How Are Tattoos Removed?

Nowadays most tattoos are removed with lasers.  Laser tattoo removal works by producing short pulses of intense light that pass through the top layers of the skin but are absorbed by the tattoo pigment. The energy of the laser causes the tattoo pigment to fragment into smaller particles that are then removed by the body's immune system.

The laser is able to target the pigment of the tattoo without damaging the surrounding skin but the success of the removal depends on many factors including the age of the tattoo,  its size, its location and how evenly the tattoo was originally injected.

Before the advent of lasers, tattoo removal techniques were considerably more painful.  Methods include dermabrasion (which involved sanding the skin to remove the layers containing the tattoo), cryosurgery (where the area is frozen and then removed) and excision (where the area is removed with a scalpel and the wound is closed).

If they are permanent, you need to go through removal surgery using lasers