Lip Tattoo Removal with Q-Switched Nd:YAG Laser

Medically reviewed by Dr Quynh Trang, Dermatologist (HCMC) · Updated August 1, 2026

Lip tattoo removal at WeDo Skin Clinic is performed with a Q-Switched Nd:YAG laser (Lutronic Spectra, dual 1064/532nm) — and 532nm is precisely the wavelength for the red, pink and orange pigment families that make up almost all permanent lip makeup. Your consultation and skin analysis with a dermatologist are free; because the lip is not a separately listed line on our price list, your dermatologist quotes your cost directly after that examination, based on pigment color, saturation and the area that actually needs treating. Pigment fades session by session, with sessions spaced 4–6 weeks apart, and once the lip has healed completely you can have it tattooed again in a new color and border. Both clinics are central — District 1 and District 2 — and consultations are held in English.

Almost nobody arrives regretting the decision they made. The reason is usually more specific: lip blush done four or five years ago now reads brick red in daylight; the base has gone dull, so every lipstick over it looks muddy; the border sits slightly off and you notice it more each year; or a new artist has asked you to lighten the old pigment before any new lip work is done.

A color shift does not mean the original work was bad. Permanent lip makeup pigment is a blend: warm colorants — red, pink, orange — give you the shade you chose, mixed over an iron-oxide and titanium base that makes the result read pastel and hold longer on lip tissue. Those two components do not break down at the same rate. The warm tones fade comparatively fast under UV and normal skin turnover, while the base persists; what is left behind is what your eye reads as dullness, graying or brick red. It is pigment chemistry, not a bad appointment. (Freshly tattooed lips that are still peeling are a separate matter — the lip has to be fully healed before removal is even considered.)

Faced with that, most people weigh three options. Tattooing over the old work is fastest, but it only behaves on a genuinely faint base; layering new color onto a saturated one adds pigment to tissue that is already loaded, and the result is hard to predict. Creams and solutions sold as “ink removers” work by deliberately injuring the upper layer of the skin so pigment lifts out with the scab; the lip is thin, semi-mucosal and richly vascular, so on this area specifically that is the shortest route to infection, a lost border and pigment disturbance that is difficult to reverse. Laser does the opposite: it leaves the surface intact and targets the pigment particle underneath. That is the platform behind WeDo’s Q-Switched Nd:YAG laser tattoo removal across every area we treat.

The same device, but each area is a different problem. Brows and lips differ in pigment type, in how thickly that pigment was laid down and in the tissue underneath, so eyebrow tattoo removal follows its own protocol — the brow also requires eye shielding throughout, which does not arise around the mouth. Body work is priced by area and relies mainly on the 1064nm wavelength; see tattoo removal with the Nd:YAG 1064 laser. The devices behind all three are listed under treatment technology at WeDo.

How much does lip tattoo removal cost?

Your cost depends on four things a dermatologist can only read under magnification: the color the pigment is currently showing, how many layers have been tattooed over each other, how saturated the base is, and how much lip actually needs treating. A lip blushed once with a light powder technique is not the same body of work as a full border tattooed three times over a decade. So the number is quoted after your free examination and skin analysis, before you decide to start — not printed in advance as a single rate for everyone.

For a sense of where cosmetic tattoo removal sits at WeDo: eyebrow tattoo removal is listed at 1.500.000 VND per session and eyeliner at 2.000.000 VND per session. Those are the prices of two different areas — the lip currently has no separately listed line. Prices exclude 8% VAT.

If what you actually need is pricing by tattoo size rather than by cosmetic area, the tattoo removal price list by size sets out each band with worked examples.

You pay session by session rather than buying a course upfront. That matters here, because it means you can stop once the base is faint enough for whatever you plan to do next.

Results, and when you can have your lips tattooed again

Pigment fades session by session. It is worth agreeing on that at the first consultation, because expecting one visit to clear everything is the most common reason people lose heart midway through. After each session your body needs weeks for the lymphatic system to clear the fragmented pigment; what you see around week four is that session’s real result, not the swollen, darker-looking lip of the next morning.

Your dermatologist reassesses the fade at the start of every visit and decides whether to treat again or stop. Plenty of patients stop earlier than planned, because they only need the base faint enough for a new lip tattoo, not a completely clear lip. For the general picture, read how many laser tattoo removal sessions a tattoo tends to need and what drives that number.

On re-tattooing: it is entirely possible, and for many people it is the actual destination rather than a bare lip. The condition is that the lip has healed completely — tattooing too early gives uneven color uptake and raises the risk of infection. Your dermatologist examines the lip and confirms when it is safe at your follow-up visit.

Your examination, skin analysis and treatment plan are free. Because the lip has no separately listed line on our price list, your dermatologist quotes the cost directly after that examination, based on pigment color, how many layers were tattooed, how saturated the base is and how much lip needs treating; you pay session by session and decide only once you know the number.