Tattoo Removal - Cardiff, Wales

Hi all,

My name is Chad, and I'm a 22-year-old from Cardiff, Wales, UK.

I've been going through laser tattoo removal for almost a year now, and I've gotten a lot of comfort from following your stories on here. In return, I now feel it's time to share my own story.

I have two tattoos; one is my daughter's name, Lexie, and the other is a horrendous star tattoo that goes up my right arm. I got these tattoos within two months of each other at the end of 2011.

After having my daughter's name tattooed on me, which I loved, I rushed into getting another tattoo. This time, it was five star outlines that got bigger as you went up my arm. Looking at the photo, I cannot believe how disgusting it actually was, and I can't understand why I wanted something so terrible in the first place (but we all say that of course.) When I got married a few months later and saw photos of myself topless on my honeymoon, it was then I realised how bad the tattoo actually was. It was time to get rid of it!

I contacted a nearby laser clinic who quoted me £65 per session with their Q-switched YAG laser (is that right?). So, since last October I've been going there every 6 weeks. At first, I saw a real difference, but after the third session or so the results became very poor and There was very little difference, even for a black tattoo which supposedly responds best. On one occasion, I even asked them to turn up the 'oomph' as I just wasn't satisfied with the results. The two women who operated the laser seemed to rush and would always chat about other things that were totally irrelevant. Additionally, the laser clinic was actually part of a dentist, so I don't think laser was their speciality. Altogether I had 7 sessions at this clinic.

A few weeks later my wife very honestly told me that she thought I was being ripped off as nothing was happening after each treatment. I agreed straight away. After that, I contacted some other clinics and came across a very reputable one which had been open since 1988 (as opposed to a year or so at the other place!!). I went for a consultation and was quoted £80 per treatment to remove the stars, a little more than I was paying before. Each treatment was 4 weeks apart.

I was REALLY excited about this place - their laser, the Harmony XLI, is the only one here in Wales, and has won the gold aesthetic award for the last three years. Great!

So, I turned up for my first appointment recently and they were so much more professional and friendly compared to the other place. I even got a free cuppa! The faded photo above was how my tattoo looked just before my first treatment here. Unfortunately I haven't been taking photos after each treatment, but I will from now on.

There were even more surprises about this place; turns out, the other clinic were doing almost everything wrong. Firstly, my session at this new clinic was around 20 minutes long, compared to five minutes. Secondly, they would sometimes change the attachment on the end of the laser if they didn't think the light was penetrating enough which I thought was really good. And thirdly, they put a bandage on me (which I'd never had before), and when I asked for the aloe Vera gel they were horrified to hear that I'd been using that stuff. Apparently the tattoo must stay DRY. Yeah, this was a real eye opener.

At the end of the session I also mentioned - and bare with me here - that I want the tattoo of my daughter's name removed too. I know, I know. I can picture your face. It's not because we hate each other or anything, she's only 2-years-old! Basically, the tattoo (photo attached) takes up half my forearm and, well, we recently found out we're having another baby girl, due in January! Of course, I'd have to be fair to the other baby and have her name tattooed on my other arm. BUT, I really don't want that - two bulky black tattoos on each of my arms.

Instead, I've promised my daughter (and wife) that I'll get a much smaller, more sensible tattoo on the inside of my left bicep. That way, it's small and hidden away all the time.

The clinic was kind enough to do a test patch on this tattoo and I was amazed to see the ink completely disappear (photo attached).That's one impressive laser! I can't afford to have treatment on both tattoos at the same time, so I'll definitely be removing this after my stars are gone. I think it will be a much more positive journey that time, as it's not a tattoo I'm ashamed and embarrassed of. Very much excited to start treatment on it!

Apologies for the very lengthy story, but it's so reassuring to read all your stories on here and see frequent updates. I promise to do the same! You guys are all so supportive of each other. Here's to complete removal!

Hi all, hope you're having a great week so far.

So I've been doing some research about the laser I am currently having treatment with (Harmony XL), and I've just stumbled across a video of it in use. In the video, the technician is practically pressing the laser against someone's arm and moving it slowly along.

In my treatments so far, I have always had the laser approx 2-3 cms from my arm.

I wondered if any of you have your laser pressed up against your tattoos and if you think this has any benefit? I'm going to ask my technician about it when I go for my next session in nine days (whose counting?)

Thanks

Hi all. Hope you're enjoying the weekend so far. It's raining and cold here so I'm staying inside in the warm today!

So I had my 9th session on Thursday. It wasn't much different to my last, but they seemed sure that the tattoo had faded since my previous session - which is good!

In my last post on here I mentioned that I had seen a video online where a technician is moving the laser along the skin (touching it), so I asked them about this. My technician was very honest; she said it's quite hard to explain, but when someone first starts tattoo removal, they will sometimes start with the laser on the skin. As the tattoo becomes lighter, it actually becomes more effective to move the laser away from the skin as it somehow picks it up better. She showed me what she meant by placing the laser right on my skin. The laser was really quiet and nothing was really happening. So, if your technician is placing the laser right against you and you're not seeing great results, then this may be why.

Oh and apologies to wilks - I promised I would also ask about the brownish colour but forgot! I will remember next time. Honest.

When I came out, I asked if they had heard of picosure and the R20 method. They hadn't heard of either before, so I showed them this website and pointed out a few reviews of people having picosure. Unsurprisingly, they were shocked at the price.

It seems I stirred a bit of a debate about the R20 method; some of them were horrified at the thought of having more than one session within an hour, where as others said they would actually be willing to try it. Turns out, they've contacted their laser company to see if this is something they could do. I would definitely be willing!

Anyway, I've attached some photos since the treatment. I've been told to keep the tattoo DRY for 48 hours so I'm unable to clean it yet, hence why it looks like it could do with a wash!

I'll post another photo when it's looking less red.

Hope you're all doing well with your removals.