POSTED UNDER Tattoo Removal REVIEWS
Medium Sized Tattoo with LOTS of Color - Denver, CO
ORIGINAL POST
I got this tattoo when I was 18 and have since...
$2,000
I got this tattoo when I was 18 and have since grown out of the placement and tattoos in general. I have several other tattoos that I want removed but this is the most intolerable. I'm not sure that it will ever come off as it is relatively new, colorful, and a high quality professional tattoo. Nonetheless, I want it as gone as possible, and I am prepared to live with a ghost of the tattoo. Unfortunately I was unable to locate an accurate before picture, and the "before" picture posted was actually taken about a week after the tattoo was finished, so it hasn't faded as much as it looks like it has. I am mainly doing this because I was very frustrated by the lack of information and pictures of the ongoing process, especially for larger and colorful tattoos.
I did not find the actual laser to be very painful, rather, uncomfortable. It was the burning and swelling after the fact that really got to me. I drove myself to my first session, which I will not make the mistake of doing again as this tattoo is on my hip, directly along the pant line, and subsequently, the seatbelt line. Not a fun ordeal and I had to pull over and let the burning sensation subside. I experienced a lot of swelling, as this is a difficult area of the body to elevate, and used no pain reliever or medication of any kind.
I am very happy with the clinic that I am using, and they gave me a good deal on a bundle of treatments. I am waiting 8 weeks between each session at the least to allow my body to do most of the clearing, and to avoid paying for unnecessary treatments. I have been avoiding smoking, drinking lots of water and eating well. I was quoted to need AT LEAST 10 treatments, but I am expecting several more for the yellow. I hope to keep this updated with each treatment, and I am excited to watch the progress. Feel free to ask me any questions, although I am not an expert on the subject.
I did not find the actual laser to be very painful, rather, uncomfortable. It was the burning and swelling after the fact that really got to me. I drove myself to my first session, which I will not make the mistake of doing again as this tattoo is on my hip, directly along the pant line, and subsequently, the seatbelt line. Not a fun ordeal and I had to pull over and let the burning sensation subside. I experienced a lot of swelling, as this is a difficult area of the body to elevate, and used no pain reliever or medication of any kind.
I am very happy with the clinic that I am using, and they gave me a good deal on a bundle of treatments. I am waiting 8 weeks between each session at the least to allow my body to do most of the clearing, and to avoid paying for unnecessary treatments. I have been avoiding smoking, drinking lots of water and eating well. I was quoted to need AT LEAST 10 treatments, but I am expecting several more for the yellow. I hope to keep this updated with each treatment, and I am excited to watch the progress. Feel free to ask me any questions, although I am not an expert on the subject.
Replies (7)
May 30, 2013
Thanks for your review, what are those little blocks on the treatment photos?
May 30, 2013
I'm not sure what you are referring to.. Do you mean the little squares in the yellow? Those are just the points where the laser actually hit. I was told there may be some temporary hypo-pigmentation in the lighter colors of the tattoo, and I think that is what those are. It has been three weeks now and those spots are still somewhat visible.
June 4, 2013
Stick with it. My practitioner said that black is the esiest to get rid of. Colours are a bit of an unknown as you don't know what the artist used to blend to get the actual shades. But eventually it will go. After my 1st treatment the swelling was massive, after 6th there was hardly any. Looking forward to seeing your progress. x
June 4, 2013
Thank you for the words of encouragement! I could not believe how swollen I was for an entire week. Sweat pants and high waisted skirts haha.
UPDATED FROM RethinkingMyInk
2 months post
Session 2
Session 2 was very painful, and I have had some small blisters this time. Not seeing any significant fading from the first treatment, but there has been some breaking up of lines and slight fading of the blue and green (which is weird to me since I have heard these are the more difficult colors to remove, along with yellow). I would not recommend removal unless you absolutely cannot live with your tattoo. I was not that concerned with mine, but liked the idea of it being gone. I wish I wouldn't have bought a package of treatments. This is such a painful process, and my tattoo is in a terrible location for going to work the days following. I am forced to take days off of work because I simply cannot wear professional attire and sit up straight in a desk for 8 hours for several days after the treatment. I will update as I go, but I am being forced to take more and more time in between sessions. This will be a very long process.
Replies (6)
July 2, 2013
Hi! I am on treatment number 9. Do you use any numbing cream to help with the pain during the treatment? I didn't use anything for the first 6 treatments then I searched on ebay and found some really cheap stuff that actually works and numbs me up pretty good. Also for afterwards try to use an ointment with a pain reliever, it may help. good luck
July 2, 2013
I don't use anything but Tylenol the day of. I don't find the actual treatment to be all that bad it's the healing for the few days after but I really like the sound of ointment with pain reliever thanks for the advice!
July 2, 2013
I don't use anything but Tylenol the day of. I don't find the actual treatment to be all that bad it's the healing for the few days after but I really like the sound of ointment with pain reliever thanks for the advice!
July 16, 2013
Hello. Do you see any progress in tattoo removal? Will you remove it to end or just for cover up? Did you hear about Picosure laser?
July 17, 2013
Taytay24- I have only had two treatments so far, but I can already see some progress. There are parts of the lines that are completely gone, and the color is fading. But the tattoo is still very clear. I am not going to be doing a cover up, but I've been told the tattoo may never be completely gone. I will keep updating as I go, but it takes a few weeks for the fading to set in. I have not done research on the picosure though. I'm using a q-switched laser with wavelengths for all colors
UPDATED FROM RethinkingMyInk
2 months post
Three weeks post treatment 2
I know I'm supposed to be patient with this whole process, but I'm really not seeing any progress and I'm irritated with the amount of money this is costing me. I'm just hopeful that this tattoo will at least be unnoticeable to other people. It's such an ugly tattoo and I can't wait to not have to look at it. Posting a picture sorry for the terrible quality it's a hard angle to get
Replies (6)
July 24, 2013
I don't see any big progress, sorry! I hope that you will remove it soon and wish you luck! Try with Picosure, that's new thing. Apparently way better.
November 29, 2013
Hey there :) Just checking in to see how things are going, have you noticed any additional fading, have you had any more treatments? Hope all is well!!
November 29, 2013
I've been moving around and I don't currently have wifi. Been very hard to update as the site isn't very mobile friendly. For some reason I was able to update when I could nt two weeks ago. But I've put an update in!
November 29, 2013
Thanks so much for taking the time to update :) Not liking the CO2 idea, I have never heard of that being used...good idea to do your research. Maybe you need a different laser, what are they treating you with now? (sorry if I missed it in your review)
November 29, 2013
It's a Q-switched Nd:yag and ruby laser. I'm going to use the last two treatments that I've paid for and continue to look for a better place to hopefully finish the process after that. At this point though I don't have a ton of faith in the process
Thanks for sharing your story and for posting pictures, lots of our Community Members will find it very helpful. Keep us posted on the progress! I'm interested to know how many sessions it takes for such a colorful tattoo.