During a tattoo removal procedure, laser light is applied to the tattooed area of the skin. The light is selectively absorbed by the tattoo ink particles, leaving the surrounding skin tissue and chromophores unharmed.

The tattoo ink particles absorb the laser energy, heat up, and shatter into smaller ink particles.

In the days and weeks following a laser treatment, the body’s immune system flushes away the shattered ink particles, causing the tattoo to fade. Over a series of treatments, more and more of the ink shatters, leaving the skin free of ink.