Myth or Fact: Tattoo Removal Hurts
5x More Than Getting It
Many people remember the pain they felt sitting in that tattoo chair originally, yet are willing to reverse what was supposed to be forever. The question most people ask is “does it hurt as bad as getting it on”? The answer is yes, it hurts just as bad, and in some cases it hurts more and in some cases it hurts less. But truthfully it would be silly to say removing a tattoo is 5 X more painful than getting it on, because the amount of pain you go through during the removal process depends on various things like color, size of tattoo, the depth of the ink, tolerance of pain and method of removal.
It All Depends….
When it comes to colors, black is the easiest to remove since it’s accepted by all laser wavelengths. For other colors like green, they tend to “cherry pick” which laser wavelengths work for removal. For tattoos with multiple colors, the Nd: YAG laser would be best. The size of your tattoo also matters when it comes to pain. The size of the tattoo determines how long treatments are and how many of them you must go through them to reach your goal.
How you remove your tattoo is also important to factor in when you’re thinking about pain. Not only can the removal itself be painful, but the healing process can be just as painful too. The last thing you should consider before removing your tattoo is your tolerance of pain. If you struggled to deal with the pain while the tattoo was being applied, you're going to struggle while it’s being removed.
Ways to Reduce Pain
Depending on which procedure you choose when removing your tattoo, there are a few things you can do beforehand to help reduce the amount of pain you actually receive. Doctors say to use Tylenol or non aspirin medicines prior to a laser procedure since aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines like Ibuprofen can cause bruising after treatment.
There are also prescription anesthetics for laser removal that are applied two hours before treatment and wiped off just before treatment starts. The cream helps to numb the target area which reduces the amount of pain received during treatment. Talking with your doctor before the procedure and including them into your feelings and worries could only be beneficial to you. There are many ways doctors can help patients with the amount of pain they will receive or have to deal with.
More Tattoo Removal Basics
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