Absorption – in the field of laser tattoo removal, the process by which the energy of a photon is taken up by something else, in this case by an atom in the pigment of your tattoo
Anesthetic – a substance used to block the feeling of pain or other sensations
Antibiotic – a pharmaceutical that inhibits or eliminates the growth of bacteria, fungi, or protozoa
Color – the frequency of visible light; a phenomenon of light that enables differentiation of objects
Cream – a water-soluble substance added to the skin; in laser tattoo removal this can take the form of an antibiotic used to prevent infection
Cryosurgery– a surgical procedure where liquid nitrogen or other liquid is applied to skin and layers are peeled away
Dermabrasion – a cosmetic medical procedure where layers of the skin are removed by sanding with abrasives
Excision– a surgical procedure that removes a portion of skin; before lasers, a painful form of tattoo removal
Homemade tattoo – a tattoo made outside of a professional studio – often using India, pen, or other ink
Hyper-pigmentation – excess pigmentation/color
Hypo-pigmentation – loss of pigmentation/color
Laser – an acronym meaning “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation”; in tattoo removal, a light of a specific wavelength to remove particular colors is generated by a gain medium and amplified, then directed towards the tattoo pigment
Pigment – a substance used a coloring – in a tattoo, the most common pigment is black, but thousands can be mixed
Professional tattoo– a tattoo applied at a professional tattoo studio by trained staff with professional equipment
Tattoo – also known as dermal pigmentation – is a mark on the body
Tattoo Removal – a procedure to remove unwanted tattoos – most recently using highly-specific lasers to break up tattoo ink
Wavelength – the distance between two crests or troughs of a wave of light – laser tattoo removal uses several different wavelengths to address different colors of tattoo ink
Laser tattoo removal is an exciting area of medicine, combining the satisfaction of a cosmetic procedure with the latest technology. Here is a glossary of terms we at New Look use when discussing tattoo removal.