaw, your mouth, your teeth, your tongue, and your nasal passages. So all of these are controlled by your trigeminal nerve, but your nerve is not just right there. It extends throughout your body.
[00:03:06]
So when your body receives stimulation from the laser, it triggers that trigeminal nerve, which then reacts in a way that would give you the perception that there’s actually a taste in your mouth, but there isn’t. It’s not actually there. So what’s happening is the nerve is reacting because it’s being stimulated so acutely.
[00:03:35]
It’s not anything to worry about, and it’s not an actual metal that’s in your mouth. It’s just the nerve reacting. If you want the medical explanation, the high-powered laser stimulates sensory nerves in the skin. The brain receives an intense signal and tries to interpret it because smell and taste are tightly linked in the brain.
[00:04:03]
The sensation gets translated as a metallic taste. This is a processing shortcut by the nervous system. Doing research on that nerve, that explanation makes a lot more sense than pigment shattering and somehow traveling to your mouth for you to taste it.
[00:04:29]
Just know when you’re getting laser tattoo removal and you taste that metallic taste, it is your nervous system. It’s your nerves reacting and creating that perception of taste. It’s not pigment with metals traveling to your mouth.
[00:04:50]
That’s what’s happening. There are some things we do here during the tattoo removal process so you don’t taste that as much. We have candy, lollipops, drinks, that type of thing. You can take a sip of something or have some gummy bears and you’ll be totally fine.
[00:05:13]
That usually gets rid of the taste, and you don’t have to worry about pigment coming to your tongue because it’s not happening. That was a short and sweet explanation of the metallic taste that can happen during laser tattoo removal.
[00:05:33]
So why does it happen more with certain types of tattoos? Larger tattoos cover a larger surface area, making it more likely that the nerve gets triggered. Deeper, darker tattoos can also cause more of a reaction because the tattoo absorbs more energy from the laser. That can stimulate the nerve more as well.
[00:06:03]
Sensitivity varies from person to person. Some people experience the metallic taste and others never do. Sometimes it happens in one session and not another. It can depend on intensity, location, saturation, or placement of the tattoo. Either way, it’s a perception of taste, not anything entering your mouth.
[00:06:50]
If you’ve experienced this, feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to hear what you thought it was and whether you were worried. I usually tell people I don’t believe it’s pigment. It never made sense that a tattoo on your foot could reach your mouth in a split second.
[00:07:15]
That’s impossible. Nerves, however, are very quick. So it’s far more likely to be your nervous system than physical pigment traveling to your mouth.
[00:07:36]
There are things studios can do to reduce anxiety around this sensation. At Studio Kiku, we explain ahead of time that you may taste a metallic flavor and that it’s nerve-related. Knowing what to expect is important.
[00:07:58]
That knowledge helps reduce anxiety, and anxiety can amplify nerve perception. The less anxious you are, the less intense the sensation may feel.
[00:08:20]
A simple takeaway is this: the metallic taste isn’t ink or metal. It’s your nervous system reacting to intense sensory input, and your brain interpreting that signal as taste.
[00:08:43]
I hope this was helpful and puts any concerns to rest. Thanks for tuning in to the Faded Podcast. We’ll catch you next time.