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What is laser tattoo removal?
It is highly specialized outpatient procedure whereby
un-wanted tattoos can be removed with the use of a
laser, most of the time with complete removal.
What are the best reasons to remove a tattoo?
New beginnings! People often get a tattoo during a
moment of passion or deep emotion, and their lives
move beyond it, I feel like I help them open that door!
Will laser tattoo removal completely eliminate every
tattoo?
In unique circumstances, certain tattoos may not come
completely off. While the majority of them eventually do,
the industry of laser removal continues to be challenged
with certain types of tattoos that pose unique dilemmas
when complete removal is an expectation.
What kind of tattoos typically cannot be removed
and why?
This can be very complex, as major determinants are
skin type, colors involved, ink types, involvement of
scars, and multiple cover-up jobs. Often, patients with
multiple cover-ups, tattoos done in prison, or tattoos
from which scars were generated can pose challenges
requiring sharp expertise, and often may still not
completely disappear.
What other options are available to hide a tattoo?
It’s truly bewildering the amount of products available
these days. They can range from specialized tattoo
makeup to color-matched multi-layer sleeves, and
everything in between. On a more extreme note,
certain people who have too much density and extent
of ink may opt to get “black-out” jobs in which black
ink is used to disguise a prior design, but I am mostly
intrigued by the makeup options available.
What is the difference between the old laser removal
procedures and current?
Literally a world apart! Not so long ago, tattoo removal
required the acceptance of several understandings. For
one, scarring will happen, secondly complete removal
will simply NOT be achieved, and most startlingly,
excruciating pain is to be expected—often to the
point of requiring general anesthesia! With today’s
technology, a session with very limited discomfort can
literally be done during a lunch break with a very short
and tolerable recovery with un-matched results!
What type of laser removal device to you use and
why?
I use the Cutera Enlighten III. I love this machine,
because it features the most unique settings I have
seen on any platform. Likewise, my outcomes and
services I offer my patients are no less than state-of-theart
to bring them the new beginnings they deserve!
Who typically performs laser removal procedures
at tattoo removal clinics, who performs all of your
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procedures and is it advantage to be performed by a
medical doctor and why?
Lately, I am noticing an up-trend in the amount of
procedures now being performed almost exclusively
by mid-level providers at med-spa’s such as Nurse
Practitioners and Physician Assistants. In my clinic,
all laser tattoo removal procedures are physicianperformed
by physicians that are formally trained in laser
removal and also licensed and formally apprenticed as
procedures really comes down to the clinical experience
and breadth of training of the operator, which bodes
well for anyone who has the “hands on” experience. In
combined years of training (includes MD, residency
training, tattoo artist apprenticeship with license, and
laser specialty training) that I do feel like I can approach
just about any tattoo removal case with a very broad
fund of experience to offer my patients, and while it is
largely related to my training as an MD, my background
in tattooing adds a world of a difference in how I
approach tattoos as a tattoo specialist.
Do you have a background as a tattoo artist and if so
why is that an advantage?
Yes. I am a licensed tattoo artist and I did a formal
apprenticeship and licensure under Jonathan Clark
in Tampa, FL. It is an incredible advantage because
there are so many complex nuances in technique and
understanding how a tattoo is made that it allows me to
make very individualized approaches to even the most
complicated cases of tattoo removal. I am a believer
that we are also learning every day, and having the
added skill set in tattooing also has given me some of
the most privileged learning access to some of the top
specialists in the world in both realms!
What is color theory and why is important to
understand if you are removing a tattoo?
I can best summarize color theory as the study of how
primary colors form complex art. Yes—it explains how so
many colors can come from just blue, red, and yellow,
but it also gives us a guide on how to interpret the rich
and light-source theory. It is important to understand
this in tattoo removal, because color is nothing but the
frequency at which a material bounces light—that is
what lasers “know”. Understanding how color mixing
takes place and how they are introduced in a work of
skin art has everything to do with the approach one
will take. Sure, a tattoo can be removed without this
knowledge, but planning is everything! When planning
is done right, it reduces the amount of sessions as well
Do you offer any type of guarantee and if so explain?
Yes. I offer what we call our “lifetime guarantee.” What
this means is that I will evaluate a given piece to be
removed and come up with a quote based on the
amount of anticipated sessions a tattoo will need. By