Tattoo colours

Can Lasers Remove Green, Blue or Yellow Tattoo Ink?

The short answer

Black and red respond best to my laser. Green, light blue, yellow, pink and white absorb its light poorly, and some of those may never clear completely with the type of laser I use. I’ll tell you at the consultation which colours in your tattoo are the hard ones.

Written by Daniel Mason, Level 4 Laser Technician at The Blackbird Wing

Published · Last reviewed · 3 min read

A full-colour sleeve tattoo in blues, greens and pinks

A laser only affects the colours in a tattoo that absorb its particular light. That is why the answer depends on the colour, and why I’ll tell you at the consultation which parts of your tattoo are the hard ones.

How a laser picks a colour

Each laser produces one wavelength of light, and each ink colour absorbs some wavelengths far better than others. Black absorbs almost everything, which is why it is the easiest colour to remove. Other colours need a wavelength that matches them.[2][4]

My laser has two settings: 1064 nm, which black and very dark inks absorb, and 532 nm, which reds and some other warm colours absorb. Green, light blue, yellow, pink and white absorb neither well.

Ink1064 nm532 nm
Black
Dark blue
Red
Orange
Green
Light blue
Yellow
Pink
White

A full bar means that setting of my laser is the one I use on that colour. An empty row is a colour neither setting absorbs well, which is where a different type of laser would be needed.

The two settings on my laser and the ink colours each one is used for. This is how I treat, not a measurement from a study.

Green and blue

Colour is one of the factors behind how many sessions a tattoo takes, and it is the usual reason a tattoo seems to stop fading part-way through.

References

  1. 1.Bencini PL, Cazzaniga S, Tourlaki A, Galimberti MG, Naldi L. Removal of Tattoos by Q-Switched Laser: Variables Influencing Outcome and Sequelae in a Large Cohort of Treated Patients. Archives of Dermatology. 2012;148(12):1364–1369. doi:10.1001/archdermatol.2012.2946One clinic’s records of 352 people treated with the same type of laser I use, over fifteen years.
  2. 2.Kent KM, Graber EM. Laser tattoo removal: a review. Dermatologic Surgery. 2012;38(1):1–13. doi:10.1111/j.1524-4725.2011.02187.xA review of the research on laser tattoo removal, including which colours respond to which lasers.
  3. 3.Brauer JA, Reddy KK, Anolik R, et al.. Successful and rapid treatment of blue and green tattoo pigment with a novel picosecond laser. Archives of Dermatology. 2012;148(7):820–823. doi:10.1001/archdermatol.2012.901A report on twelve tattoos treated with a picosecond 755 nm laser, a different type from mine.
  4. 4.Hohman MH, Ramsey ML. Laser Tattoo Removal. StatPearls. 2025. Read the sourceA medical reference chapter on how laser tattoo removal works.
Daniel Mason

Daniel Mason

Level 4 Laser Technician · The Blackbird Wing

Daniel carries out every laser tattoo removal treatment at The Blackbird Wing in Lymington, on the edge of the New Forest.

This guide is general information to help you know what to expect. It is not medical advice, and it is no substitute for a consultation and patch test, where we look at your skin and your tattoo.

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