Considering Removal
Choosing a Provider
How to tell a competent clinic from a confident one.
Choosing a tattoo removal provider is one of the most important things you’ll do. Why? Because anyone can buy a laser and in much of the United States (the rules change from state to state) the person operating it doesn’t have to be a doctor. That leaves you doing the vetting on your own.
The good news: the questions worth asking are pretty simple and how to choose a tattoo removal provider has them all.
Four questions worth asking
“Who’s operating the laser?”
Training, not job title
Who holds the laser, what training they’ve had, and whether a physician is on site. The rules vary by state, so the answer matters.
“Which laser, and why?”
The machine has to match the ink
Different wavelengths hit different colors. You want a provider who can explain why they’re choosing a specific one for your tattoo.
“How many sessions?”
Listen for a range
Anyone who gives you one confident number is guessing. A good answer is a range.
“What if it doesn’t clear?”
The question they’d rather skip
Complete clearance isn’t guaranteed. How a provider handles this question tells you how they’ll handle the outcome.
Wavelength and clearance context from StatPearls, “Laser Tattoo Removal”, published by the National Library of Medicine.
Everything in this section
Vetting a clinic and knowing what a good answer sounds like.
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Tattoo Removal Red Flags: Warning Signs Before You Book
Removal is a real medical procedure done with a powerful laser and usually across the better part of a year. That earns you the right to be choosy, and any clinic worth choosing will be glad you are. Most places that remove tattoos are run by people who take the work seriously, so this isn’t […]
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Dermatologist, Medspa, or Removal Clinic: Where Should You Get a Tattoo Removed?
You can get the same tattoo removed in three pretty different kinds of places and the sign on the door tells you less than you’d think. A dermatology office, a medspa, and a dedicated removal clinic can all run the same laser on the same ink but what actually changes is who’s holding the device, […]
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Who’s Operating Your Laser and Why It Matters
The question of who can perform laser tattoo removal is the one that changes the outcome the most and it’s the one people ask the least. We tend to choose a clinic on its name, its reviews, or how close it is to home, but what decides how your removal actually goes is none of […]
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How to Choose a Tattoo Removal Provider
Of all the decisions in tattoo removal, this is the one that matters most. Problem is, every clinic’s answer is “choose us.” But it’s not really about the clinic. They could have the latest and greatest laser, but according to the American Academy of Dermatology, the outcome still depends almost entirely on who performs the […]
