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Is It Easier to Remove a New Tattoo or a Old One?

asked 1 year ago by Fresno9937 in Fresno, CA
Latest answer by Ronald Shelton, MD
Question viewed 1,383 times
Tags: comparison

I just got a new tattoo. Basically half sleeve mostly black and about 5 months old. Anyways I was wondering if it was easier to remove a new tattoo?

2 answers to Is It Easier to Remove a New Tattoo or a Old One?

+2

Old tattoos are generally easier to remove than new tattoos

Everyone who wants to get rid of a tattoo wants to know: "How much will it cost, and how many treatments will it need?' Generally, older tattoos require fewer laser treatments [generally done using a the very short pulses generated by a Q-switched laser like a Medlite C6]. This is because as time goes on the body slowly gets rid of some of the tattoo ink, and in addition to that, the tattoo ink may slowly fade because of the effects of ultraviolet light. Other variables... more
Kevin C. Smith, MD

Niagara Falls Dermatologic Surgeon
+1

Laser tattoo removal

Usually the newer tattoo because of an acute inflammatory response around the pigment granules in the dermis below the epidermis, are more sheltered from the immune cells that engulf them and require more treatments than the more mature tattoos I see. There are of course, exceptions.
Ronald Shelton, MD

Manhattan Dermatologist

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