Tattoos are often a whim of youth that bring regrets a few years later. Until recently, the removal of tattoos was a difficult process, involving dermabrasion or grafting procedures that were sometimes accompanied by scarring and pain. Today, however, tattoo removal is a much simpler procedure, thanks to the development of laser technology in facial plastic surgery. Tattoos are created by placing large globules of ink below the surface of the skin.
Tattoos are permanent because the globules are large enough to escape being absorbed by the body.
Today, tattoos may be removed through use of a laser device that penetrates the surface of the skin harmlessly, focusing intense energy on the deeper layers beneath. The pulsing, high energy laser beam breaks up the ink globules into smaller bits that are then destroyed by the body's normal defense mechanism. Laser beams are produced by shooting light beams through a gas-filled tube. The photons of light are stimulated by electricity or radio frequency and amplified by mirrors placed in the tube. The result is an intense beam of light of a specific wave length.