Have you ever given much thought as to what makes a tattoo permanent? I really hadn’t thought about it before in great detail until I saw the cool TedTalk video.
Basically, when a tattoo artist delivers a series of little pinpricks they are embedding permanent ink deep into your skin. Once the ink is in there, under the dermis, it is deep enough to stay permanently. That seems to makes sense. But what I didn’t realize is that on the cellular level, when that needle enters into your skin, your body thinks it’s being attacked. In response, it sends out white blood cells to take care of the invasion. Unfortunately for the white blood cells—but lucky for you—the ink pigment cannot be absorbed by the blood cells to be carried away and disposed off. It just stays in there. Voila! Permanent Ink.
This permanent ink only becomes a problem when you decide to break up with the boyfriend or girlfriend you loved so much so that you tattooed their name on your ankle and wrist. Or perhaps when the cute and cuddly cartoon character/tribal tattoo on your neck no longer fits in with your lifestyle or more likely, your workplace – then what can you do?
Laser Tattoo Removal To The Rescue
This is where laser tattoo removal and your body’s defense mechanism – come to the rescue! With a little outside help from our lasers during a laser tattoo removal treatment, we can give your white blood cells the advantage they need to handle the ink. When we blast the unwanted ink with a laser, the ink breaks up into smaller particles, that can be absorbed by the blood cells and are carried away by your lymphatic system. (Link how tattoos are removed post here) Because the breaking down of the ink is an incremental process, it also allows us to help people who do not have the need to completely remove, but rather replace or cover up an existing tattoo. In that case, laser tattoo removal sessions break up just enough pigment to lighten the tattoo and make room for new ink.
If you’d like more information about removing your tattoo, call us for a free consultation. We will design a laser tattoo removal treatment program just for you and your particular tattoo. We are proud to service clients in Hamilton county and all of Central Indianapolis.
