So what’s it like to have a tattoo treatment?
Well, in my office it entails a discussion over what the options are, and sometimes a test-spot so the patient can experience what tattoo removal is like, although I’ve done this a lot, so this step is often skipped.
Typically, I numb the tattoo with a very tiny needle and some lidocaine, because without it, tattoo removal can hurt quite a bit. Some patients ask for topical lidocaine cream instead, which works but just not as well as an injection, and very rarely some folks choose to forgo any numbing-but this is a rare few, and I don’t recommend it.
After some further preparation, I treat the tattoo with one of the many tattoo-removing lasers (Q-switched or picosecond) that I have in the office. If one laser stops working as well as it had, or if there are multiple colors, I will often use more than one laser in a single treatment or over the course of a series of laser treatment, to yield optimal clearance in the fewest number of treatments.
After treatment, the tattoo should be covered with bandages and Aquaphor ointment. I don’t use topical antibiotics on tattoos after treatment as they rarely, if ever, get infected after treatment. I tell patients that 50% of the result is the job I do, and 50% is how well they take care of it.