I have some very bold tattoos and want to fade them down. Is there a setting on a laser that is just for fading?

Hi Pruto.  In most cases, patients that want to fade tattoos want to do so to put a cover up over them.  If you are speaking about fading the tattoo so that you may keep it and have it be lighter, then it may be a mistake to move forward with treatment.  Lasers do not fade tattoos evenly.  They can fade them, but they do not look like a lighter version of the original tattoo in the middle.  They look like a very bad, uneven and partially faded tattoo.  Our recommendation would be to go all the way through removal, partially fade the tattoo and cover it with something else or do nothing at all.  To see examples of complete tattoo removal, click on the link below.  

Tattoos should be removed with q switched or pico lasers. It will take a series of treatments to fade. I recommend getting a formal evaluation with a laser tattoo removal expert. Best, Dr. Emer

Thank you for your question. Tattoo removal is essentially fading the tattoo until it is gone. You could take it one treatment at a time until you have the results you are looking for. Please be aware, though, that tattoos do not fade evenly. Certain colors, depths, and areas of the tattoo will fade faster than others. Be sure to see a reputable provider and they should be able to help you out with a treatment plan. Best of luck to you!

Basically, the first few treatments WILL just fade the tattoo. That's the normal process, and, for people who want the tattoo completely removed, they just do more treatments. We do LOTS of fading of tattoos, for cover-ups, or, just to lighten them up. You may need a little "touch up" by your tattoo artist, to make it look exactly how you want it. Hope that helps :)