Process

The Laser Tattoo Removal Process

Consultation

Procedure

After Care

The Consultation

What to Expect at Your Consultation

During your consultation, we’ll get to know you, your tattoo, and your medical history (all completely confidential, of course). We’ll assess your skin type and flag anything that may affect your immune response — because your body plays a huge role in the tattoo removal process.

Next, we’ll examine your tattoo’s size, location, colour, and ink density. This allows us to give you a realistic estimate of how many treatments you’ll need — whether you’re after full tattoo removal or just some fading for a cover-up.

Planning a cover-up? Most clients see ideal fading in 2–6 sessions, depending on how light your tattoo artist needs the existing ink to be. We work closely with some of the best tattoo artists on the Gold Coast to help you get the best possible canvas.

Looking for full removal? Professional tattoos typically take 5–15 sessions, while amateur tattoos may require fewer — sometimes as little as 1–5 treatments.

Pressed for time? We also offer online and phone consultations. Head to our Get a Quote page to get started from wherever you are.

The Procedure

How Laser Tattoo Removal Works

Tattoos are created by inserting pigment into the dermal layer of the skin, where the ink particles become trapped — too large for the body to naturally remove. That’s where laser tattoo removal comes in.

Using ultra-short bursts of light energy, the Candela PicoWay laser penetrates the skin and targets the tattoo ink. The ink particles absorb the laser energy and break down into smaller fragments. Once shattered, your body’s immune system kicks in and gradually flushes these particles away through the lymphatic system, causing the tattoo to fade over time.

To make your treatment as comfortable as possible, we cool the skin to -35°C during the procedure. This helps reduce discomfort and minimises the risk of thermal damage. If you’re worried about discomfort we can also recommend a topical anaesthetic cream, which should be applied approximately 1.5 hours before your appointment.

For best results, we recommend spacing your treatments at least 8-12 weeks apart. This gives your immune system enough time to process and eliminate the ink fragments between sessions.

The After Care

We will provide you with a complete after care pack containing all the information you need. You will also have the personal contact phone number of your clinician in case you need to contact us after hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have to be over 18?

At Rethink, individuals younger than 18 can be treated for tattoo removal with parental consent.

Does it Hurt?

Many clinics respond to this question with: it can cause brief discomfort.

We prefer to be honest and tell it exactly how it is. Yes it hurts! Everyone we treat is different and certain areas on the body are more sensitive than others, most people describe it as a hot rubber band flicking your skin.

As we have been through the process ourselves we are dedicated to providing the best possible pain management and that is why we use a Cryotherapy chiller which blows -35 degree cold air onto the treatment area. This cold air minimises pain and thermal injury to your skin.

If you are concerned about discomfort we also can provide you with a topical anaesthetic cream which alleviates most of the discomfort associated with the treatment.

How Effective is Laser Tattoo Removal Treatment?

Does it hurt?

The heat produced by the laser procedure is localised to a very small area but it can cause some brief discomfort. For those with sensitive skin, a topical anesthetic can be used. We use a chiller that cools the skin by blowing -35 degree cold air onto the treatment area. This reduces the discomfort of tattoo removal quite significantly.

How effective is laser tattoo removal?

Laser treatment is very effective on most types of tattoos and most colors. Generally, tattoos can be totally eliminated by laser treatment, resulting in no residual dyes or scarring. Laser tattoo removal is a new science and the latest models of lasers are more effective than earlier models. The methodology is not simple. Different frequencies must be used for different colors of tattoo ink. It is crucial that the laser tattoo removal procedure be performed by an experienced licenced operator who has received specialised training for this procedure.

Can Laser Cause Cancer?

The mechanism of tattoo removal uses non-ionising radiation, which has no detrimental effect on the molecular structure of DNA.

Lasers used in tattoo removal have been in use for many years and in this time there has been no recorded case of increased development of cancers in the group treated.

What are the Side Effects?

After the laser procedure you may experience some redness, swelling and scabbing and sometimes blistering. This is a normal process as the body works to eliminate the tattoo dyes. Most people find that within 1 – 2 weeks depending on their tattoo/colour/location they are completely healed to perfect skin as before the treatment.

What About after Care?

During consultation we explain in great details your after care. We also provide you with a detailed after care pack and the personal phone number of the laser specialist in case you have any questions or concerns after hours.

The MOST important we can tell you is NO SUN! NO SUN! NO SUN!

How Many Treatments Will I Need?

All tattoos and all people are different but it generally takes between 5 – 12 laser treatments to completely remove a tattoo. This depends on many factors including the colour of ink used, the client’s immune system, the size and location of the tattoo, how deep the ink is, how much ink, the age of the tattoo and whether it was applied by a professional or an amateur. Homemade tattoos can take between 1-3 treatments to completely remove the ink.

We have successfully performed over 42,000 treatments , with this experience we can give you an accurate estimate on the number of treatments required to remove or fade your tattoo.

Can you Lighten an Existing Tattoo?

Some clients desire lightening of an existing tattoo in order to cover or alter it with a new one. In most cases, a minimum of 2-3 treatments is all that’s required to lighten an existing tattoo.

Can I Get a New Tattoo Over Skin that has been Lasered?

Yes! You can certainly tattoo over the old tattoo after laser. Most tattooists will require you to wait a minimum of 8-12 weeks after the laser treatment.