Last reviewed June 2025 by Vlad, Founder & SMP / Laser Tattoo Removal Specialist at Rico Clinic.
If you live in Saint-Henri and you’ve been quietly wondering whether that old tattoo can actually come off, the short answer is yes. At Rico Clinic, we’ve been doing laser tattoo removal and scalp micropigmentation since 2017 — that’s roughly eight years, 546+ treatments, and a 5.0 rating across 135+ Google reviews. We’re a small, privacy-focused clinic a few minutes north of you in Côte-des-Neiges, and most of what we do is help people in exactly your situation: ready to close a chapter, unsure where to start. This guide walks you through the whole process honestly, so you know what to expect before you ever book.
Why Saint-Henri residents choose Rico Clinic
Saint-Henri has changed fast. The stretch along Notre-Dame West that used to be quiet workshops is now full of restaurants, studios, and design shops, and the people moving in — and the people who’ve held on through the gentrification — carry a lot of ink between them. We see a few clear patterns from this neighbourhood.
A lot of you are creatives and hospitality workers who got tattooed during one era of the local scene and are now pivoting toward more corporate or client-facing roles. You don’t necessarily regret the tattoo — you just don’t want it to be the first thing a hiring manager notices. Others come in to fade older work, not erase it, so a tattoo artist at one of the neighbourhood studios can lay a clean cover-up over top. And some of you are simply tidying up pieces from earlier days that didn’t heal well or haven’t aged the way you hoped.
Geographically, you’re close. Saint-Henri sits about 6 to 8 km southeast of us, and the trip is easy. By car it’s roughly 15 minutes off-peak, 25 in rush hour, with street parking right on Côte-des-Neiges. By metro, the cleanest route is to hop on the orange line at Place-Saint-Henri or Lionel-Groulx and ride south — from Lionel-Groulx you’re at Plamondon in about 12 minutes, and we’re a short walk from there. If you’re already biking the Lachine Canal path or grabbing groceries at Atwater Market, you’re basically halfway here. That proximity matters, because removal isn’t one visit — it’s a series, and a clinic you can reach in fifteen minutes is a clinic you’ll actually keep coming back to.
We’re also built for discretion. The clinic has three rooms — a consultation space and two treatment rooms — so your appointment stays private from start to finish. For a lot of Saint-Henri clients quietly making a career move, that privacy is the whole point.
How laser tattoo removal actually works
The science is more elegant than most people expect. A tattoo is just pigment trapped in the deeper layer of your skin, in particles too big for your immune system to clear on its own. The laser fires extremely short pulses of light that the ink absorbs and the surrounding skin mostly ignores. That selective absorption — the principle of selective photothermolysis, first described by Anderson and Parrish in their landmark 1983 paper in Science — is what lets us shatter the ink without cooking the skin around it. The pulse breaks the pigment into fragments small enough for your body’s own white blood cells to carry away over the following weeks.
Different ink colours respond to different wavelengths. We work generically with the two workhorse wavelengths of modern removal: 1064 nm, which is ideal for dark inks like black and dark blue, and 532 nm, which targets warmer colours such as red and orange. Black is the easiest and fastest to clear; greens, light blues, and certain custom mixes are the stubborn ones and can take more sessions.
Because your body does the actual clearing between visits, sessions have to be spaced out. We schedule them 6 to 8 weeks apart to let your skin recover and your lymphatic system flush the fragmented ink. Most tattoos need 6 to 12 sessions for full removal, though if you only want to fade a piece for a cover-up, you’ll reach that point much sooner — often in just a few visits. There’s no shortcut: turning the laser up too high doesn’t speed things up, it just risks burns and scarring, which is exactly what good technique is designed to avoid.
What a session actually feels like
Here’s the honest version. We start by applying a numbing cream and leaving it on for 10 to 15 minutes to take effect. Then we clean the area, hand you protective goggles for your eyes, and set the laser’s wavelength and intensity to match the colour and size of your tattoo.
Once we begin, most people describe the sensation as moderately painful — often compared to a hot elastic band snapping against the skin, or to getting the tattoo in the first place but faster. How much you feel depends a lot on placement: thin-skinned, bony areas like the neck, hands, or ankles sting more than padded spots like the outer arm or thigh. We take short breaks between passes whenever you need a breath, and we can run a cold-air blower over the area, which genuinely takes the edge off. The actual lasering is quick — a small tattoo can be done in just a few minutes; a larger piece still rarely takes long.
Healing and aftercare, step by step
What you do after the session matters as much as the session itself. Right after, we apply a healing cream and ask you to keep applying it to the treated area for about 7 days. Expect some redness, mild swelling, and possibly small blisters or scabs over the first few days — that’s normal and a sign your body is responding.
The two rules that matter most: keep the area moisturized and hydrated, and stay out of the sun until it’s fully healed. Sun exposure on freshly treated skin is the fastest way to cause pigment problems, so cover it or keep it shaded. Don’t pick at scabs, skip the pool, sauna, and hard workouts that soak the area in sweat for a few days, and let the skin do its work. By the time your next appointment rolls around six to eight weeks later, the area will be calm and ready for the next pass.
How many sessions you’ll need — and what it costs
Pricing depends on the tattoo — its size, the ink colours, where it sits, and how your skin responds. Individual sessions at our Montreal clinic run anywhere from $50 to $800, and most tattoos need somewhere between 6 and 12 sessions for complete removal. We offer multi-session packages that bring the per-session cost down, which makes a real difference over a full course of treatment.
The best way to get a real number for your tattoo is a free consultation. We’ll look at the piece in person, factor in the colours and your skin, and give you a clear, honest quote and timeline — no surprises. You can read more on our services overview or browse other articles on the Rico Clinic blog.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the closest laser tattoo removal clinic to Saint-Henri?
Rico Clinic is in Côte-des-Neiges, about 6 to 8 km from Saint-Henri — roughly 15 minutes by car or a 12-minute orange-line ride south from Lionel-Groulx to Plamondon. We’re one of the most convenient options for the Sud-Ouest, with street parking right out front.
How long do I have to wait between laser tattoo removal sessions?
We space sessions 6 to 8 weeks apart. That window lets your skin heal fully and gives your immune system time to flush the shattered ink particles, which is when the visible fading actually happens. Coming in sooner doesn’t speed up results and raises the risk of skin damage.
What’s the best aftercare for laser tattoo removal?
Keep applying the healing cream we provide for about a week, moisturize, stay well hydrated, and keep the area completely out of the sun until it heals. Don’t pick at any scabs or blisters, and avoid pools, saunas, and heavy sweating for a few days. Simple care prevents almost every complication.
Does laser tattoo removal hurt?
It’s moderately uncomfortable — most people compare it to a hot elastic band snap. We apply numbing cream first and use a cold-air blower to keep it manageable, and we pause whenever you need to. Sensitive, bony areas hurt a bit more than fleshy ones.
Will laser tattoo removal leave a scar?
When it’s done at the correct settings with proper aftercare, scarring is uncommon. The laser is tuned to target ink, not skin, which is exactly why we never crank the intensity for faster results. Following the aftercare steps is the biggest factor in healing cleanly.
Can I just fade a tattoo for a cover-up instead of fully removing it?
Absolutely — and it’s one of the most common requests we get from the Saint-Henri studio crowd. Fading takes far fewer sessions than full removal, because your artist only needs the old ink light enough to work over. Tell us at your consultation and we’ll plan for that goal.
What our clients say
Our reputation is built locally. Rico Clinic holds a 5.0 rating across 135+ Google reviews, and the themes repeat: clients mention how professional and reassuring the process feels, how warm the welcome is, and — most of all — the visible results as their tattoos fade session by session. Whether it’s someone’s first appointment or their last, the goal is the same: a smooth, supportive experience and skin you’re happy in again.
Book your free consultation
If you’re in Saint-Henri and you’re ready to talk it through, the first step is free. Book your free consultation online and we’ll assess your tattoo, answer every question, and map out a realistic plan and price. Prefer to talk first? Call us at (514) 346-8044. We’re open Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM, at 4934 Chemin de la Côte-des-Neiges. Come close the chapter — we’ll guide you through every step.
Reviewed by Vlad, Founder & SMP / Laser Tattoo Removal Specialist, Rico Clinic. Last reviewed June 2025.