Preparing for my First Threatment on This Dark Horrible Piece of Half Sleeve - Bratislava, Slovakia

January 30, 2014

Hey, welcome along. Don't be too hard on yourself, you're amongst many other people on this forum who have made a similar mistake. With regards to removal, I should think the YAG should be able to deal with most of that, as it's quite dark. You'll likely need a different laser for the red on the inner arm. It looks to be quite heavily inked, so how far you go will depend on how much time you're willing to put to getting it clear. Full clearance is always possible, but realistically, I would imagine a tattoo of that size and density is going to take a couple of years and several sessions to achieve. Best of luck, and know that you'll find support here, every step of the way.

January 30, 2014

PS, check out the amazing progress this guy is making on his multicoloured sleeve.http://www.realself.com/review/dallas-tx-tattoo-removal-picosure-and-medlite-3-4-sleeve

January 30, 2014

However that is with PicoSure Laser. Which I've heard a lot about. There is no such laser in Europe yet. In a couple of places there are but it's too far from where I'm at. Hence my doubt. This one is called QS Nd YAG Laser. Do you have any experience from it?

January 30, 2014

At present I think there are at least two Picosure lasers in the UK and I think I've heard of one in Germany. This would mean travel though, which adds to the expense. I have had 4 treatments so far, 3 of which have been with a Q Switched YAG and I am seeing OK results. You will likely have to break your treatments down in to two of three sessions, they won't be able to treatment the whole tattoo in one go in case the arm swells and restricts blood flow. I've seen examples of very good removal online with the YAG laser, you may get on just fine with it. The one key thing to remember is patience, you'll need plenty of it and if you don't have any you sure will by the end!!

January 30, 2014

or* treat*

bigkahoona

January 30, 2014

there are 3 picosure-lasers in germany!

January 30, 2014

Great news! Thanks

January 30, 2014

Ok, the more research I've been doing and the more blogs I've read, I feel like PicoSure is so much superior. Makes me wanna postpone my treatment and save my money for the real deal. Makes sense? Compared to the QS which my doctor would charge 160 Euros ($215), how much would the same session with PicoSure cost me? Money is not unlimited at the moment, so it would be a good to get an idea of how much I would need to save etc.

January 30, 2014

session=20 mins

thinkbeforeyouink

January 30, 2014

How many treatments did it take to remove the chest piece?

bigkahoona

January 31, 2014

just write an email with pictures to them. there is a picusure in frankfurt in germany, maybe that is the closest to you.

falco4758

January 31, 2014

your going to do all that in one session? i dont know if thats possible man its a lot of dense black.. def try the q first you will see amazing results

January 31, 2014

I don't know how many sessions it will take to cover the whole piece. I sent an email with pictures to a clinic in Germany with Picosure. So hopefully I'll get some more info from them soon enough. Would you recommend starting with Q Laser first? And then, later on, go with Pico instead? I just feel like it's a waste of money and time going back to the "old" laser, when I can save my money and go for the real deal instead...Thoughts?

falco4758

January 31, 2014

Yes 100% I would start with the q. With them at much black there's no difference w or pick since there's so much ink for the laser to pick up.I haven't seen the results from picosure that the price demands , I mean how much better can these laseres really get ? Next tell have a laser that melts your arm off or something

January 31, 2014

Be prepared to pay 3 or 4 times the cost of treatments of the "old" lasers and potentially end up with similar results, if you go straight in for the Picosure. There are a few folk on here having good success with the Picosure, but it's only been out for a year or so and so it's efficacy remains largely unproven, despite the science behind it.

January 31, 2014

Don't be blindsided by the fancy scientific advertising spiel and the same generic images that seem to be floating around the web. Remember, the act of the laser treatment itself only 'facilitates' the removal, the greater onus is on ones ability to heal and remove those ink particles AFTER the session has taken place. To echo falco's comments, I bet you'll see a huge different after just one session with the yag, given how muck ink there appears to be.

January 31, 2014

Ok, well I canceled my appointment with my doctor for the QS. Didn't get an overall good impression of the clinic. I'll keep doing some research on where to find one near my area.

January 31, 2014

yeah, theres a lot of dopes out there with lasers (lots of them are doctors). that's the best thing you can do, Is research and research and don't stop until you find a place that knows what theyre doing and sits well you. im sorry, I wish I could help with places in the EU, but I don't know any.

January 31, 2014

your story is similar to mine. I took my sleeve too far as well, adding color and background to stupid hoodrat tattoos. covering stuff up and touching stuff up until it was very dark and dense. if I were you id find an experienced person with a nd yag laser and get maybe 4 treatments and go for a cover up. I don't mean to sound negative, and even the picosure guy in dallas will tell you that hes in it for the long haul and theres still no guarantee that itll be completely removed. best of luck.

January 31, 2014

Yeah, I'm already thinking that a cover up is probably my best option too. But why nd yag laser? Picosure has faster result with fewer session, no?

January 31, 2014

yeah, its like Andrew was saying above, that picosure is best with certain colors like blue. if youre getting a coverup you don't really need to worry about fading the blue much, although it should fade some. I said nd yag because its cheaper. if I were going for full removal id go with picosure for the colors, though.

UPDATED FROM ejden

5 days post

Further research and think I've come to a conclusion on how to proceed from here.

ejdenFebruary 5, 2014

I've been doing some research about where to find the Picorsure-Laser in Europe and I found that the nearest one from my location is in Germany (Kelkenheim), about 7 hours away. So I contacted them via -mail and told them about my situation and attached the same pics as uploaded here.

Here are some of the info I got in return:
"The session (about 1h) costs 400 €. The NdYAG Laser can not be compared with the PicoSure, it is a different system. The PicoSure removes colours much faster."

I'm not sure if the price is reasonable, but it's too much for me to do every 2-3 months or so. Also, about 1h for a session sounds like a long time. Sure my arm is filled with ink, but 1h, really?

I was thinking that I should probably proceed with my local clinic that has the QS NdYag Laser, at least for the black ink. However, he charges 160 €/20 mins, which means that the Picosure would be cheaper by the min. Thoughts about this? Is 20 mins enough to go over my arm?

I know I keep nagging about the price, but I'm just trying to be as efficient as possible. Hope to hear back from you guys, and have some inputs on what road to take etc.

Replies (10)

February 5, 2014

I would go with the YAG laser to begin with. You'll save money by not having to travel and it could work just as well as the Picosure. You'll likely have to have the treatments broken in to two sessions each time, as they can't treat the whole arm in one go in case it swells and disrupts blood flow. I'm confident you'll be pleasantly surprised after your first treatment. I'm not familiar with prices given as cost per minute, normally it's done based on size of tattoo. Having said that, 20 minutes should be long enough to cover one half, providing it's a half decent laser! Good luck, keep us updated.

February 5, 2014

Thanks for the input- love the enthusiasm! :) I will keep you guys posted. Like someone else already said about this forum- it might well be the friendliest place on the web.

February 5, 2014

also, one thing to consider as well, if youre going for a cover up, then the colors don't matter so much. its really mainly the blacks youre trying to lighten up.

February 5, 2014

In an ideal world I would have it all gone. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how it proceeds. I really don't want to cover the whole arm, as I have the upper arm covered as well. I know it's not likely that I will get it all removed, but if I can at least get 50-70% removed- then I don't have to cover up the whole arm again.

laserhopeful

February 5, 2014

the price is actually amazing compared to other picosure providers in europe- 1 hour sounds long and if all that ink gets treated in one session- you may be super swollen. Maybe try 1 session with the yag and see how much it really ends up costing to treat all of your ink. If you wait a couple months after the yag before heading to Germany you will be in better shape either way. Good luck getting started!

February 5, 2014

Yes, exactly my thought. Thanks for the input!

untatme

February 5, 2014

I would do the first one with the Yag that is close to you just so you can see what you are getting into before investing 14 hours and more money on one treatment especially if you cannot afford the pico. You can always do the farther more expsensive one next time.

devildogg79

February 6, 2014

1 hr sounds about right. My tattoo removal took about 30 minutes, and is much lighter than yours. Remember that you want a skilled person to be using the laser so they get all of the area. From what I have seen the picosure really eats away the black shading. All of my shading is pretty much gone after 1 treatment.

UPDATED FROM ejden

5 months post

Just back from first session

ejdenJune 4, 2014

How soon did you guys start apply antibacterial creams and soap after procedure?
I just came back 2 hours ago from my first session. I was nervous about the pain before, but I have to say it wasn't all that bad at all.

Replies (8)

JLN319

June 4, 2014

Which laser did you choose? Don't wash it for 24 hours. Keep it moist (I use Aquaphor) for at least a week.

June 4, 2014

Just leave it as it is in the bandage for 24hrs? Actually I'm not sure what the laser was called. But the guy gave me a deal to try it for free and if I wanna continue I can, but he isn't that expensive so I figure it's not the best laser.

devildogg79

June 4, 2014

I lasered a very colorful tattoo with the picosure and that night washed it with anti bacterial soap, then applied Aquaphor. I also bandaged it because I got blisters and didnt want them to pop while I slept.

June 5, 2014

I used another antibacterial cream that I had at home. Is aquaphor similar to vaseline? Would it be an option? (vaseline)

devildogg79

June 5, 2014

Most doctors would recommend Aquaphor. I believe because it has more healing properties than vaseline and is great for blisters. Aquaphor is better for blisters. Applying vaseline won't hurt as it will keep your skin from being infected while it heals. As far as the bandages I apply them during the daytime as a personal preference because I get huge blisters, and they tend to leak fluid while they heal. I usually drain them after a few days and continue applying the aquaphor. When I get home i take them off and let my skin breath.

falco4758

June 5, 2014

you probably bargain shopped for the cheapest tattoo shop and look what happened, please don't do the same for laser the consequences will be more severe

tattooregret7

June 5, 2014

Hey, I think the picosure can deff remove the tat. I washed it twice a day for a week and applied aquaphor 3 times a day (as instructed byvmy dr) and about two weeks after I began massaging vitamin E on the area. This is my own personal preferance. My skin was fully healed in a week and a half. Hope this helps, cant wait to see how much your tat fads!