Show Notes
Billy breaks down what actually determines how long laser tattoo removal takes, from pigment saturation and depth to the type of pigment used, scar tissue, application method, and your personal health. He explains why a dark, deep tattoo often needs 9 to 12 sessions spaced at least two months apart, and why patience leads to fewer sessions and less trauma to the skin. He also gives an honest answer to the most common question of all, whether a tattoo can ever be removed completely.
Topics Covered
The variables that affect removal speed
Billy walks through the six factors he assesses, including saturation level, how deep the pigment sits, the type of pigment used, scar tissue, and how the tattoo was applied. Each one changes how quickly a tattoo will fade.
How many sessions to expect
A dark, deep tattoo usually takes 9 to 12 sessions spaced at least two months apart, which works out to roughly a year and a half to two years. The exact number depends on the tattoo in front of him.
Why spacing sessions out matters
Studio Kiku recommends closer spacing for the first three or four sessions, then stretching the gaps to three or four months and beyond. Giving the body more time between sessions means fewer sessions overall and less money spent.
Your health is part of the process
Removal is a team effort, and once you leave the studio your lymphatic system does the work of clearing broken pigment. Hydration, healthy eating, regular exercise, and good sleep all help your body process the results.
Why nobody can promise 100% removal
The laser reliably breaks the pigment, but no one can know in advance whether your body will clear every particle. Billy will give an honest estimate, often around 80% to 90%, and warns that anyone guaranteeing complete removal is not telling the truth.
Full Transcript
We're never ever going to tell you that we're sure that we can remove that tattoo 100% and if anybody's telling you that they're lying.
Let's talk about laser tattoo removal. How many sessions are you going to need? Is your tattoo going to be removed completely? These are the questions that we get every day and this is probably what you're wondering and why you're here.
So let me break it down for you. My name's Billy DeCola. I'm the owner of Studio Kiku. We're one of the most trusted and well-known laser tattoo removal studios in the world.
We see tattoos every single day. We laser tattoos. We laser permanent makeup. We even put tattoos on so we understand the process.
But let me break down exactly how many sessions you're going to need. You probably want me to answer that, don't you? It's very very hard to give you that answer, especially if I haven't seen your tattoo. And what are the things that I'm looking for when I look at that tattoo?
I'm looking at how saturated the tattoo is. I'm looking at how deep the pigment was placed in your skin. I'm going to check and see if there's any scar tissue there. I'm going to check the colors that were used and I'm going to try to determine what pigment was used if I can.
And I'm going to look at your skin tone. And after looking at all of those variables and understanding the circumstances, I'll be able to give you a little bit of feedback based on our experience lasering tattoos every single day. So let's just recap the variables that have an impact on your tattoo and how quickly it will be removed. Number one, the saturation level.
Number two, how deep the pigment was placed in your skin. Number three, the type of pigment that was used. Number four, if there's scar tissue there or not. And number five, how the tattoo was applied.
Number six is your personal health. Laser tattoo removal is a team effort. We do our job here, and once you leave the studio, it's up to you to keep your body healthy and to make your lymphatic system work as efficiently as possible. So, we have hydration, we have eating healthy, we have exercising regularly.
Another thing, get good sleep. Sleeping well will help boost your immune system. You have a big part in this. So, let's talk about how many sessions you're going to need to remove your tattoo.
When we look at a dark, deep tattoo, we normally tell somebody it's going to take anywhere between 9 and 12 sessions.
spaced out at least two months apart. So, we're looking at a year and a half to two years for a deep, dark tattoo. Now, that's a lot of sessions in a pretty short period of time. Every two months, it may sound like a long time, but that's pretty quick.
That's putting it right back-to-back. What we normally recommend here at Studio Kiku is to come in for the first three or four sessions and space it out two months apart. After that, once you've broken the pigment down quite a bit, we normally recommend waiting at least three or four months in between sessions. And then, once you get past another three sessions or so, then we're going to tell you to space it out even further.
Being impatient means more sessions and more money spent. And both of those, you're trying to get to the same end point, which is you don't want to see that tattoo anymore. One thing about less sessions is there's less trauma to your skin. Everybody wants to get rid of it as quickly as possible, but if you wait and you're patient, your body's going to do the work and you're going to be happy at the end.
And the big question that we get all the time is will this tattoo be 100% gone? That's one that we cannot answer. We know that the laser works. We know the pigment's going to break.
But, we do not know if your body is capable of picking up those pigment particles. So, that's the factor that we have no clue what's going on. But, at a glance, we don't know how healthy you are. We can take a guess.
" But, we don't know. So, without knowing your personal health, it would be impossible for us to give you an honest answer. So, what we're going to tell you is we'll do our very best and we'll most likely be able to get it 90% or 80%, whatever we think. But, we're never, ever going to tell you that we're sure that we can remove that tattoo 100%.
And if anybody's telling you that, they're lying. I hope this kind of answers your question about how many sessions you're going to need and what variables play a factor in that. And finally, I hope I answered your question or at least gave you an honest answer about the question we get all the time, which is can you remove this tattoo completely? Thanks again for watching the Faded Podcast and we'll see you again next time.