Full and Half Sleeve Tattoo Removal

A sleeve tattoo is extremely prominent, whether it’s a full or half sleeve. If you no longer want your tattoo sleeve on your body, it can be hard to stop thinking about it. We understand your desire to remove a sleeve tattoo that no longer resonates with you, and we are committed to supporting you in achieving this goal.

How Much Does It Cost to Remove a Sleeve Tattoo?

Different facilities calculate the cost to remove tattoo sleeves in different ways. At Removery, the cost of tattoo sleeve removal depends on the outcome you want to achieve. If you want to completely remove the tattoo sleeve, we offer a package deal that guarantees total removal. If you want to lighten your tattoo for a cover-up, we offer a package that provides the appropriate amount of sessions to achieve enough ink reduction for a cover up tattoo. 

Size also helps determine the cost. A sleeve tattoo usually qualifies as an extra extra large tattoo, because it’s more than 25 square inches. Many companies charge per square inch for removal, with costs commonly ranging from $10–$25 per square inch for each session. Thus, half sleeve tattoo removal may cost less than full sleeve tattoo removal, but this really depends on the size of your body. On a larger man, a half sleeve tattoo will cover a broader surface area than on a smaller woman, for instance.

Learn more about how tattoo removal cost is calculated, and consider budget-friendly plans. Removery offers financing options so that no one has to wait for tattoo removal.

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Should You Remove Your Sleeve Tattoo?

Sleeve tattoo removal is a big decision. The tattoo might have meant something important to you at one time. We can’t tell you whether removal is the right choice for you, but we can give you some guidance on how to make the decision. Ask yourself how you feel when you look at the sleeve tattoo now. Does it fit with who you are today, or with an older version of yourself? 

Give yourself time, consider whether you’ve had the tattoo for long enough to get used to it. Allow yourself time to adjust to a newer tattoo before making a decision to remove it most clients find that it takes a couple of months to get use to a new tattoo. 

If you still want a sleeve tattoo–just not that tattoo–we can also recommend a tattoo artist who can do an excellent coverup after we lighten the old tattoo. A reduction in the ink’s saturation can allow the artist to create a beautiful new design on top of the old one. 

“The point of getting it lasered is so you have more opportunities, more possibilities of what you can get it covered with,” says tattoo artist Jon Mesa. “It’ll give your artist more freedom to give you something you want to get.” 

How Many Sessions Does It Take to Remove a Sleeve Tattoo?

Removing a large tattoo takes about 10 sessions on average. Eight to 12 sessions is a normal range for sleeve tattoo removal. However, because a sleeve tattoo often covers such a large area, each session must typically be broken down into more than one treatment. “We’ll generally divide those tattoos into smaller areas so your body can be effective in absorbing what we’ve broken down,” says Carmen Vanderheiden Brodie, co-founder of Removery. 

“If it’s on a smaller arm, like with a small lady, then usually you only need to break it into about two treatments because they don’t have as many square inches of ink,” explains Chelsea Marandola, clinical operations and safety manager at Removery. “If it’s on a really large man, then maybe you need to break it into four because the arm is so much larger.” The client usually needs to wait two weeks between treating different segments of the tattoo sleeve. New sessions typically begin every eight weeks in such cases. The entire process might take two and a half years (rather than closer to two) for full removal since the client is starting a new session every eight weeks instead of every six.

The exact number of sessions for sleeve tattoo removal also depends on factors such as the age of the tattoo and color of the ink. Older tattoos are already more faded, so they may take fewer sessions. Lighter colors like turquoise can take longer to remove than others such as black and dark green. One of our specialists can give you a more specific estimate of what it will cost to have your tattoo sleeve removed.

Book a Tattoo Removal Consultation

If you’re ready to get your tattoo sleeve removed, book a consultation with our experienced specialists. They’ll be happy to address any lingering concerns so you can move forward with confidence.

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