A less painful option for removing tattoos

Laser tattoo removal

LOS ANGELES, Ca. – Removing a tattoo with a traditional laser can involve as many as twenty sessions. It’s expensive and painful. Now, there’s a new laser that uses cutting-edge technology that cuts down on your time in the doctor’s office.

Jasmine is in the middle of undoing something she did when she was 16. She’s getting rid of a tattoo of a Shakespeare quote that covers her entire left side.

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Jasmine said, “I definitely don't want a giant tattoo on my side for the rest of my life.”

She had bad luck trying to get smaller tattoos removed.   Seven visits and they’re still visible. Then she found Dennis Dass, M.D., a Los Angeles-based plastic surgeon, who uses a new PicoSure laser. A picosecond is a trillionth of a second.

“When a laser energy is delivered in a trillionth of a second, you’re actually getting a pressure wave that disrupts the ink particles as opposed to heat damage to the ink particles, so you get less damage to the surrounding skin,” detailed Dr. Dass.

After giving her lidocaine shots for pain, Dr. Dass will spend five minutes using the laser on her tattoo. Here’s Jasmine’s tattoo after three 

-- Removing a tattoo with a traditional laser can involve as many as twenty sessions. It’s expensive and painful. Now, there’s a new laser that uses cutting-edge technology that cuts down on your time in the doctor’s office.

Jasmine is in the middle of undoing something she did when she was 16. She’s getting rid of a tattoo of a Shakespeare quote that covers her entire left side.

Jasmine told Ivanhoe, “I definitely don't want a giant tattoo on my side for the rest of my life.”

She had bad luck trying to get smaller tattoos removed.   Seven visits and they’re still visible. Then she found Dennis Dass, M.D., a Los Angeles-based plastic surgeon, who uses a new PicoSure laser. A picosecond is a trillionth of a second.

“When a laser energy is delivered in a trillionth of a second, you’re actually getting a pressure wave that disrupts the ink particles as opposed to heat damage to the ink particles, so you get less damage to the surrounding skin,” detailed Dr. Dass.

After giving her lidocaine shots for pain, Dr. Dass will spend five minutes using the laser on her tattoo. Here’s Jasmine’s tattoo after three 


About the Author:

Anchor on The Morning Show team and reporter specializing on health issues.