Let's say you had "Malcom Forever" tattooed across your heart and things with Mal didn't work out.
Laser-based treatments can remove the ill-gotten ink by heating the pigment – sometimes to 300°C (572°F) – which literally blasts it out of your skin cells.
Some of those ink particles will be engulfed by white blood cells dispatched by your immune system. Those are then carried away by the lymphatic system, filtered and broken down through the liver and kidneys.
Eventually, you’ll pee out the waste remnants, while some ink particles are also released as your skin heals.
This article is an answer to the question (asked by Tony Holder, Hereford) 'Where does the ink go when you get a tattoo removed?'
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