Tattoo Removal · Atlanta, GA
Atlanta · Cumberland / Vinings / Smyrna. I remove black and grey tattoos and old permanent makeup. That's the whole menu, and it's on purpose.
Black and grey is what a Q-switched Nd:YAG at 1064 nm actually clears, and 1064 is the wavelength that's safe on every skin tone. So if your tattoo is black or grey, you're in the right place.
If it has red, green, yellow or purple in it, I'll tell you that in the consult and point you to someone with the right laser, instead of taking your money for six sessions that were never going to work.
Colored ink. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue-green, purple, pink. My laser doesn't clear those well and pretending otherwise costs you money and time. I'll refer you out.
Lip blush. Lip pigment is warm and full of iron oxide. Lasering it can turn it darker instead of lighter. If you want lip work gone, we talk about saline, not laser.
White or skin-tone pigment. This is the one that surprises people. White and flesh-tone pigments contain titanium dioxide, and a laser pulse can turn them dark instead of clearing them. I don't touch them.
Anything that isn't fully healed. Body work needs eight weeks. Brow work needs to be completely healed and settled.
This is the part most studios don't explain. Old brow work is usually layers. The black or grey you can see sits on top of warmer pigment, orange, red, sometimes yellow, that was mixed in when the brows were originally done. The laser handles the black and grey. It doesn't handle what's under it, and forcing it can turn that warm layer dark.
So I do both. Laser for the black and grey, saline removal for the warm layers the laser can't reach. Most old brows need some of each, and which combination you need is what the consult is actually for.
I'm not aware of another studio in the Cumberland or Smyrna area that does both. It's the reason I can give you an honest answer instead of the answer that fits the one machine in the room.
Before I treat a whole brow, I treat a spot the size of a grain of rice, usually at the tail where nobody's looking, and then we wait four weeks.
Here's why that matters. Some cosmetic pigments contain iron oxide or titanium dioxide, and a laser pulse can reduce them chemically and turn them darker instead of lighter. It's called paradoxical darkening. It's not rare, it's not a mistake, and it's completely manageable, as long as it happens on a quarter-inch of brow tail instead of across both brows on your face.
Four weeks tells us how your specific pigment behaves. Then we build the plan around what actually happened, not what should have happened.
Nobody wants to hear this, so I'll be quick about it.
Old permanent makeup: usually 4 to 8 sessions. Some brows clear in 2 or 3. Brows that have been tattooed more than once, or packed with dense pigment, can take 10.
Black and grey body tattoos: usually 6 to 10 sessions. Professional work takes longer than homemade work, because professionals pack in more ink.
Sessions are spaced 8 to 12 weeks apart. That's not me being slow. Your body removes the shattered pigment through your lymphatic system, and that takes time. Treating sooner doesn't speed it up, it just adds trauma to skin that hasn't finished healing.
If somebody quotes you one to three sessions, they're either guessing or selling. The manufacturers print numbers like that in their own manuals. It doesn't make them true.
What It Costs
Consultation for tattoo removal is free. Patch test is $50, credited toward your first session.
| Eyebrow / cosmetic tattoo removal | $250 |
| Body tattoo,extra small (up to 2 sq in) | $150 |
| Body tattoo,small (up to 4 sq in) | $200 |
| Body tattoo,medium (up to 9 sq in) | $275 |
| Body tattoo,large (up to 16 sq in) | $375 |
| Body tattoo,extra large (17–25 sq in) | $500 |
| Saline removal (per session) | quoted at consult |
Larger than 25 square inches, I'll quote you at the consult.
Prefer to pay monthly? The Clean Slate Payment Plan spreads black and grey removal into a small monthly payment, from $80/month.
Good to Know
Yes, some. It's fast, a hot snap like a rubber band, and a small tattoo is over in under a minute. Numbing cream is available and worth using on brows.
It frosts, turning white for about fifteen minutes. That's the reaction we want, and it means the pigment absorbed the energy. Then it settles into redness and swelling for a few days, and it may scab. Don't pick it.
Yes, and that's most of what I do. Removal isn't always the answer, though. Sometimes correcting over the old work is the better call and I'll tell you which one you need. What I won't do is tattoo over work that should have come off first, because layering pigment over pigment makes it harder to remove later.
Different ink colors absorb different wavelengths of light. Mine is built for black and grey. Treating a red or green tattoo with the wrong wavelength doesn't do much except cost you sessions.
Eight weeks minimum after your last removal session, and the skin has to be fully settled. Usually it's longer, and I'd rather wait than rush it.
It can. Temporary lightening or darkening after treatment is normal and usually resolves. The risk goes up if sessions are crowded too close together, which is exactly why I space mine out.
Bring your tattoo or your old brows in. I'll tell you honestly what I can clear, what I can't, and how many sessions it really takes.