Tattoo Removal in the UK

It is said that of all the people with tattoos around 50% of these want to have them removed, for one reason or another. Tattoo removal in the UK is a growing service, and more and more people are having their unwanted tattoos removed by laser treatment.

The National Health Service do not routinely provide laser treatment free of charge. In trying financial times, Health service managers and doctors tend not to fund what they consider to be elective cosmetic surgery. There are, however, certain Primary Health Care Trusts that will make exceptions for special cases where there is a psychological problem associated with the tattoo. In any case it is always advisable to speak to your General Practitioner before treatment.

Having decided to have laser treatment you will need to have an initial consultation where a test patch of skin will be treated and evaluated. This is likely to be in the region of £25 to £50. Multiple treatment sessions are almost always required. The number of the sessions required depends on a number of factors including the size of your tattoo and the type of ink that was used. The initial test will determine how many treatments are likely to be needed.

Hospitals that carry out tattoo removal in the UK include:

• Acland, Oxford
• Cleveland
• Cotswold, Cheltenham
• Exeter
• Glasgow
• Hull
• Leicester
• Mid Yorkshire, Leeds
• Newcastle
• North Staffordshire, Newcastle-Under-Lyme