Yellow and tad white shading removal around tattoo? Can it be done? (Photo)

Thank you for your question in regards to tattoo removal. Yes, laser tattoo removal would be your best suggestion to remove your unwanted shading. Although, you will most likely have to get the outline/edges of the flower redone once you have achieved your desire result. To be sure what is best for you, see two or more board-certified providers in your area for a complete evaluation to make sure you are a good candidate and that it is safe for you to have treatment. I hope this helps.

Yellow and white can be difficult colors to remove and so I’d recommend the PicoWay laser, which is great at fading white, yellow, pink, and other light colors. Be advised that the energy from the PicoWay will oxidize the light colors first, so they’ll go through a stage of looking brownish. Eventually, after a year or so of six to 10 treatments, all you’ll see is your clear, healthy skin. And, yes, you can remove the shading without affecting the tattoo at all. A board-certified dermatologist can target the PicoWay’s energy very precisely to only remove the areas you wish. 

It would be difficult to only remove the shading and not the actual tattoo. Tattoos should be removed with q switched or pico lasers. We also use the pfd patch to help speed up the process. It will take a series of treatments, but it's difficult to determine how many sessions will be needed. I recommend getting a formal evaluation with a laser tattoo removal expert. Best, Dr. Emer

Thank you for your question.  Yellow ink certainly can be challenging to take off but it is possible.  Due to the color and wavelength needed, there is a slightly increased risk for transient hypopigmentation.    Isolating just the yellow pigment will be difficult without touching the rest of the tattoo due to dispersion of the energy so you may need touchups on the flower.  If you choose to completely remove the tattoo, it should remove clean but anticipate a number of sessions to completely remove it given the number of colors used.  
White ink does not get targeted due to lack of pigmentation.  It does fade on its own however and eventually blends.    Thank you! - T.Khan MD

Sorry to hear you are unhappy with your tattoo. Yellow ink can be somewhat difficult to remove completely. Additionally keep in mind the border of the flower may be affected during treatment of the yellow ink which would require tattoo touch up. Best of luck, Dr. M

Thanks for your question and posting a picture.  Tattoo regret is very common.  Almost every tattoo can be completely removed with enough time and treatments.  The most important factor in laser tattoo removal is patience.  The colored ink can be removed with a laser.  We have not seen any white ink in our practice, so we do not have any first hand experience.  I don't think it will hurt anything to treat the white ink.  It will either do nothing, fade or change to another color over time and then fade.  Look for a picosecond laser provider and have patients.  We typically see our tattoo removal patients every 8 to 12 weeks initially.  We eventually encourage them to wait up to 6 months as the tattoos seem to continue to fade while they wait.  Your tattoos is going to look jacked up if you try to just remove the shading.  It will have to be retouched.  Best of luck

Thanks for posting the photo. Yellow can be removed fairly easily. The white ink is a bit different as it will first turn a brown color and then the laser can see the ink and make the color fade away. The best laser for both colors is a laser with pico second capability. I do not recommend a Q-switch for the yellow as it has a tendency to burn and the white won't change color very well. The outline for the rest of the tattoo will be affected by the laser but this can be touched up by your tattoo artist. Best of luck.