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Can Tattoos Be Removed?
A lot of people like tattoos. Some cover their bodies, while others choose an intimate spot only for their eyes and the people close to them. However, some people may regret getting inked in the first place. If you are one of them, you surely have this question in mind: can tattoos be removed or not? The answer here is not certain, though. Read on and find out important facts regarding tattoo removal.
Tattoo Removal
A tattoo is meant as a permanent skin art. Hence, removal can be difficult. Even with the number of hair removal options these days, there is still no guarantee for a complete tattoo removal. There can be remaining color or blemishes on the skin even after removing it. The only difference here is that the degree of the blemishes after tattoo removal depends on several factors such as the location of the tattoo, its size, the person’s ability to heal, how the ink was applied, and how long has it been inked.
Newer tattoos may be more difficult to remove as compared to older ones. Also, tattoos created by an experienced artist should be easier to remove as because the ink was mainly injected evenly in the same skin level. To know the degree of tattoo removal you can get, it is best to consult a removal specialist yourself so that the tattoo can be evaluated carefully.
Ways to Remove Tattoos
There are various ways on how to remove tattoo from the skin. They are the following:
- Dermabrasion. This is a process where the skin is sanded so that the skin’s surface and middle layers will be removed. However, this process is usually painful and can often result to scarring. Here, the skin is applied with a freezing solution first and then the skin is peeled using a rotating abrasion tool. The skin remains delicate after dermabrasion for long periods of time.
- Excision. This is often considered for small tattoo removal. It surgically removes tattoos from the body and requires a few stitches to close the area where it was taken from.
- Laser removal. This is the most popular and most effective tattoo removal option these days as this offers a non-surgical tattoo removal process. It uses a laser light through the tattooed skin and it works to break the ink pigments into tiny particles, which are then washed off by the body’s white blood cells. This removal method is more effective than the rest because most procedures can offer total tattoo removal giving you no idea that a tattoo existed on the skin before.
General cost estimation
Tattoo removal can be very expensive nowadays. More often than not, it costs more than how much you have paid for the tattoo in the first place. When submitting to laser hair removal alone, the price can get to as high as a thousand dollars. Laser hair removal can cost from $75 to $500 per session. However, it requires multiple sessions before the tattoo can be completely removed. Some tattoos may need seven sessions while others may need 12 sessions. If you calculate these possibilities, the price can really reach thousands of dollars.
Moreover, tattoo removal is not covered by insurance plans most of the time. The fact that it is a cosmetic procedure makes it outside of coverage of most insurance plans.
Have you tried tattoo removal? What procedure have you submitted yourself into, how much have you spent, and how successful the removal has become?
Tattoo removal- How much does it cost ?
Getting a tattoo is expensive; however, getting it removed can be more expensive. With laser technology being the most trusted method of tattoo removal these days, the price can reach to as much as thousands of dollars, especially if you expect to get rid of the tattoo mark completely.
Laser Tattoo Removal
Laser is a non-surgical approach in erasing ink on the body. It uses colored light beams that can break up ink particles into tiny fragments. Through time, these tiny fragments can naturally be cleaned up by the body’s cells. However, it may require several sessions to completely remove a tattoo using this technology. This is without mentioning yet that laser tattoo removal is more on the expensive side.
Average Cost
The cost of laser tattoo removal usually depends on several factors such as the tattoo size, age of the mark, color, ink level, number of sessions required, and the skills of the practitioner. Calculating the cost of tattoo removal is usually done per square inch. A tattoo clinic can price tattoo removal for $40 to $50 per square inch for the first five square inches and $25 on the succeeding inches.
Here is a quick estimate of tattoo laser hair removal per size:
Size: 2 square inches
- Cost per session: $98
- Estimated number of treatments: 12
- Total cost: $1,176
Size: 8 square inches
- Cost per session: $320
- Estimated number of treatments: 9
- Total Cost: $2,880
Size: 15 square inches
- Cost per session: $445
- Estimated number of treatments: 7
- Total cost: $3,115
Additional Costs Involved
The total cost of removing a tattoo does not end there. There may be additional costs involved with tattoo removal. For instance, people who have low tolerance of pain may need an anesthetic. This can mean an additional cost of around $50 per shot.
Moreover, the surgeon may prescribe an anesthetic cream that must be used after the treatment to help lessen the painful sensation and help in the healing process. An anesthetic cream can range from $13 to $70 dollars depending on the size of the cream.
Getting Discounts
It is true that laser tattoo removal can cost thousands of dollars. Hence, the price may be a little bit too much for some. The great news is that there are tattoo removal clinics that can offer discounts for laser hair removal. Some clinics give off 25 percent discount on the total price of the whole session if you pay upfront for the total cost. For instance, if you pay for the 12 sessions upfront of laser removal of a 2-square inch tattoo, you’ll pay $882 instead of $1,176.
However, if you have to remove a small tattoo, it may be hard for you to get discounts. This is true because most clinics have a minimum charge per laser hair removal session. Some clinics offer a minimum charge of $75 per session. Hence, if you need 10 sessions to get rid of the tattoo completely, you have to pay $750 for it.
In the question of insurance coverage, laser tattoo removal is usually not covered in most medical insurance plans as this is known as a cosmetic procedure. However, there are two exemptions to this rule, which are the removal of traumatic tattoos from accidents and removal of decorative tattoos causing medical problems. You may need to talk with your physician and your insurance company to confirm whether the procedure can be covered or not.
Tattoo removal through laser technology is obviously expensive. How much have you spent on your tattoo removal? Share your experiences in the comments!