Amateur Laser Removers

Amateur tattoo removers can be found everywhere and they regularly and knowingly burn and scar people’s skin. They might have good intentions but they use inferior equipment and don’t have any qualifications or training. They are mainly interested in making money on the side of their existing tattoo business or beauty parlour business.

o   If your body is not suitable for laser treatment because of past or current medical conditions they won’t know because they don’t have relevant medical knowledge of laser/skin interactions.

o   If they encounter a problem with your skin or treatment they have no idea how to move forward.

o   If they have trouble removing your tattoo they will just apply more heat to the area.

o   If your tattoo is not disappearing they will just keep having you back, paying for more sessions (knowing that their laser is not powerful enough to remove the deeper ink).

Amateur laser removers use cheap thermal lasers that anyone can buy on the internet. They cost around £300 - £500 and only have one wavelength which is suitable for black ink only.

It’s amateur removers who spread the awful myth that,

“coloured ink is really difficult to remove”

The truth is – it isn’t difficult to remove at all! And it’s actually easier to remove colour than black when you have the right laser.

If a laser is built to only detect and treat black ink then, of course it’s difficult for it to treat coloured ink.

Thermal lasers can cause serious blistering and burns to the skin when badly applied and overtreated by untrained operators.

Amateurs might be cheaper than professionals but would you really want to swap your unwanted tattoo ink for unwanted scar tissue?

(Someone told me recently that she doesn’t like reading my blogs because the ‘pictures make her squeamish’. So readers, I have spared you the pictures of huge blisters and badly burned and scarred skin).

But, you get the picture.

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Why Should I Pay For A Consultation?

Why Should I Pay For a Consultation?

None of us like paying when we don’t have to. But sometimes there’s a few good reasons why you should be happy to pay for a consultation.

A consultation is a two-way exchange.  It’s your opportunity for you to check out what you’re getting and if the therapist and their service is right for you. You will be able to see if they are

·       Qualified

·       Professional

·       Personable

·       Compliant

·       Experienced

·       Have the right equipment

·       Able to fulfil your expectation

·       Able to answer your questions knowledgeably and satisfactorily

The professional will give you confidence to know that

·       Your body is suitable for treatment

·       You will not suffer any ill-effects or detriment from the treatment

·       You will not be putting yourself at risk while you are being treated

·       You are receiving the best possible treatment and service

·       They know exactly what to do should things go wrong

·       They can give you further advice/knowledge

·       They can handle any unprecedented/unusual outcome

You might be wondering why you’re the one who has to pay for this time. Well the reason is, professional service providers are very serious about what they do and there is a lot of expense involved in providing the service to you safely, hygienically and professionally.

A professional would have spent a long time studying their craft, gaining qualifications and experience and will be committed to what they do and be passionate about it. They will also be aware of all the changes, recent innovations and legal requirements in their industry unlike the amateurs who are only interested in making money and have no access to professional bodies.

Here’s just a few costs they have had to and regularly incur.

·       Qualifying  -                                                               cost thousands

·       Equipment -                                                               costs tens of thousands

·       Insurances -                                                                costs thousands each year

·       Continuing Professional Development -                   costs hundreds each year

So, you are paying for their knowledge and experience which ultimately provides the best treatment plan and outcome for you. It’s literally the start of the treatment programme. Without a consultation, a whole myriad of problems could arise with very serious consequences or treatment being completely ineffective.

With professional tattoo and pigment removal a patch test(s) is also part of the mandatory consultation and both determine the suitability of the client for laser treatment. Only a professional will know

·       Which ailments will not be affected by photo-exposure

·       Which ailments are contraindicated for photo-dynamic treatment

·       Which ailments will be made worse by treatment

·       Which types of disease are unsuitable for laser treatment

·       Which types of diseases are safe to treat

·       Which medications are likely to cause skin and photo-exposure reactions

·       Which method of treatment is suitable for each skin type

·       How to answer questions about laser science and anatomy and physiology

I find that when people don’t want to pay for a consultation, they are not serious about the outcome of their treatment or their health. Their only interest is paying as little money as possible without concern for possible long-term damage or problems.  

When you decide to get a tattoo you go to an artist who has been recommended to you, the artist will be in a professional environment and will be experienced and insured. You wouldn’t approach a random man you don’t know who says he’s a cheap tattoo artist and ask him to do your tattoo would you? So why would you go to an amateur laser tattoo remover that isn’t insured, has received no training, has no qualifications and is

·       unaware of the risks to the body

·       unaware of contraindications and reactions

·       unaware of the correct treating procedure

·       not operating to national laser and health and safety standards

·       unable to give you advice in the case of adverse reaction?       

Cheap amateur laser tattoo removal without a consultation is available on most high streets in the UK but the long-term price is way more expensive and can cost physical and psychological side-effects, bleeding, open wounds, burning and ultimately permanent skin damage. I’ve even known people who have spent a night in a hospital burns unit following their first amateur tattoo removal treatment.

“We are the same in aesthetic industry right now far too many people under qualified trying to make a quick buck then coming to us to ask to fix their mistakes” (extract from a Facebook comment on Liberation Tattoo Removal’s post 25/04/18 highlighting the problems caused by non-professionals)

Why wouldn’t you pay for a consultation? It’s a small price to pay for all that knowledge, security, peace of mind (and body) and the result you want.

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How Many Sessions?

“How Many Sessions?”

This is the second-most popular question asked after “does it hurt?”

And the answer is, unfortunately not straightforward. It’s a bit like, ‘how long is a piece of string?’ If anyone ever tells you that it will take X number of sessions to get rid of a tattoo you are being lied to. Some laser marketers make bold claims that their laser will completely get rid of tattoo ink in only 3 sessions. Yes, some ink does disappear completely in only 1 session (I’ve seen it myself many times) but it’s only a very feint tiny spot of ink which does so.  

The intention might not always be to lie and might be formed from deep consideration and a genuine desire to make the tattoo-owner feel a sense of comfort but, the truth is no-one can ever tell how many sessions it will take. And here’s why.

1.     Every tattoo is unique. They contain a depth of between 0.03mm and 4mm of ink. There’s absolutely no way of measuring how much ink is in any area of a tattoo. The best we can do is estimate that some areas of ink look less dense than others. The removal process always treats the uppermost part of the ink first and there’s no exact measurement for how much ink is shattered at any one time.

2.     The process of ink dispersal is controlled by the tattoo-owner’s lymph system – so dispersing the ink will be a quicker or slower process depending on a large number of variables, such as (but not exhaustively):

i.                 How old the tattoo-owner is

ii.                How fit the tattoo-owner is

iii.              How old the tattoo is

iv.              Where the tattoo is

v.                How well the lymphatic system works

3.     No-one ever knows which type of pigment they have been tattooed with, some pigments breakdown faster than others and some colour pigments have the potential to polymerise but no-one ever confirms the type or brand of pigment before they are tattooed with it.

It is true to say that photo-dynamic Nd:YAG lasers (with nano and pico technology) deliver a greater amount of energy and fewer treatments are required with these lasers than the thermal Nd:YAG lasers that you find in tattoo shops and cheap beauty parlours. This is because they can shatter larger amounts of pigment with deeper penetration of energy.

So, as a general rule of thumb, experience has taught us that the number of treatments can be anywhere between 1 and 32 (in some cover-up cases). And that’s about as helpful as a marshmallow tattoo needle. The majority of tattoos regardless of their colour will be close to undetectable following a number of sessions in single figures.

Some removers want to charge you for a block of treatments up-front (usually 8). We won’t do this at Tattoo Liberation as it can be a lot of money to find instantly for some people and puts pressure on people’s finances and lives. We don’t do pressure. We treat tattoo removal one session at a time until you’re happy with the level of fading. That way there’s no obligation, no pressure and no sweet offer which might not live up to expectation. Now, have you seen that string?

Tattoo Liberation – Educating the laser tattoo removal world one blog at a time.

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How Much Does It Hurt?

How much does it hurt?

 Following on from the myths of the previous blog, here’s how some of my clients have described the sensation of photo-dynamic laser treatment in the past.

Let’s get it out of the way first (and then I don’t have to think about it anymore).  The old hackneyed favourite, clichéd by the internet, “It’s like having an elastic band flicked against your skin”. No, no, no, no, no, it’s nothing like having an elastic band flicked against your skin. it’s a stock phrase said by people who can’t remember what it’s like to be at school and be flicked by an elastic band. Elastic band-flicking is unbearably disgustingly painful - it leaves a throbbing welt on your skin the size of a small country and sends shock waves through your body that could register on a Geiger counter! It’s not that.

Look at what happened to this poor little chap when he got flicked in the eye with an elastic band. Doesn’t that look painful?!

Here's the full story.

“It’s like a hot fat spatter when you’re frying chips” Now, this one is good. I like this one and say it myself. The laser beam is dispensed to the skin in a nano-second, that’s one billionth of a second. A tiny square of light measuring between 2 and 5 square mm disappears into the skin so fast that you wouldn’t have time to even think of the word “chips” before it’s all over. There’s no throbbing welt afterwards and no shock waves careering across your skin and down both legs, making your stomach churn.

“It’s like an electric shock” This is another internet term, again, I’m sure from people with short memories or people who have just imagined what an electric shock is like without ever having had one. The trouble is, our imaginations go straight to the “OMG it’s going kill me” idea of an electric shock. At the mild end, there’s the static shock which is a bit annoying mainly because you’re not expecting it and it happens so fast it makes you jump. This is an acceptable comparison with photo-dynamic laser treatment, because even though you know it’s coming – the first one still makes you jump and there’s no residual discomfort or after-shock with it. The other end of the scale is the high-voltage heart-stopping mains electricity shock which (were it not for the alternating current) wouldn’t only fry your chips but fry your own liver and kidneys as well. It’s definitely, not that.

“It’s like a hot pin prick” This one is good and to my mind accurate. It’s just like the hot fat spatter but a pin instead of a minute flying missile. Of course, there is no actual pin, it’s just the sensation of being pricked by one for a billionth of a second. (Can you even imagine that amount of time? I can’t, it’s too small).

And then there’s the more descriptive/obscure comparisons.

• “I’d rather have this done than stub my toe on a table leg” You can’t argue with that.

• “The cooling ice-pack hurts more than the treatment” This speaks volumes!

• “I’d rather do this than go to the dentist” This is hardly a ringing endorsement but you get the idea.

• “Pulling off a plaster hurts more than this” Said by many men on many occasions.

And perhaps, for some, the most surprising one of all

• “It doesn’t hurt as much as getting a tattoo”

One of the positives of having the treatment is that it lasts only a few minutes in total. Whereas getting a tattoo takes hours and hours of prolonged discomfort. With the adrenal system spending hours pumping chemicals into the body it’s no wonder most people feel totally wrecked after a long tattoo session.

If you can bear having a tattoo you can bear having photo-dynamic laser treatment and that’s all you need to know. 

Yep, this is a close-up of 4 needles simultaneously puncturing the skin in the tattooing process.

I rest my blog.

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Myths and Legends

The tattoo culture, as any self-respecting culture, has its own hierarchy and set of myths and legends. The purpose of this blog is to disprove some of the myths blighting professional laser tattoo removal.                                                               

You have a tattoo that is legendary….. You know this because it was tattooed by a legend and it’s worn by a legend – YOU.                                             

Let’s start with the tattoo legends, the great tattoo artists who spend hours in their tattoo shops crafting their imaginatively artistic ideas into tattoo designs and tattooing them onto their adoring fans. Some of these fans have had to wait in excess of a year in some cases to sit before the altar of the artist and be inked with a lasting memorial from the legendary tattooer.

The end result is resplendent in its skin-canvas and much hailed and admired by onlookers and its owner. It is treasured, cherished and adored and shown off at every possible opportunity. It is loved dearly, like a pet or a child. It has magical powers that can give its owner newly-found confidence and manifest new friends and social circles. It elevates social status and is the envy of peers, adding a layer of intrigue to its owner.  This is what tattoo legend is about; longevity, bravery, fame, idealism, belonging and achievement.                                       

And then, just like a flash of lightning, news that your legendary treasured ink has been derided by fashion or worse, the fickle finger of fate turns your cherished inking into an embarrassment overnight. What are you going to do?  You think about getting it removed but then you hear the myths. Ohhh those myths:

Myth 1 “A tattoo is permanent” hahaha hahaha hahaha.

Myth 2 “You can’t get rid of colour” (is a personal favourite). This is so not true. Lasers built to target black ink (and black ink only) cannot treat colours it’s true. But, professional, medical grade photo-dynamic lasers (as used at Tattoo Liberation) treat all colours quickly and effectively - even faster than black.

Myth 3 “You get scarred” is incorrect but, sadly this has been the case for many. Tattoo shops (and amateur laser tattoo removal clinics) which have thermal lasers apply heat directly to the skin and burn the epidermis sometimes causing major burns and blistering (not surprisingly) which lead to scarring. At Tattoo Liberation we only ever use a safe photo-dynamic laser which does not produce any heat and therefore, cannot cause burns.

Myth 4 “It’s more painful than being tattooed” is also not true. It’s a completely different sensation and lasts only a tiny fraction of the time it takes to get a tattoo. It’s a bit like being splashed by a tiny drop of hot oil or pricked with a pin. Professional aesthetic therapists prepare the skin before treatment and allow time in between each shot unlike the people on TV documentaries who use the laser wand as if it were a tattoo machine and torture people so they become quivering adrenaline-pumping wrecks. There’s absolutely no need for that kind of treatment – it just makes for good television, that’s all.

Myth 5 “It’s really expensive” is sometimes true if you go to a remover who has a very expensive American laser in a very expensive skin clinic.  At Tattoo Liberation our prices are in line with the amateur thermal laser removers’ prices. The only difference here, is that you get a safe, photo-dynamic, professional, fully-qualified service with a medical grade laser (as used by the NHS for photo-dynamic surgery) for the same price as an unqualified thermal one.

So, you have choices; you can have proper photo-dynamic laser removal treatment at Tattoo Liberation and be scar-free and tattoo-free; you can have a cover-up which will be at least 4 times bigger, or, you can keep your once-loved but no longer required tattoo and remain a legend but in the privacy of your own bathroom.

Whichever one you choose, please don’t believe the rubbish that’s out there.

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Semi-permanent make-up removal

With the rise in popularity of microblading and semi-permanent make-up (having eyebrows and lip-liner tattooed) there has, inevitably been an increase in the number of people feeling unhappy with the end result.  An article from the Daily Mail in 2013 tells the stories of two women who didn’t get the treatment they expected from beauty therapists whose skills and qualifications were suspect, to say the least.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2603865/It-sounds-hassle-free-Tattoo-perfect-brows-lips-cut-make-routine-But-happens-goes-wrong-Celebrity-make-craze-thats-scarring-women-life.html

One woman tells how she sought and received semi-permanent make-up laser removal treatment. She was lucky but, to those with knowledge of lasers and how they work, it’s glaringly obvious that this method of removal is likely to cause far worse long-lasting damage than a few misplaced strokes of ink.

Without being too technical, the laser most commonly used in this country to remove tattoo pigment is a type called an Nd:YAG. These lasers deliver the light beam on either a thermal platform or a photo-dynamic platform. The technology in a photo-dynamic laser is far more complicated than that of a thermal laser and is therefore vastly more expensive than the thermal laser. Needless to say, the most common type of laser in use in this country is the thermal Nd:YAG which can cost as little as £300. Photo-dynamic lasers cost upwards of £50,000.

The thermal platform laser delivers the light beam with the vehicle of heat which burns the skin and the pigment. Not surprisingly, the treatments create burn wounds and multiple treatments cause multiple burns which ultimately result in scarring. Furthermore, thermal lasers are used for hair reduction as they are excellent at drying out the moisture in hair roots and disabling them, causing them to lose the ability to regrow hair.

The photo-dynamic platform laser delivers the light beam with the vehicle of high-powered energy to smash the pigment (not burn it). Consequently, there is no heat to burn the skin and therefore, no burn wounds after multiple treatments. Photo-dynamic Nd:YAG lasers are not used for hair reduction as their function is to smash pigment and menalin, not burn. So, they cannot cause damage to hair roots. 

If you’re sourcing a laser tattoo remover for your semi-permanent make-up removal or tattoo, it’s vital that you establish whether your remover has a thermal Nd:YAG laser or a photo-dynamic Nd:YAG laser. Or, you could be facing bald scarred skin where you once had eyebrows.

Tattoo Liberation has the only photo-dynamic Nd:YAG laser in Doncaster and a history of removing tattoos and badly applied semi-permanent make-up, not brow hairs.

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