Published 20 October 2026 · Reviewed by Dr Sin Yong
Tattoo removal cost is set by the colours in the ink and the wavelengths they need, the size and location of the tattoo, how dense and deep the ink is, whether it is layered, scarred or cosmetic, your skin type, and how the staged plan is reviewed. Singapore's rules restrict how fees may be advertised, so no figure appears here; a written quote follows Dr Sin Yong's evaluation.
Tattoo removal cost factors cannot be read from a photograph, because a picture does not show how deep or dense the ink sits or whether the skin beneath is scarred. Each colour needs its own wavelength, larger designs take more laser time, and some locations clear more slowly than others. No number of visits is fixed in advance; the plan is revised at each review.
Why is there no tattoo removal figure on this page?
Singapore's rules for medical advertising restrict how doctors may publish fees, and with laser tattoo removal a figure given before the tattoo has been seen would describe a plan that does not exist. A picosecond laser fragments ink into particles small enough for the immune system to clear between treatments; how many treatments that takes depends on what is in the skin and on the skin itself, and cannot be fixed in advance for any tattoo. Complete clearance cannot be promised either, which is why the quote is built around a staged plan rather than a package. The practice-wide rules are on how fees are quoted.
Illustrative image — not a patient.
How do ink colours and wavelengths change the fee?
Ink colour decides the wavelength, because each colour absorbs light differently. Black and dark blue respond to the longer 1064 nm wavelength and tend to respond most readily. Red, orange and purple absorb the shorter 532 nm wavelength. Green and some blues need other wavelengths, around 755 nm, and yellow and white are poorly absorbed by most, which is why they are the most difficult to clear. A single-colour black tattoo is planned with one wavelength; a multi-coloured piece may need more than one, and some colours may be expected to lighten rather than clear.
That changes the fee in two ways: more wavelengths in a visit means more laser work per visit, and stubborn colours extend the staged plan. Cosmetic tattoos are a special case. Eyebrow, eyeliner and lip pigments often contain iron oxide or titanium dioxide, which can darken or turn grey under laser, so a small test area is treated and reviewed first, and that test is itemised before any wider treatment is quoted.
“The laser does not remove ink. It fractures it small enough for your immune system to carry away, which is why nobody can honestly quote you a count before the tattoo has been seen.”
Dr Sin YongOn how tattoo removal is quoted
How do size, location, ink density and depth set the quantity?
Size is the plainest driver: a larger tattoo takes more laser time at each visit, and the quote is built on the area treated rather than on a flat fee for any tattoo. Location matters too, because some sites clear more slowly and some need more care per pass. Density and depth are what a photograph cannot show: dense professional ink, placed deeply and evenly, is among the hardest cases for any laser, and a cover-up or layered tattoo can hold several pigments at different depths, each responding on its own schedule.
Illustrative image — not a patient.
Scarring from the original tattooing changes how the ink and the skin behave, and a raised or scarred tattoo is assessed before any plan is made. Small tattoos where a linear scar would be acceptable may be better removed surgically, in which case you are referred to a plastic surgery specialist rather than quoted for laser. Fading before a cover-up is a planned, shorter course than removal and is quoted as such.
What the evaluation finds
Effect on the plan
Effect on the fee
Small, single-colour black tattoo on intact skin
One wavelength, staged, reviewed each time
Least laser time per visit; the count still follows review
Several colours, or a cover-up over an older tattoo
More than one wavelength; layers respond on their own schedule
More work per visit and a longer staged plan
Cosmetic eyebrow or lip pigment
Test area first, then review
The test is itemised before any wider treatment
Raised, scarred or keloid-prone tattoo; small tattoo suited to excision
Assessed first; may be referred
Not quoted for laser if surgery is the right route
Does skin type change the plan, and therefore the fee?
The laser has to pass through the melanin in the epidermis to reach the ink, so skin type changes the settings and the pace. In medium and darker skin, including Fitzpatrick III to V, the treated area can temporarily darken, known as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, or lighten, and lightening can be slow to recover. Wavelength and energy are chosen with that in mind, and the interval between visits is set so that the skin has healed before the next one. Freshly tanned skin, broken or infected skin over the tattoo, pregnancy, recent isotretinoin, photosensitising medicines and a tendency to keloid all change timing or suitability, and are reviewed before a quote is given.
How are staged visits quoted, and how should you compare quotes?
Removal is staged because the body clears fragmented ink slowly and the skin must recover between treatments; treating again too soon raises the risk of scarring and pigment change without clearing more ink. No number of visits is fixed in advance. The plan is revised at each review from how the tattoo and the skin look, so the quote is built around the plan rather than sold as a fixed package.
Not on the quote: packages that fix a count before the tattoo has been seen, tattoo removal creams, which are not used here because there is no reliable evidence that they remove ink from the dermis, and any promise of complete clearance. When comparing with a quote from elsewhere, check which laser and wavelengths are named, whether the area or a flat fee is quoted, whether a test area is planned for cosmetic pigment, who performs the treatment, and whether review before each next visit is included. What each visit involves afterwards is on the tattoo removal aftercare page, and the glossary explains the picosecond laser.
Your next step
1. MessageWhatsApp +65 8023 7170 with what is bothering you. A reply comes from the clinic, not a bot.
2. AssessmentDr Sin Yong examines you himself on Orchard Road, with ultrasound where earlier filler is involved.
3. A plan in writingWhat he would do, what he would not, the fee factors, and the option of no treatment.
Every treatment is performed by Dr Sin Yong personally. Singapore Medical Council registered · invited to share his clinical expertise internationally for CLASSYS, DEKA, Fotona, Hironic and Ilooda.
Bring the tattoo uncovered and untanned, and say whether you want it gone or faded for a cover-up. How consultations work.
Singapore's rules restrict how fees may be advertised, so no figure is given here. The fee follows the colours and wavelengths needed, the size and location, ink density and depth, layering or scarring, your skin type and how the staged plan is built and reviewed. A written quote follows an in-person evaluation of the tattoo by Dr Sin Yong.
Often, because each colour absorbs a different wavelength. Black and dark blue respond most readily to 1064 nm; red needs 532 nm; green and some blues need other wavelengths; yellow and white are poorly absorbed by most. More wavelengths mean more laser work per visit, and stubborn colours extend the staged plan.
A cover-up or layered tattoo holds several pigments at different depths, each responding on its own schedule, so it usually needs more than one wavelength and a longer staged plan than a single-layer tattoo of the same size. The evaluation looks at layering and any scarring from the original work before a plan is quoted.
It is a different plan rather than a cheaper version of the same one. Fading aims to lighten the tattoo enough for a tattoo artist to cover it, so it is a planned, shorter course than removal. The same factors of colour, density, location and skin type apply, and the tattoo is still evaluated first.
References
The Kirby-Desai Scale: A Proposed Scale to Assess Tattoo-removal Treatments. Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology (Kirby W et al.), 2009. source
Laser tattoo removal strategies: Part II: A review of the methods, techniques, and complications involved in tattoo removal. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (Kassirer S et al.), 2025. source
About this page: written and medically reviewed by Dr Sin Yong, MBBS (NUS), MRCS (Edinburgh) · Last reviewed 20 October 2026 · Illustrative images only, not patients · Editorial policy
