Laser Dermatology - News and Articles - interesting news items, dermatology industry, Melbourne Australia

Now called Laser Dermatology, our now more diverse laser clinic offers a variety of lasers, three in particular, to manage all colours of ink. We always keep up with new technology and all our lasers are the latest available.

But perhaps the most important thing about our clinic is the expertise of the operators. All our laser therapists are registered nurses who are trained by our resident dermatologist who specialises in laser management of a variety of skin issues. You may be aware that many "laser" and "IPL" centres are offering tattoo removal, amongst other treatments. Unfortunately, no matter how good the equipment, it will only be as good as its operator and many of these centres have little understanding of the complexities of tattooing and response of tattoos to laser light. Scarring and changes to skin pigment can result from improperly applied light treatments.

Similarly, many of these clinics promote tattoo removal in a pejorative manner implying a negative attitude to tattooing. At Laser Dermatology we respect professional tattooists and the art of tattooing (we have a few amongst ourselves!), and are happy to work in conjunction with tattooists to modify or remove ink
where required.

So, what have we learnt in 15 years?

• IPL is NOT suitable for tattoo removal and, in fact, may scar!
• Laser or IPL hair removal WILL damage and scar tattoos and anyone wanting this treatment must have the tattoo protected.
• Black ink is STILL the easiest to remove.
• Green, light blue and aqua inks are STILL the hardest to remove.
• Titanium Dioxide (white pigment) is very difficult to remove, even if used to mix other colours.
• Red ink can only be removed by a Q-switched YAG laser which can convert its energy to green light.
• Ruby lasers cannot remove red ink.
• Conversely, Ruby laser is essential to remove the more stubborn green / blue spectrum.