Why is laser treatment such a slow process?

We wish the process of having a tattoo removed was quicker than it is, but for laser treatment to be carried out safely, and to get the best results for you we need to leave a minimum of six weeks between sessions. 

We leave this time to allow your skin to heal from the treatment, but also for your immune system to have enough time to flush out the ink from your previous session. 

The laser shatters the ink particles and your own body then processes these particles to remove them – this is how the tattoo gradually fades. 

Longer gaps between sessions gives better results

Leaving your tattoo six weeks or longer does not affect the results you will achieve, in fact clients are surprised that their tattoo continues to fade even after leaving a long break between sessions. 

Some companies will advise clients to have laser treatment every 4 weeks. We do not agree with this and would strongly advise against having laser treatment so frequently - due to the increased risk of scarring and lasering over skin that has not completely healed.

We will assess your tattoo before each treatment and will advise you how many weeks we should leave until your next session. Some clients may need longer if their skin takes longer to heal or if their tattoo is very nearly faded and the power used on the laser has been increased. 

If you'd like to know more why not give us a call on 07539 279 355 or email us at ask@the-missing-ink.co.uk.

Why do you have to wait so long between laser sessions?

Deciding to get a tattoo removed or faded down for a cover-up, is a big commitment. 

You will be spending a significant amount of time and money having laser treatment and looking after your fading tattoo between sessions.

Unfortunately, laser treatment is not a "quick fix" - it requires patience and absolute trust in your laser technician.

We urge everyone considering tattoo removal to really do their research into who they are going to trust their skin and money to. 

A Google search of "tattoo removal near me" will bring up loads of companies offering fast, cheap, pain-free laser treatment.

Look a little deeper into the companies that are listed:

Have they paid to come at the top of the results?

Do they specialise in laser treatment or do they offer many other services?

What are clients saying about the service?

Have they got lots of examples of their lasering work or are they using stock/Photoshopped images?

Unfortunately there are many businesses out there who have not had the relevant training required to not only be qualified to treat tattoos, but they will also not be insured. 

They basically just want your money and are not focused on getting you the results you want with your treatment. 

You may read about the machine a company is using, and they could pretty much sell you the machine as the best thing since sliced bread, but the technicians using the machine are equally as important. 

Technicians who perform numerous other aesthetic treatments and maybe only laser tattoos once or twice a week, cannot develop the experience of working on hundreds of tattoos. 

We are proud to say that we specialise in laser tattoo removal - we do not offer any other treatments, this is what we do day in day out. 


Remember that it's your skin and your money that you're trusting a company with.

Get in contact with a few companies and ask lots of questions about the tattoo removal process:

Do you offer no-obligation consultations?

If I want to go ahead, do you perform test patches? (this is so important - if you're not offered a test patch steer clear!)

Getting answers to these sorts of questions should give you a feel for the company and help you decide where to go. 

We understand that when we are reading information about laser treatment, watching videos and seeing photos it is easy for us to spot red flags, as we are qualified and this is our profession. 

However, it is easy to fall for a sales pitch if you do not completely understand how tattoo removal works. 

We are more than happy to explain the process to potential clients and answer any questions they may have - there is no such thing as a silly question! 

In fact, we love it when clients fire loads of questions at us - we could bore you stupid with what we know about tattoo removal!

The importance of client confidentiality and confidence in our service

During your consultation with us, we ask if you give us permission to use photographs of your tattoos on our website and social media. 

We never share any photos without permission and we only share photos of the tattoos, not the clients, and we will never tag our clients in any posts. 

We completely respect confidentiality and understand that not everyone is comfortable having photos of their tattoo on our business accounts. 

We believe that sharing realistic photos and videos of our work is the best way to represent what we do. 

You may see videos online that look really impressive and the treatments look extremely fast. Most of these videos are enhanced and sped up! 

The same goes for before and after photos. We never edit our photos - we want to show the true results of our work as we are very proud of what we do! 

All of our followers, likes and reviews are genuine - we never pay for adverts so that we come top on Google, or purchase thousands of fake followers on our Instagram.

We pride ourselves on being completely upfront and honest with every client we speak to - if we don’t feel that we can get you the results you are after, we will tell you and advise you on a different route you may need to take. We also work continuously behind the scenes updating our website and social media accounts to keep everything fresh and up to date to give everyone doing their research an accurate representation of our work.

The importance of researching where you have laser treatment

We would be lying if we said laser tattoo removal was completely pain free – we wish it was! 

Other companies promote "pain-free" laser treatments, but if you consider that the laser is shattering the ink particles in your tattoo - there's is always going to be some level of pain. Cooling machines and ice packs do take the edge off the sensation, but unless you have a general anaesthetic you will feel the treatment.

Both of us have had laser treatment on our tattoos, so we understand exactly what you are going through. We try our best to make the treatment as comfortable as possible. We can use cool packs, we can chat to you to take your mind off it, and we have plenty of stressballs and squishies for you to squeeze.  Many of our clients find that sucking on a lolly or chewing gum helps as well.

Does numbing cream really work for laser treatments?

To be honest, the jury's out on the use of numbing cream.

Some clients swear by it, and won't have a laser session if they've forgotten to put it on, others don't think it makes any difference.

Numbing cream does not affect the treatment or the healing process, but it can make it more comfortable for you.  

If you find your laser sessions very painful, have a chat with us and we can tell you about which numbing cream that our clients have found to be most effective.

It's really important that the numbing cream is applied correctly - otherwise you will have wasted your money.

Put the numbing cream on at least 60-90 minutes before your laser session

Make sure the whole tattoo is covered with the cream (especially the edges)

Wrap the area loosely in clingfilm and tape it to stop it moving around

Keep the numbing cream on until you get to the studio - we'll take it off for you just before your treatment

What does laser treatment actually feel like?

We have heard lots of different descriptions of what the treatment feels like to our clients. 

Elastic bands snapping against the skin 

Most of our clients have never had laser treatment before, so have no idea what to expect when they sit in our chairs for the first time.

The first shot with the laser always makes people jump - because it's a completely different sensation than they have ever felt before. 

Almost every single client tells us that it's not as bad as they thought it was going to be!

The treatment itself is a lot quicker than when you had the tattoo originally put on and the discomfort stops almost immediately after the laser hits the ink. Let's admit it - tattoos are very uncomfortable to have, so if you can sit through that process you will have no problems with laser treatment.  

Does laser tattoo removal treatment hurt?

All of the following images are of our own lasering work – we never use stock photos or alter images to make them appear to have better results. 

We always respect client confidentiality and will never share any images without permission.

Trust us with your information

No stock photos and no Photoshop

Original tattoo (a little laser treatment elsewhere before coming to us)

Original tattoo (joined to another tattoo that is not being removed)

Here’s a small selection of some of our lasering work – showing a range of full removals, fades for cover-ups and works in progress.