The Most Frequently Asked Questions about Laser Tattoo Removal

[00:00:00] Billy: Welcome back to The Faded podcast. Today I’m gonna answer the five most frequently asked questions that we get at Studio Kiku on a daily basis about laser tattoo removal. My name’s Billy de Nicola. I’m the owner of Studio Kiku, one of the most trusted and well-known laser tattoo removal studios in the world.

[00:00:20] Billy: When the facts aren’t clear about a service like laser tattoo removal, it’s really easy to go into the process with the wrong expectations.

[00:00:29] Billy: And when that happens, things can go sideways. So let me answer these questions and hopefully at the end you’ll be a lot more informed about the process of laser tattoo removal. Question number one. does it hurt? We get this question all the time. Everybody wants to know if it hurts or not. I think it hurts.

[00:00:48] Billy: A lot of people think it hurts. Some people say it doesn’t hurt at all. A lot of people compare it to a rubber band being snapped on your skin. I think it’s a little bit more spicy than that, [00:01:00] but We’re gonna say it feels like a rubber band being snapped on your skin.

[00:01:03] Billy: There are some things that we do and that we recommend you do to help with the pain. So here are some things that we. Do at the studio and some things that we recommend. We always ice the treatment area before, during, and after. Session. And the reason why we do that is just to cool the skin off. When you ice something, it’s gonna numb the skin a little bit and it’s also gonna cool the tissue down so it’s not gonna be as painful.

[00:01:33] Billy: Ice definitely helps with alleviating some of the painWe use the Zimmer chiller, which blows 30 degrees below zero air during the process.

[00:01:42] Billy: And when we’re blowing the air, we laser at the same time and that way the skin is cooling as the laser’s being done. So not only do we ice the cool the skin, but we blow cold air. And the combination of both definitely cools the skin down, which alleviates a lot of pain. 

[00:01:58] Billy: Some of our clients [00:02:00] choose to use numbing cream as well, and if you use numbing cream, the best thing to do is put it on about 45 minutes before you come in. Put some saran wrap or plastic wrap on so it doesn’t dry up or rub off with your clothing or whatever, and just let it marinate for about 45 minutes.

[00:02:16] Billy: When you come in, we’ll take the plastic off, we’ll clean off the skin really well. And we will get started with the process. So the combination of numbing cream and ice and cold air definitely alleviates a lot of the pain and it’s completely bearable.

[00:02:36] Billy: Obviously, different parts of your body will hurt more. I always tell people. You’re ticklish in a spot, then you’re probably more sensitive than somewhere where you’re not ticklish. So usually under the armpits, the ribs, the inner thigh, those areas are usually more sensitive than other areas like your forearm or your shoulder or your chest, somewhere like that.

[00:02:59] Billy: [00:03:00] So different locations, and it’s not the same for each person. Everybody’s wired a little differently, but some people have more sensitive areas than others. The next question we get all the time is how many sessions is it gonna take?

[00:03:14] Billy: And that’s a very difficult question for us to answer because there are a number of variables that will. Dictate how quickly or slowly the pigment will be removed. let’s go over those real quickly. number one would be the depth of the pigment. So the deeper the pigment, the more difficult it is to remove.

[00:03:34] Billy: Number two would be saturation. The more pigment that’s put into the skin, the more difficult it is to remove whether or not there’s scar tissue there or not will definitely have an impact on. The removal process. A lot of times people get a tattoo and during the process of getting the tattoo, the skin is scarred.

[00:03:54] Billy: If there’s scar tissue there, that kind of acts as a shield between the laser and the [00:04:00] pigment. So the scar tissue will protect that pigment from being targeted by the laser, or the pigment may be lodged in the scar tissue. Either way, scar tissue has an impact on. how effective the laser is.Another factor is, the type of pigment that’s used. Some pigment just comes right out and other pigment is a lot more stubborn. Last, but not least, your body, everybody’s body is different, so that will have an impact on how quickly or how slowly the tattoo is removed. The more healthy you are, the more active, the more exercise.

[00:04:39] Billy: Quicker and more efficient. The removal process will be if you’re unhealthy and if you don’t exercise, if you’re a couch potato, then it’s gonna take a longer time. That’s just a fact. Those are the factors that play a role in how quickly the tattoo will be removed. So now that we got that out of the way, [00:05:00] let’s talk about gen.

[00:05:01] Billy: I’ll give you some general numbers here. So if you’re looking to just fade a tattoo. normally anywhere between three and six sessions would be enough to fade it, and a lot of our clients come in and they wanna fade a tattoo so they can cover it up. And we’ll get into coverups at the end of this video.

[00:05:19] Billy: But just for. general terms, will probably lighten your tattoo enough up so you can cover it up with a new tattoo. If you’re looking for complete removal on a darker, more saturated tattoo, maybe something, something like this,you’re probably looking at anywhere between nine and 12 sessions for complete removal.

[00:05:42] Billy: Now, that’s definitely not. Standard for everybody. Some people require more. Some people require less, but on average, a dark tattoo on a normal person will take anywhere between nine and 12 sessions. Now, if you wait longer in between [00:06:00] sessions, instead of waiting two months in between sessions, if you decide you wanna wait four months or six months, then you’re probably gonna have to come in less to get laser because the pigment will continue to fade over time.

[00:06:14] Billy: So if you want to come in less, if you wanna put your body through less trauma, and if you wanna spend less money, then just space the sessions out more. Some of our clients come in once a year. And when we see them come back in for their second or third or subsequent treatments, it’s always like, wow, look at how much that faded over the course of one year.

[00:06:35] Billy: And we only hit it one time or two times, the more time you put in between sessions the more fading you’re gonna see bottom line. So that was how many sessions it’s gonna take. Next is how much, and those are kind of tied together because if you come in less, if you wait more in between sessions, then you’re gonna spend less [00:07:00] money.

[00:07:00] Billy: We normally base the cost on the size of the tattoo, and we have a minimum here at our studio. At Studio Kiku, we charge a minimum of 200. Per session. And that could be for something the size of a business card, anything bigger than that, the prices start going up a little bit, but we base it per session.

[00:07:23] Billy: we do offer some package deals. So if you get a three pack. Like three sessions and you prepay, then we discount that 20%. And if you decide to go with the complete removal package, which a lot of people who are looking to completely remove their tattoo, decide to go with, what we do is we take the price for the single session and we multiply at times six and a half, and that’s the formula that we use to price out complete removal packages.

[00:07:55] Billy: Sometimes it’s worth it for people who wanna completely remove it. If you’re [00:08:00] looking to just fade a tattoo, then complete removal’s not for you. There are times when we do not offer the complete removal. That’s when you have a coverup. Uh, you know, if you’re gonna be removing a coverup, we’re not gonna give you the complete removal for that.

[00:08:15] Billy: And if there’s a bunch of scar tissue there, or if there are colors that we feel will not. respond well to the laser. We will not offer the complete removal package. Complete removal package covers as many sessions as needed to reach maximum amount of fading that does not mean that we guarantee complete removal.

[00:08:36] Billy: That just means that we’ll do it until we’ve reached either a plateau or if we’ve removed it completely, one or the other. Another question we get all the time is, how long do I have to wait after getting tattooed, before getting laser tattoo removal? 

[00:08:53] Billy: People get tattoos and they have immediate remorse or regret, and they call us up the next day or the next [00:09:00] week and they’re like, Hey, I need to get this tattoo removed immediately. 

[00:09:03] Billy: We normally recommend waiting at least three months after getting your tattoo, before you start the removal process, and that’s the same for body tattoos as it is for permanent makeup. I did make a episode all about permanent makeup removal.

[00:09:19] Billy: Frequently asked questions. So if you have questions about permanent makeup removal, check out that podcast 

[00:09:25] Billy: and last but definitely not least, can I get a coverup over a tattoo that I’m getting lasered? A lot of people don’t know that.

[00:09:36] Billy: You can tattoo over a tattoo that’s been removed or lightened, and that’s a very, very common thing. We have so many clients coming in who are full bodies are full, but they just want to open up some space for some better artwork. And what they do is they come in, they’ll hit their tattoo a few times, lighten it up, and [00:10:00] then cover it up.

[00:10:01] Billy: Coverup tattoos are a whole different story. In order to get a coverup, it will require some communication with your tattoo artist. So depending on what design you’re getting to cover up the old tattoo, and depending on what the old tattoo is, we’ll kind of dictate how many sessions will be required.

[00:10:21] Billy: What we normally recommend is for you to communicate with your new tattoo artist or the tattoo artist who’s gonna be doing the coverup, and check in with them periodically to see if the tattoo has faded enough. So the new tattoo will be able to cover it. And you know, sometimes it’s confusing for people coming in because they don’t know what tattoo they’re gonna get to cover up the old tattoo yet.

[00:10:46] Billy: But they still ask well, how many sessions do I need in order to cover this tattoo up? And without knowing what the new design is, it’s impossible to know how late you need to get the tattoo. That you’re covering. [00:11:00] So if you’re covering something up, let’s say you’re covering up a small little design like, like this peach, for example, on my wrist.

[00:11:08] Billy: Suppose you’re covering that up with a panther head, like a black Panther head. you barely have to lighten that tattoo at all in order to cover it up with that tattoo. But suppose you’re getting some fine line. Flower, that’s all negative space and just some line work done in order to cover that peach up.

[00:11:31] Billy: With that fine line tattoo, you’re gonna have to get that peach a lot lighter than you would if you’re gonna cover it up with the panther. So depending on what the new tattoo is. That will dictate how light you need to get the tattoo that you’re covering up. But like I said, I always recommend communicating with your artist.

[00:11:52] Billy: Figure out what design you’re gonna get and check in with your artist. Ask ’em or ask her, how light do I need this? [00:12:00] Is it ready? Or should I go back and get more sessions? And that’s the case for all coverups. No matter what type of coverup it is. I always recommend communicating with your tattoo artist.

[00:12:13] Billy: So you guys are on the same page. And that does it for the most frequently asked questions that we get on a daily basis at Studio Kiku about laser tattoo removal. 

[00:12:24] Billy: Thanks again for tuning in and we’ll see you again.