A common question asked of our office is “Laser Hair Removal safe for areas where I have a tattoo?” The short answer is “No”. Lasers, regardless of type, whether nd:Yag, Alexandrite, Ruby, or IPL-based, react to pigment. Tattoos in fact are darkened pigment introduced in to the skin (i.e. the ink used for tattoos). The darker the ink color, the higher the chance it will be removed or partially removed during a laser treatment. The bottom line is this – if you have a tattoo that you intend to keep, don’t have the area treated with a laser of any kind, whether for hair removal or any other purpose.
