Tattoo Removal

An estimated 20 million Americans have a tattoo. If you’re one of them, but want yours removed, you’re not alone. Half of tattoo owners report they would now like to make theirs disappear—without leaving a disfiguring scar in its wake.

Laser technology has made great strides in tattoo removal. New laser beams can significantly fade or completely erase everything from small, single-color tattoos to large, multicolored ones.

Different types of lasers produce different colors of light. Specific colors of tattoo ink absorb particular colors of light. For example, red ink absorbs green light. The laser’s light energy vaporizes or fragments the targeted ink, then the body absorbs the tiny particles of ink and the color fades.

Skin and Cosmetic Solutions exclusively uses VersaPulse® Advantage, an advanced and versatile laser for tattoos and a wide range of pigmented and vascular lesions. It produces short pulses of a wide range of light colors to treat the full spectrum of tattoo ink. 

Currently we are only treating black-ink tattoos.

Removing a tattoo may take several sessions depending on the size and type of ink. Sessions take place in Dr. Puente’s office and are spaced four to eight weeks apart. Treatment may feel like numerous rubber bands snapping onto your skin, so topical or local anesthesia is offered to help numb the area.

The treated area’s appearance following a laser session varies from patient to patient. Immediate after-effects may include redness, light crusting or tenderness, all of which disappear in a short time.
Dr. Puente often uses Aldara during the post-operating treatment of tattoo removal. Aldara increases the inflammatory reaction, thus allowing the skin to further breakdown the tattoo pigment. Dr. Puente’s innovative use of Aldara has significantly reduced the number of laser sessions required to eliminate tattoos.