# does laser tattoo removal really get rid of the entire tattoo **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 26, 2001, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-laser-tattoo-removal-really-get-rid-of-the-entire-tattoo/83993 "2001-09-26T21:19:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fluffy\_cat\_bitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e19b73/32.png) [@fluffy\_cat\_bitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluffy_cat_bitch)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-laser-tattoo-removal-really-get-rid-of-the-entire-tattoo/83993/1 "2001-09-26T21:19:20Z")
anyone have any first hand experience with tattoo removal? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-laser-tattoo-removal-really-get-rid-of-the-entire-tattoo/83993/2 "2001-09-26T21:55:34Z")
Darn, I wish I did, so I could tell my friends I helped Fluffy Cat Bitch…too cool of a name… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-laser-tattoo-removal-really-get-rid-of-the-entire-tattoo/83993/3 "2001-09-26T22:11:57Z")
Oh, and sorry for the obvious question, but where is the tattoo and what is it? One can only imagine an adult rethinking the actions of their impetuous youth… ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2001, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-laser-tattoo-removal-really-get-rid-of-the-entire-tattoo/83993/4 "2001-09-27T00:09:04Z")
I’ve heard that laser isn’t very effective on red inks, but I haven’t found a site yet to confirm if that’s true or just a UL. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2001, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-laser-tattoo-removal-really-get-rid-of-the-entire-tattoo/83993/5 "2001-09-27T01:51:19Z")
welcome, rookie. It seems that the laser deal is the best so far, but I’ve seen quite a few folks who have a sort of light-skin scar where the work was done. God knows what it would look like if you had to have one of those big ornate thingies removed. best of luck. C ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2001, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-laser-tattoo-removal-really-get-rid-of-the-entire-tattoo/83993/6 "2001-09-27T03:42:50Z")
Go to [http://www.Google.com](http://www.Google.com) and look. I have found a lot of sites with pictures. They do say that yellow ink is hard if not impossible to remove. Lasers work best on light skin and dark ink. So the sites say. ---
**Author:** ![mischievous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mischievous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mischievous)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2001, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-laser-tattoo-removal-really-get-rid-of-the-entire-tattoo/83993/7 "2001-09-27T14:32:46Z")
I have been watching a woman get both sleeves (full arm tattoos) removed. She’s about halfway through, she has had I think 4 treatments. The ink is very faded, especially the red which are pretty much gone. The blacks are still visible, they look sort of orangy-grey. HOWEVER, the process does scar significantly! You pretty much end up with a tattoo-shaped scar. For small tats, it’s probably okay, but full sleeves are _very_ visible. FWIW, she is planning to get new sleeves put on to disguise the scarring. A good sorce for this and all other body modification questions is [bme.freeq.com](http://bme.freeq.com). Go to the question of the day section, and run a search. mischievous ---
**Author:** ![mischievous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mischievous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mischievous)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2001, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-laser-tattoo-removal-really-get-rid-of-the-entire-tattoo/83993/8 "2001-09-27T14:34:08Z")
Just moticed that the above link doesn’t work, but it will work if you type it in. mischievous