Treatment expectations

Does Drinking Alcohol Affect Laser Tattoo Removal?

The short answer

Nobody has measured it. Alcohol is on the list of things known to slow wound healing, so I ask for a few dry days either side of a session. No study has tested whether it changes how fast a tattoo fades.

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

Published · Last reviewed · 2 min read

Two pints of beer on a pub table

I get asked this at most consultations. Nobody has measured it, so I can only tell you what is known about alcohol and healing, and what I ask of you around a session.

What the research says

I have not found a study from a university or hospital that measured drinking against how fast a tattoo fades. The nearest evidence is about healing in general.

A laser session is a controlled injury to the skin, and my working rule is simple: anything that slows healing will slow removal. By how much, nobody knows, because nobody has tested it. So the advice is to be as healthy as you reasonably can for the course of your treatment, and that includes drinking less around a session.

What I ask of you

The same as the aftercare sheet:

  • General advice Keep off alcohol for a few days before and after a session. It can widen the blood vessels in the treated area, which is the last thing freshly treated skin needs.

A few dry days either side of each session is all it takes. I’m not asking anyone to give up drinking for the course of their treatment.

The one that has been measured

Smoking has been. In the largest study of what affects tattoo removal, smokers’ tattoos cleared less often than non-smokers’.[2] If you smoke and drink, the smoking is the one with evidence behind it, and I’ve written about it in its own guide.

References

  1. 1.Guo S, DiPietro LA. Factors affecting wound healing. Journal of Dental Research. 2010;89(3):219–229. doi:10.1177/0022034509359125A review of what is known to slow skin healing. About wounds in general, not tattoo removal.
  2. 2.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 over fifteen years: the study that measured smoking.
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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