How Many Sessions of Tattoo Removal will You Need?
Besides cost (which you can find here), the question we’re asked most is:
“How many sessions will I need to remove my tattoo?”
Oftentimes, that question is like answering “how much is a bag of groceries?” The answer? It depends!
There are tools that we use during your initial consultation to give a pretty accurate estimation of how many tattoo removal sessions will be needed, but there are many other factors that cannot be used in that tool. We will go over it all in this post!
So, in the tattoo removal world, techs use the Kirby Desai Scale to estimate treatments needed for a “full removal”.
Full removal is often described as a 95% clearance of pigment, meaning that if we were standing 10 feet away from each other, I wouldn’t be able to see any tattoo.
There comes a point when the power needed to target the pigment is so high that it is actually damaging to the skin, but we can then use other treatments like microneedling to help break up stubborn pigment.
And while the Kirby Desai Scale is the gold standard for techs, it’s worth noting that it has a 76% accuracy; it’s not perfect, and there are other factors to consider.
Kirby Desai Scale
The Kirby Desai Scale takes six parameters into consideration:
Skin type
Location of tattoo
Amount of ink
Tattoo color
Layering (e.g. a coverup tattoo)
Scarring
Points based on clients’ answers give a numerical estimate of how many sessions may be needed for complete removal.
Most tattoos require between 8-12 sessions for full removal.
Here is the Kirby Desai Scale printout we use during consultations with clients:
As you can see, sessions vary widely based on different clients and tattoos.
A Fitzpatrick I client with a tattoo on their neck that’s solid line work black ink that hasn’t been touched up or is a coverup without any scarring yields about 7 sessions. That same client with a faded stick and poke tattoo may only require 4 or fewer sessions.
On the other hand, a Fitzpatrick VI client with the same tattoo would likely require 9-12 sessions, as the power levels used during removal with darker skin must be lower for safe and effective removal.
Not the Kirby Desai Scale but important: Smoking will slow down your removal journey A LOT.
A study out of Milan, Italy found that the chance of achieving removal after 10 treatment sessions was decreased by 69.7% in smokers compared with nonsmokers. This means that you’ll need about 50% more removal sessions, so about five more. Yikes.
Lifestyle: In general, clients who have a healthy lifestyle — for example: drinking water, having a balanced diet, and exercising routine — have better success with removal. It’s a big push on your immune system so the healthier you are the better you fade and heal.
Unknowns: Some factors that can throw a monkey wrench into your removal and are hard to predict are things like needle-depth used by your tattooer, the type of ink/pigment used, and how your body heals.
Your dermis (where tattoos are placed in your skin) is between 1-2mm underneath your skin, and while professional tattooers know the correct depth to use when performing a tattoo, sometimes amateur tattooers go too deep, making it more difficult to remove.
In removal, having a poorly executed tattoo can sometimes be a blessing, meaning it’s more superficial so it's easier to remove.
Tattoo pigment/ink isn’t regulated in the US, so it’s pretty much impossible to know the chemical makeup of the ink we’re trying to remove too.
Age: Because tattoo removal is a big push on your immune system, younger clients tend to heal faster.