What kind of lasers have been used for laser tattoo removal?

Many prospective students at New Look Laser College are interested in learning about the different types of tattoo removal lasers. Whether they are interested in setting up their own laser clinic or working at an existing clinic, understanding the equipment is very important. Here’s a basic overview of the categories of tattoo removal lasers that have been used over the years:

(1) Ruby lasers – operating at 694nm, a ruby laser was the first laser ever created – in 1960. Ruby lasers are very effective at removing blue and green ink. The leading q-switched Ruby laser is the Astanza Trinity.

(2) Carbon dioxide lasers – these lasers use carbon dioxide gas as the lasing medium and operate at 10600 nm. They were commonly used for tattoo removal in the late 70s and 80s, but they tended to scar the skin very badly (because of the heat transfer resulting from water’s absorption of the laser energy)

(3) Argon lasers – operated at 488 and 514nm wavelengths; common hypertrophic scarring and residual pigment loss because of melanin and hemoglobin absorption of laser energy.

(4) Nd:YAG lasers – the gold standard. These lasers operate a 532nm and 1064nm, with the ability to handle a wide range of tattoo ink colors. Scarring is very rare or non-existent depending on several factors and the lasers can be used on a wide range of skin types.

(5) Alexandrite lasers – much less common than Nd:YAG lasers, these lasers are designed to treat blue and green tattoos, in addition to black and other darker tattoos. They are maintenance hogs in many cases, and often lack the power needed to remove a wide spectrum of tattoos. Another challenge with Alexandrite lasers is that they are not able to remove lighter colors of ink (including red, orange, yellow, etc) and in some cases aren’t able to remove green with great efficacy.

For More Information:

If you’re interested in attending a course or want to become certified in laser tattoo removal, call (281) 846-5890 or contact us at info@newlooklasercollege.com.