Tattoos are a permanent feature on your skin, and sometimes can become a mistake (not being happy with your design or look) or your tattoo ink is getting old or tired.
Either way tattoo removal is the best option if you are sick and tired of your tattoo.
Here Is Why Tattoo Removals Are Painful:
1. Tattoo removals are generally considered more painful than getting a tattoo.
2. The experience of the artist removing the tattoo can be a factor in the pain (of the removal).
Below we have compiled 6 main questions covering tattoo removal and whether it is the right decision for you to take.
Are Tattoo Removals Painful?
Without sugar-coating anything, the truth is laser tattoo removal is very painful. Most people have experienced more pain while removing a tattoo than getting it.
It involves a level of pain that is generally compared with a bee sting or constant rubber slapping with the skin.
The pain you feel while getting your tattoo removed might be very different from someone else’s experience.
Some may say it is comparable to the pain with the tattoo being applied. Some do not feel pain at all, while others die of pain. This depends upon a number of factors.
Pain Threshold
How much pain you feel majorly depends upon your pain threshold. This is one reason every person describes their experiences differently.
The pain is not limited to the procedure. A laser can cause itching and may form blisters at the site of tattoo removal.
Emotional Condition
If you are already stressed and anxious, you will feel the pain more. Positive emotions bring down the perception to a considerable extent.
Skills and Experience of the Tattoo Artist
The pain you feel also comes down to the person removing your tattoo. A noob and an inexperienced person is likely to give more pain during the removal due to his inabilities.
However, if you get it done from an experienced person, he will think more about your comfort. You also have an option to numb the area with a numbing cream or an anesthetic.
Know that you may still feel pain even after numbing the skin.
Can You Completely Remove A Tattoo?
Complete removal of a tattoo is only possible with surgical procedures.
The part of the skin with the tattoo is cut off and the rest is stitched together.
Since this procedure leaves mark on the skin, it is not suitable for larger tattoos.
Surgical removal of a tattoo is also less costly compared to laser removal. The laser does not remove the tattoo completely; rather it fades the tattoo to an extent where it becomes unnoticeable.
Which method a person should go for again depends upon a number of factors.
This includes the colors on your tattoo, how old is it, your skin color, etc.
Tattoo Colors
If you have a tattoo with so many colors in it, it will be difficult to remove. A lot of different wavelengths and lasers may be needed to remove each color.
In addition, some colours are comparatively easier to remove than the others are. For instance, dark green, black, brown can be removed easily while yellow and purple are the hardest to remove.
Skin Color
Laser treatment works by generating high-intensity pulses that penetrate all the way through the epidermis to break the ink particles that are later absorbed by our body.
People with dark skin have a pigment that is almost similar to the ink of a tattoo. When the ink particles break, the skin pigment also breaks, thus leaving visible scars.
Age of Tattoo
It is another important factor that determines how easily the tattoo will be removed.
Since tattoos fade with time, an older tattoo will take comparatively fewer sessions to be removed compared to a new tattoo.
What Hurts More About Getting A Tattoo Or Tattoo Removal?
Tattoo removal is almost always more painful than tattoo application.
Apart from the pain threshold and emotional condition of the person, how much pain one feels also depends upon the part of the body from where the person want to remove the tattoo.
Usually, the area where the skin is closer to the bone hurts more than any other place.
The pain of tattoo removal by laser is usually compared to sunburn and bee sting. Laser is the most painful of all the processes.
However, if you want to get a small tattoo removed, surgery is the best option as it is cost-effective and at the same time, less painful.
Though tattoo-removing sessions do not last longer compared to tattoo application sessions, the former is much more irritating.
Nevertheless, you need to stay for a shorter under the discomfort of the laser during the process of tattoo removal; the after-effects can be painful as well.
Burning, itching, blisters formation and inflammation are some of the common effects.
Following aspects play a major role in making the process painful.
• Pain threshold
• Location of tattoo
• Age of tattoo
• Colors in the tattoo
• Size of the tattoo
Tattoo removal hurts more on some parts of the body than others. You will have a clear idea of this when getting the tattoo.
The pain in the case of laser treatment will be comparatively higher since it involves the generation pulse.
Part of the body that can rest after the treatment and have more fat will hurt you the least. For instance, thighs.
However, fingers, hands, feet are always in motion, the skin is closest to the bones, and nerves, irritation will be the highest at these points.
Is It Worth It Getting My Tattoo Removed?
Whether the tattoo removal is worth it or not comes down to the tattoo removal studio you chose.
If they are skilled professionals and know how to do their job, the entire painful process will definitely be worth it.
A number of laser removal sessions fade the tattoo to the extent where you can get another one on that part of the skin without any difficulty.
If you do not like the design and simply want to replace a better one of your choice, it is recommended just to get the tattoo fade.
It will just fade the ink and after getting healed, you can get a new design on it. This is much more effective and cost lower than getting the whole tattoo removed.
If the tattoo is small, it will not take long in getting removed. However, for bigger tattoos, you might need to have several sessions with a gap of at least one week between each session for the healing of the skin.
Bleeding, inflammation, and infection are some common effects of lasers that can be treated in a short time under the supervision of a dermatologist.
While these were the short-term effects, the laser may also cause long-term hypopigmentation that refers to lighter or paler skin than its surrounding, or hyperpigmentation that means darker skin than the surrounding area.
The laser may also cause different skin problems in people with sensitivity. It is better to always get the tattoo removed by a highly skilled professional.
Will removing a tattoo leave scars on my skin?
People usually do not get scarring from tattoo removal. If the task is performed by a professional with all the precautions and even better aftercare, it is unlikely for scars to occur.
The laser basically targets the ink and breaks it into small particles.
Different lasers and wavelengths are used for different colours. If the amount of laser bombarded on a particular area is excessive than the possibility of side effects and scars is higher.
Here is an important thing to note that bleeding and blisters are very common. They are helpful in the removal of tattoos as the body is trying to absorb the particles of pigment that the laser destroyed.
A week or two later, blisters are all gone and you are ready for the next session.
The risk of scarring is almost negligible if the person is a removal specialist and knows how to handle laser. Even in this case, there is a risk of skin getting paler or darker. You need not care about scars.
Moreover, to be on the safer side, it is necessary to be aware of your medical history and if you have any sort of skin disease, let the dermatologist know about it.
Is There a Way To Speed Up Tattoo Removal?
Tattoo removal can speed up by speeding up the healing process between sessions. Remember that healthy skin will make the whole process much more convenient for you.
However, you cannot hurry all the way or you might end up doing permanent damage to your skin.
You can heal the blisters in a short time with a lot of natural food. Here are some ways that will help you heal faster.
- Do not smoke or take any drug during the healing period
- Get adequate sleep
- Drink enough water
- Maintain a diet that is high on protein and low on sugar
- Avoid the sun for a few days
- Do exercise regularly
- Use a safe moisturizer for your skin, preferably water-based
- Boost your immune system by living healthily
- Try to reduce your stress as much as you can
- Do not get a new tattoo on any part of your body unless you get the one removed completely
- Take supplements for boosting the immune system
- Do more massage on the affected area
- Rest the affected part for at least 48 hours
Boosting the immune system and staying positive is the goal. A better immune system means quick recovery. Recovering steadily means shorter gaps between the sessions.
Make sure to avoid overworking during these days and try to keep the workload minimum to reduce stress. With more positive energy, you will feel less pain and will heal quicker.