How many laser tattoo removal sessions does it take to remove a tattoo completely, and why does it take so long?
Billy DeCola, founder of Studio Kiku, walks through laser tattoo removal session by session: how many sessions to expect, how far apart they are, and what makes one tattoo fade faster than another.
A tattoo could come off in one session with the laser turned all the way up, but it would leave a scar in the exact same shape as the tattoo. For a dark, saturated tattoo, the honest answer is somewhere between 9 and 12 sessions for complete removal, spaced at least two months apart. That is a year and a half to two years, and sometimes longer. Some tattoos need fewer than nine sessions and some need more.
The laser is fast, but the body is slow. The laser finds the pigment in the skin and shatters it into tiny particles, and the lymphatic system picks those particles up slowly. Studio Kiku waits a minimum of two months between sessions to give the body that time, so coming in more often does not make a tattoo fade quicker.
A new tattoo needs at least 12 weeks before removal starts. After an assessment, the first three or four sessions are two months apart. Somewhere between sessions three and six the pigment really starts to break up, and tattoos normally do not fade evenly: light shading goes first, and deep, saturated lines take longer. Once the pigment is breaking down, Studio Kiku recommends waiting at least three to four months between sessions. Lightening a tattoo for a cover-up normally takes fewer sessions, and the new design and the artist decide how many.
What makes removal faster or slower: how saturated the tattoo is, how deep the pigment sits, where it is on the body, scar tissue, the pigment itself and the age of the tattoo. A small tattoo does not always mean fewer sessions.
Probably the most important factor is health. Once the pigment is broken up, it is up to the body to remove it, and a healthy, active person will most likely see better results. Staying hydrated, eating healthy, exercising and getting good sleep all help.
For a quote, send a photo at https://studiokiku.com/faded for honest feedback. Anyone not near a Studio Kiku location can take these questions to their consultation: how far apart the sessions are spaced, and whether they start gently and work up as the pigment fades.
This video is not medical advice.
0:00 Can a Tattoo Come Off in One Session?
0:25 How Many Sessions Does It Take?
0:54 The Laser Is Fast, Your Body Is Slow
1:34 Session by Session
2:50 What Makes It Faster or Slower
5:30 Your Health
6:15 Get a Real Number for Your Tattoo
More from the FADED Podcast and Studio Kiku: https://studiokiku.com/faded
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