Skin & Complexion
Tattoo pigment that a person would like to fade or remove.
Physician-led assessment · individualized care · Vancouver clinic
Understanding Unwanted Tattoos
Maybe it's a name you'd rather not see every day, an early design that no longer feels like you, or a piece you'd love to fade enough for a fresh cover-up. Whatever the reason, you're in good company, and modern lasers make a real difference.
Laser treatment breaks tattoo ink into fragments small enough for your body to carry away, little by little. That's why removal happens over a series of sessions spread across months. How quickly a tattoo fades depends mostly on the ink: dense black often clears well, while some bright greens, blues and certain cosmetic inks take more patience. Depth, age, location and your skin type matter too. Looking closely at your tattoo lets us give you a realistic picture of the journey ahead.
Causes and Contributing Factors
A tattoo is created by depositing ink into the deeper layer of the skin, where the body clears it only very slowly, which is why it lasts. People seek removal for many reasons, including changing personal taste, career or lifestyle changes, a poorly healed or unwanted result, or the wish to alter or cover a design. How removable a tattoo is depends on the ink type and colours, depth, age of the tattoo, its location and individual skin factors.
Signs and Symptoms
Assessment
At your consultation, our senior laser technicians and cosmetic health and skincare advisors look at your tattoo's colours, how dense and deep the ink is, its age, size and location, and your skin type, and ask about any past reactions or scarring. That helps us estimate how many sessions you're likely to need and how your particular ink should clear. We then plan your sessions around whether you're aiming for full fading or a cover-up, your schedule and your budget.
Cosmetic consultations are complimentary.
Prevention and Ongoing Care
Keeping the tattooed area protected from the sun before and between sessions helps your skin respond evenly. Gentle cleansing and a soothing, fragrance-free moisturizer support the skin while it recovers after each visit. Our team can recommend aftercare products from our online shop that suit your skin.
Treatment Options
These are some of the options connected to this concern. The appropriate plan depends on assessment, suitability, and your goals.
Our laser tattoo removal uses PicoWay, a picosecond laser with several wavelengths, so different ink colours can be targeted. Sessions are spaced over time to give your body a chance to clear the ink, and they're performed by our senior laser technicians under the medical direction of Dr. Gidon Frame.
Goals range from substantial fading to enough lightening for fresh cover-up work, and some pigments clear more readily than others, so your plan is shaped around your ink.
For the fuller picture, explore the treatment pages above or discuss the options during a consultation.
Medical Assessment
See a doctor if the skin over a tattoo is raised, itchy, painful or reactive, if you suspect an allergy to the ink, or if there's any new, changing or unusual mole or spot within or near the tattoo. These are best assessed before removal begins.
Frequently Asked Questions
It varies. Removal happens gradually over a series of sessions spaced out over time, and the number depends on the ink colours, density, depth, age and location of the tattoo, as well as your skin. We'll give you a more specific estimate once we've seen your tattoo.
Many tattoos fade substantially, and some clear completely. Black and dark inks often clear more predictably, while greens and yellows can take more patience. Plenty of people aim for enough fading to allow a beautiful cover-up, and that's a great goal too.
Temporary changes in skin colour or texture can happen, and the likelihood varies with skin type, including deeper skin tones, and with the tattoo itself. We'll explain how we lower that risk for your skin and what aftercare helps, before you start.
Physician Assessment
An assessment can help clarify what may be contributing, which options may be appropriate, and what a reasonable next step could look like for you.
Visit Our Clinic
Anti-Aging Medical & Laser Clinic combines medical assessment, individualized planning, physician oversight, and a broad range of treatment options in its Vancouver clinic.
Bring your questions, treatment history, and goals. Your provider can help you understand appropriate options, expected recovery, and realistic outcomes.
Make an Appointment
Use our consultation form below and the clinic can guide you toward the appropriate starting point.
