How Are Tattoo Removal Costs Calculated?
Size is only one factor in the cost of tattoo removal. An experienced laser tattoo removal technician at our clinic will also evaluate tattoo age, level of pigmentation, the client’s skin type, and several other elements during your consultation.
Tattoo removal is not a “one and done” experience. It will take a few sessions to get your tattoo fully faded. Each session takes about 15 minutes, but the number of sessions you need depends on the density of your tattoo.
Some tattoos are easier to remove than others. For example, tattoos in high-blood-flow areas of your body, like your back, chest, and stomach, are easier to remove than those located in areas with less circulation (think your fingers and toes). Interestingly, age can also be a factor in ease of removal. Younger people or those with more active immune systems will often find their tattoos fading more quickly.
Despite some tattoos being easier to remove, Removery is committed to working with you to develop a plan to handle any tattoo removal.
When you meet with a Removery specialist, you’ll discuss many elements of the tattoo you want removed and how they’ll affect the cost. We outlined some of these factors below.
Tattoo Age
The older a tattoo is, the easier it will be to remove. This difference is because the ink of an older tattoo is less vibrant, meaning there’s less physical ink left in the skin to remove.
Ink Quality
Every tattoo artist uses a specialized mix of ink on their tattoos. This mix means that the things that make the color of your tattoo unique can also make it more or less challenging to remove. Artists use ink compounds composed of many different chemicals and products, which means that the type of ink matters when it comes to the depth the ink penetrates, the intensity of pigmentation, and other factors.
Tattoo Size
As we stated above, one of the main contributors to the number of tattoo removal sessions you’ll need is the size of your tattoo. Smaller tattoos covering less surface area take less time than bigger ones.
Tattoo Color
That stark black-and-grey tattoo you loved when you were 19 might have faded to something you want to remove today. The good news is that darker inks tend to be easier to remove than lighter inks like yellow and pink.
Tattoo Location
To understand why it’s easier to remove tattoos located on certain parts of the body, it’s important to know the science behind tattoo removal.
A tattoo machine places the tattoo ink into the middle layer of your skin. Your immune system immediately sends white blood cells to attack the ink molecules. These cells pull out as many small particles as possible, but they leave behind larger ink particles that are difficult to break down, which settles in the dermis as your tattoo design. But the cells don’t stop chipping away at the larger particles, which is why your tattoo design continues fading over time.
Laser tattoo removal works by giving your immune system a helping hand. The laser breaks apart the larger ink particles, making them small enough for your white blood cells to carry away.
This process means the location of your tattoo plays a vital role in how easy it is to remove. Tattoos closer to the areas that produce blood cells (your lymph nodes) are easier to remove, while those farther away may take more sessions.
For example, a tattoo placed on your neck is directly next to the lymph nodes in your throat. When a laser begins to break apart the ink particle of your neck tattoo, the white blood cells will have a short distance to travel to react and absorb the new, smaller ink particles.
This process may mean the same tattoo placed on your neck may take a shorter time to remove than one on, for example, your foot, which is far away from the immune system.
