Approximately 3 in 10 people in the US have at least one tattoo, an increase of 21% of people with a tattoo in 2012. As tattoos have become more the norm, some employers are even relaxing their dress codes to include body ink. Despite greater acceptance, tattoo regret continues to be a genuine concern.

Depending on the survey you look at, tattoo regret may range from 23-78% of people with at least one tattoo. While some choose to remove their ink for professional reasons (not all employers are allowing them), other causes of tattoo regret might include:

• The tattoo was not well done
• Dislike of the design
• Tattoo no longer holds significance
• The tattoo represents a broken relationship
• Negative professional or social impact
• Ink no longer fits a person’s lifestyle
• Role model considerations with children

The good news is that laser tattoo removal is not painful. The doctors at our NYC skin care clinic provide a variety of options for comfortable treatments including topical numbing, local anestheia and ProNox (nitrous oxide) before treatment to keep patients comfortable during the procedure. After treatment, patients may experience some redness, tenderness, swelling, and scabbing as the skin heals.

Optimal removal requires multiple treatment sessions, typically spaced 4-8 weeks apart to allow the skin to fully heal between procedures. The number of sessions needed will vary, depending on the size and location of the tattoo, ink colors and quality, and the patient’s skin tone. We remove most tattoos in 6-12 treatment sessions. Your doctor will be able to give you a better estimate of how many sessions you will need at your in-person consultation.

Scarring is very unusual, as long as you care for the treatment area properly after your procedure. The biggest risk is leaving some lightening of your natural skin color. Post-treatment instructions include protecting skin from direct sun exposure and using a topical ointment daily to accelerate the healing process.

It is not unusual for patients to come to us asking to remove a part of a tattoo, while leaving the rest of the design intact. Thanks to the precision of our lasers, we can easily eliminate even the smallest details without affecting the rest of your body art. For example, patients often want to remove a name from a design, but leave the rest of the image for a touch-up by their artist later on.

There are many places that offer laser tattoo removal in New York City, but not all will provide the level of expertise, experience, and patient care you will receive at Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York. We have a full range of laser devices that treat all tattoo colors.  Because all of our treatments are performed by our board-certified dermatologists, patients can rest assured they will receive a safe and effective procedure with every treatment session. If you have body art you would like to remove, schedule your treatments at Laser & Skin Surgery Center today.