Can you have tattoo removal while pregnant or breastfeeding?
Laser tattoo removal is not advised during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Here is why, and when you can start or resume your treatment with Ray studios.
Combining tattoo removal sessions with pregnancy or breastfeeding is contraindicated when the treatment is carried out with a laser, even with the very latest machines like ours. The same applies to all tattoo removal methods. In reality, whether we are talking about lactic acid or anti-tattoo creams, to name just two, using them is never recommended, whether you are pregnant or not.
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, the one and only recommendation is therefore to wait a few months in order to avoid unwanted side effects and protect your skin.
Why laser tattoo removal is not recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding
First of all, it is worth recalling what the treatment actually involves. Laser tattoo removal is a treatment during which the ink particles held in the dermis (the middle layer of the skin, the one sitting below the epidermis) are broken up. They are then reduced to microparticles, which are easier for the body to clear, pass into the lymphatic system and are eliminated naturally.
So this is a treatment that is safe when it is carried out by a trained skin therapist using the correct laser settings in a controlled environment, but it remains a procedure that is not trivial and that can have a real impact on the customer. Pregnancy brings hormonal changes for the mother-to-be that make exposure to a radiation source such as a laser risky. This can lead to unexpected side effects such as the skin not responding well to the treatment, or skin reactions.
Recurring side effects include blistering, redness or irritation on the treated area, and even the rupture of small blood vessels under the skin. In every case, the treatment remains without risk for the unborn baby or the infant, since only the mother's skin is involved. Even so, the risks taken on, even where they concern only the mother, are not worth rushing the start of a treatment during pregnancy or breastfeeding, unless there is an exceptional reason, which is a matter for the skin therapist's judgement.
When to start or resume tattoo removal after a pregnancy
The specialists at Ray studios therefore recommend starting or resuming laser tattoo removal a few months after the birth. This gap allows the body to return to normal hormone levels and so limits the unwanted side effects linked to the skin fragility that a hormonal surge brings. You should speak to your skin therapist to work out exactly when treatment can begin. Note that the gap between sessions matters little, so you will not lose the benefit of previous sessions, even after several months without treatment.
In the particular case where you discovered your pregnancy shortly after a tattoo removal session, there is no need to worry if you notice no side effects. As explained above, the treatment is also without danger for the unborn child, as it is unlikely that the use of the laser has any influence on the pregnancy. No malformation has been observed to date following the use of the laser. All the same, if you have any doubts, you can always contact one of our skin therapists, who will be able to inform and guide you.
You can also, at any time, book an initial consultation, which comes before any tattoo removal session, with one of the Ray studios experts. During this appointment the expert will answer all your questions, tell you if there is a contraindication, explain how the treatment works and take you through the Full Remove plan, which gives you unlimited sessions for one fixed price. Individual results vary.
