To ensure the best possible results for tattoo removal, follow these pre-treatment guidelines:
Before Your Appointment
Preparing properly helps us assess your suitability, protect your skin and plan your treatment. Please read these instructions before every appointment, including appointments later in your course.
Keep us fully informed about your health
- You must provide complete and accurate information about your medical history, health and medication.
- Tell us about any changes before every appointment, even if you have previously completed a consultation or received treatment without problems.
- This includes new diagnoses, illness, infections, pregnancy, breastfeeding, surgery and other medical procedures.
- Disclose all prescribed medication, over-the-counter medicines, herbal products and supplements, including anything you have started, stopped or changed.
- Tell us about conditions or medication affecting your immune system, healing, bleeding or sensitivity to light.
- Inform us about previous abnormal scarring, keloid scars, poor wound healing, allergies, cold sores, seizures or fainting.
- Tell us if the tattoo has become itchy, raised, painful, swollen or otherwise changed.
- Do not assume a change is irrelevant. Contact us before attending if you are unsure.
- Do not stop prescribed medication to have treatment. We may need advice from your prescriber before proceeding.
- Treatment may be postponed, adjusted or declined following our assessment.
Protect your skin from tanning
- Avoid sunbathing and sunbeds throughout your treatment course.
- Tell us about recent sun exposure, tanning or sunburn before your appointment.
- We cannot treat sunburnt or actively tanned skin. Your practitioner will confirm how long you need to wait.
- Do not apply fake tan to the treatment area. Any previous product must have completely faded.
- Protect the tattoo with clothing and use broad-spectrum SPF50 on intact skin between appointments.
Keep the treatment area healthy
- Contact us if you develop cuts, grazes, a rash, an infection or an eczema flare over the tattoo.
- The area must have healed from your previous treatment before it is treated again.
- Avoid scrubbing, exfoliating or using irritating products over the tattoo before your appointment.
- Tell us about any recent skin treatments or tattooing in the area.
- If hair removal is needed, follow our instructions. Avoid shaving so closely that you cause cuts or irritation.
On the day
- Arrive with clean skin, free from creams, oils, perfume, deodorant and make-up over the tattoo.
- If you need sunscreen for your journey, tell us so it can be removed before treatment.
- Wear loose clothing that gives us access to the tattoo and will not rub afterwards.
- Eat normally and arrive hydrated.
- Do not attend under the influence of alcohol or recreational drugs.
- Plan around work, exercise and other activities that could rub, heat or contaminate the treated skin.
Understand your treatment
- Tattoo removal is a gradual process requiring multiple appointments.
- The number of sessions depends on factors including ink colour, density, layering, location and your individual response.
- Complete clearance cannot be guaranteed. Some pigment or an outline may remain.
- Risks include blistering, infection, scarring, changes in skin texture and lighter or darker skin pigmentation. Some changes can be permanent.
- Certain inks, particularly some cosmetic tattoo pigments, can darken after treatment.
- A successful patch test or previous session does not guarantee that future treatment will be free from reactions.
- Ask any questions before treatment and make sure you understand your personalised aftercare.
Before proceeding, you will be asked to confirm that your medical information is up to date and that you have disclosed any relevant changes to the best of your knowledge.