How Long Before New Tattoo Can Be Removed?

I have a fresh tattoo that didn't come out the way I had hoped. Matter of fact, it was done yesterday and I feel quite distraught about it.

It is about 5 or 6 inches above my ankle bone and is a sun with a black center and orange/red flames. I did it to cover up a very old and tiny tattoo and wound up unhappy.

How hard would Tattoo removal be and how long do I have to wait to get started since it was just done?

Thank you,
Tracey

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3 Doctor Answers | Asked by tralyn in NYC and Long Island

Doctor Answers (3)
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How long should I wait before starting Tattoo removal?

The skin cell cycle is approximately 35 to 57 days. Thus, patients should wait six to eight weeks after getting a tattoo to consider laser tattoo removal treatment.

New tattoo after removal

Timing for this depends on your skin healing after the tattoo placement. I usually have patients wait roughly 2 weeks after getting a fresh tattoo before beginning laser removal treatments. As far as your colors are concerned, you will require a q switched 1064nm Yag for the black portion and ideally a Q switched 532nm green laser for the yellow and red flames. Hope this helps.

Tattoo removal

A tattoo is no different than another other form of trauma to the skin. There is a process of wound healing and scar maturation and you should allow this to occur prior to considering laser tattoo removal. Lasering adds damage to the skin and you want that skin to have had maximum healing before re-traumatizing it. Check out the photo gallery and note that most lasers still leave a "ghost" but this is usually preferable to the tattoo itself.