Gone are the days when tattoos were only gotten on places like the upper arms and laps, nowadays, people get tattoos on different parts of the body like the neck and legs.
Laser hair removal is a method of eradicating hair permanently by destroying the hair follicles. There is a direct relationship between tattoos and laser hair removal treatment due to the way laser hair removal works and the question arrives that does laser hair removal damage tattoos. Laser hair removal works by focusing on the pigment or melanin of the hair with light wavelengths, and, since damage tattoos are dark pigments, they will surely be affected somehow. The parts of the body with dark and thick hair are usually more targeted during laser hair removal, so this makes it easy for the pigment of tattoos to be confused with hair follicles. Since laser hair removal is majorly an automated method, it is better to avoid errors of confusion because the removal equipment cannot be communicated to like humans- lasers locate dark pigment and destroy the follicles underneath automatically.
There is a common belief that laser hair removal is impossible if someone has a tattoo on their body. Although this is not necessarily true or false, the truth is that it depends on a few factors.
One of the most important factors to consider is the location of the tattoo. The location of the tattoo on your body will determine if you can have a laser hair removal treatment. The closer the tattoo is to where you want to have a laser treatment on, the riskier it is for you to have a laser hair removal. This implies that if you have a tattoo somewhere very close to where you want to remove hair, it may not be possible for you to have laser hair removal without damaging the skin. For example, if you have a tattoo on your lap and you want to remove the hair on your legs, you can expect some kind of skin problems. On the other hand, if you have a tattoo on your upper back, you wouldn’t have any issues with your laser hair removal. It is important to have in mind before you get a new tattoo that laser hair removal cannot be done close to the area covered with damage tattoos.
Now the ideal question is, “how far is safe enough?”. There have been many different stories of people who have suffered serious skin issues like burns after having laser hair removal close to their tattoos by amateurs who do not
follow required guidelines. Generally, laser hair removal should be at least 3cm far away from the tattooed skin, although laser hair removal may still lighten the color of the tattoo. Anything closer than this may be very hazardous to the skin as the laser light may be attracted to the dark ink of the tattoo. This may result in third-degree burns to the skin or other skin issues that may require medical attention or cause permanent damage to the skin.
It is very important to note that only experienced practitioners should be consulted when it comes to having laser hair removal, especially when tattoos are involved. The professional would be able to specifically let you know if it is safe to have a laser hair removal with your tattoo, based on the size of the tattoo and its closeness to the area you want to remove hair from. A skilled professional will be able to carry out the laser hair removal around the tattooed skin without any hassles or detriments to the skin. The practitioner would cover the tattoo and work on its surroundings because both the pigment of hair and the dark ink of the tattoo is the same to the laser- no technology can help the laser to differentiate between the both of them yet. Some practitioners may even make use of their white markers to mark the surroundings of the tattoo to be extra careful and not allow any errors. As long as the practitioner is skilled and experienced, you should not have any problems if your tattoo is about 3cm away from the area you want to carry out laser hair removal on.
It is impossible to carry out laser hair removal directly on tattooed skin without significant hazards to the skin. This
is because the laser would destroy the follicles beneath the tattoo(because it sees the tattoo as hair pigment). The laser would not be able to smoothly remove hair because the damage tattoo is not hair. Another issue is that the laser can cause burns or scars to the skin which may become long-term or even permanent issues. Removing hair from tattooed skin with laser is clearly a bad idea.
The best option is to have your laser hair removal before getting a tattoo. Apart from being safe for the skin, it even makes your damage tattoos perfect because your skin will be smooth and free of hair. However, this does not mean that you should go ahead and get a tattoo the next week after completing your laser hair removal. You should give your skin some time before getting a tattoo.
However, if you have already gotten a tattoo and you want to remove hair on your body permanently with laser treatment, and you, at the same time, want it to be completely safe for your skin; the best option is for you to wait until your tattoo has faded off before doing your laser hair removal. If you don’t want to wait for your tattoo to fade, you may try electrolysis(although it may not be as effective as laser hair removal) which may be safer for you.
The good news is that you can have your laser hair removal done safely by experienced and skilled professionals you can trust at AHS. As a company that goes beyond just business and cares about the well-being of its clients, AHS does not carry out unsafe services, regardless of the condition. Do not wait further, contact AHS to book a consultation session now!
