Will Laser Tattoo Removal Remove Hair?

Are you worried that your laser tattoo removal session will also remove your hair? Well the good news is, you dont have to.

Tattoo removal lasers and hair removal lasers are very different. The standard for laser tattoo removal is the QSwitched laser and the new standard for laser hair removal is Diode 808.

Both hair follicles and tattoo ink are found in the dermis, but the dermis has two layers. The reticular (top) dermis and the papillary (lower) dermis. Ink from your tattoo sits in the reticular dermis layer, which allows the ink to be seen through the epidermis. It is this layer that your tattoo removal laser will target. Hair removal lasers target the hair follicle which is found in the deeper layer of the reticular dermis.

Each laser, with their different wavelengths, cannot target every area of the dermis. The most common wavelengths for laser tattoo removal are 1064 nm and 532 nm and lasers used for laser hair removal use 808 and 755.

There is also a matter of the speed of the laser… Q-switch devices used in laser tattoo removal deliver energy so fast that the laser hits the ink pigment and explodes it into tiny fragments. The laser pulse used in hair removal is much longer than the pulse used in laser tattoo removal. For hair removal the laser needs to reach further into the skin layers to access the hair follicles. So, worry not, having laser tattoo removal will leave your hair safe although it can sometimes burn and go white, so it is better to shave the area before commencing your laser tattoo removal.