How many sessions of laser treatment will I need to fade my tattoo for a cover up? (Photo)

Hi Yeni.  The number of treatments to remove or fade a tattoo depends on many factors including the type of ink, color of ink, depth of placement, practitioner skill, type of laser (wavelength).In your situation, because of the green ink, we would recommend you find a facility that has both 532 and 755 wavelengths for q-switched lasers.  The reason is that the 532 wavelength is most effective for red ink and the 755 wavelength is most effective for green ink.  If you want to minimize the number of treatments, the technology used will be somewhat important.  The reason we say somewhat is that the practitioner using the machine is more important than the machine itself as you need to know the best settings (experience) to create optimal removal while avoiding side effects.  With that said, if you find a practice that has the optimal wavelengths and an experienced practitioner, you should be able to achieve enough lightening after 4-6 visits to cover it up.  This also depends on what you are trying to cover it with.  Finally, we often see patients that are going through the removal process after doing a cover up.  Having to remove two different tattoos that were placed on top of each other is even harder, so make sure you really want the cover up before getting it.

Tattoos can be removed with laser tattoo removal. Tattoos should be removed with q switched or pico lasers. It's difficult to predict how many sessions will be needed, but it will take a series of treatments for removal. I recommend getting a formal evaluation with a laser tattoo removal expert. Best, Dr. Emer

I’m sorry that you are unhappy with your tattoo. A quick look through these boards will demonstrate that you are not alone; tattoo regret is common. Luckily, the PicoWay laser is highly effective at removing a wide variety of tattoo pigments. It uses short bursts of high energy to shatter the tattoo. Very little heat is generated. You will need to leave about 2 months between each removal session so your skin can recover and your body can remove the pigment fragments. The minimum number of treatments you’d need just to fade your tattoo would be 5 to 8. To completely remove it may take more. A board-certified dermatologist will be able to help you decide what to do and to set up a removal/fading schedule.

i'm so sorry  you are unhappy with your tattoo.  It will likely take 6-8 sessions to fade it enough for a cover up and 12-13 to completely remove it.  We use the PicoSure which is the  best laser on the market.  We offer free consults.  Good luck! DSR

Laser treatment is definitely the best option for your tattoo. Removal can take some time and no one can tell you how many treatments it will actually take. Reds, greens, oranges, yellows and blues are all hard colors to remove despite how good our lasers are. With enough time, treatments and money, the tattoo could be completely removed. The option of a cover up is not a bad idea in your case. Usually 5 or so treatments with a laser is all that is needed for an artist to do a really good cover up.
As far as lasers go, I would go for a pico laser (PiQo4, Picoway, Enlighten3, Picosure). These lasers are more effective at tattoo removal and can decrease the number of treatments required. Should you choose laser therapy, keep in mind that you don't have decide between removal and cover up. You can just get the treatment started and see how things go. If you decide to do cover up then you can stop the treatments when the ink has faded enough and just go for the cover up.

Hello and thank you for your question.  Unfortunately, tattoo regret is not uncommon, but the good news is that with time and patience the ink can be reasonably eliminated.  In our practice we use the PicoSure laser for tattoo removal.  We have the proper equipment to use both the 755 and 532 wavelengths, which are critical to success in removing multi-color tattoos, especially the "sunset colors" (red, yellow, orange, pink), as those colors need different energy applied to remove versus the more traditional, darker colors.  We always recommend you seek consultation with a practitioner that has experience with both the sunset colors as well as partial tattoo removal to allow for new/cover-up art.  Work collaboratively with your clinician to determine a treatment plan that will comfortably achieve your goals.  Treatments need to be spaced at least 8 weeks apart to allow your body the time it needs to clear the shattered ink (which is what the PicoSure laser does).  Up to 5-7 treatments could required to achieve your desired results.  As stated in other responses, if you are planning a cover up, you will want to be really committed to the new ink as future removal would be more challenging.  Time and patience are the key to success.  We wish you all the best!

Thanks for your question and posting pictures.  Tattoo regret is very common.  Almost every tattoo can be completely removed with enough time and treatments.  The most important factor is patience.  You have to give your body time to absorb the ink.  For laser tattoo removal you have two routes.It sounds like you are going to use the older nanosecond or Q-Switch lasers that came out about 20 years ago.  The majority of former Q-Switch patients we see have significant hypopigmentation (ghosting) around and under their tattoo.  The Q-Switch lasers have trouble differentiating between the melanin in your skin and ink.  The technology uses heat to burn the pigment out of your skin.  In addition, we have seen patients with raised scars as if they have been branded.  Both of these condition are irreversible.  Picosecond laser came out about 3 years ago.  Every laser manufacturer has a different marketing hook to make you choose their laser.  At the end of the day, it's about the technology and experience of the clinician.  All PicoSecond lasers (like the Enlighten, PicoWay & PicoSure) fire 1000 times faster per second, using a pressure wave rather than heat to shear the ink molecules apart.  The hype of extra wavelengths does not make that much of a difference.  The 755 nm will get rid of most of the ink colors.  For red and pink ink, you would need to make sure they have 532 nm.  After using the PicoSure for almost 3 years, we have only seen pinpoint hypopigmentation in a very small number of patients usually of darker skin tones.  We cannot say it is impossible to get burned with a Picosecond laser, but it is highly unlikely.  We tell every PicoSure tattoo patient to expect at least 6 treatments, but don’t be surprised if it takes 10 to 12.  Patience is the key for our patients.  We typically see our tattoo removal patients every 8 to 12 weeks initially.  If they have more time than money, we encourage them to come every 6 months as the tattoos seem to continue to fade while they wait.Treatment prices vary by market. The cost for picosecond treatments will be higher, but you should need less than half the treatments compared to a nanosecond laser.