Complete removal of an unwanted tattoo is certainly a great option. Typically speaking black and red ink pigment respond the best to laser treatment and will be the easiest for complete removal. The number of treatments needed will be determined by the size, the colour, position and the depth in which the ink was placed. On average 6-10 treatments are required for complete removal. Sessions are very quick, ranging from a couple of seconds for a small tattoo and approximately 5-15 minutes for a larger tattoo. 

Lightening your unwanted tattoo prior to having a cover-up will give you and your artist the flexibility to create a perfect new tattoo. This will allow you to have want you want without compromising the new design. In fact most tattoo artists encourage clients to lighten their existing tattoos prior to covering with a new one; this dramatically reduces the chance of your old tattoo appearing through your new work. In most cases, 2-6 treatments is required to lighten an existing tattoo enough for the perfect cover-up.

Tattoo blowouts typically happen from heavy application of the tattoo where the pigment ends up being placed in the Hypodermis (a fatty tissue that cannot hold pigment and therefore spreads under the skin) rather then the dermis layer. Some parts of the body are more prone to this where the skin may be a little thinner. Tattoo blow outs are often easily eliminated within one or two treatments.