Removal of dark tattoo on calf

Hello everyone.
First of all, i'm glad to have found this place where people obviously have the same feelings as i have had. Im 18 (Soon to be 19) and live in Denmark, Europe. I got a fresh tattoo with a motive which i wanted, but as soon as it was there i just felt horrible. Having a tattoo wasnt me at all, and since its on my lower leg i can't hide it in the summer. I dont think it's ugly, i just dont think it fits me as a person, and it gives people the wrong impression about me. I was very depressed, but you guys probably know the feeling so not gonna go into detail. So i began searching for removal options, and in my country there is only one major laser tattoo removal clinic chain, the rest is simply small back yard businesses which i certainly dont wanna gamble with. I will post a photo so you can all see the tattoo, and tell me if you think it can be removed. I haven't honestly seen anyone who had a tattoo completely removed myself, so if you have any photos that prove it works, please do share them with me. The laser they use at the clinic is the Revlite laser, which they say is the golden standard - is that true? And do you think it can remove my tattoo completely, because if it cant, i will just be a major waste of money and time for me. The laser specialist says he can remove it completely in 7-11 sessions with his laser, but i can't trust him blindly since he is also selling the procedure. The procedure will cost around 4700$ roughly in US dollars, which is a lot of money for me. The tattoo is done in black and has a lot of shading, i dont know how many inches because im European (sorry american friends) but its roughly 15cm x 20 cm but it's slimmer in the ends.

TL:DR - Can this tattoo be removen completely with the Revlite Laser, and do you have any photo documentation of laser removal actually removing a tattoo completely?

Wish you all the best, tattoo mistakes hurt mentally, but your not alone.

If your reading this while considering getting a tattoo and you are not sure, take this advice - DONT GET IT, save yourself from a lot of pain and suffering :) Buy a t-shirt with your design instead. I hope this can save someone out there from making the same mistake i did.

Btw, the tattoo is the logo of my favorite football (soccer) club Liverpool FC, and YNWA is for You'll Never Walk Alone and the two flames are for 96 fans who died at a match in 1989.

English is not my first language, so if i made any mistakes feel free to ask me for elaboration :)

I am getting used to the thought of it being there, and i'm not depressed anymore. I'm still going to meet with a laser specialist, but that is basically to find out what my options are. I'm not going to start the removal any time soon, as i dont have the money or the opportunity to take care of it while it's healing right now in my life. Who knows, mabye i wont ever get it removed, because as of now, im actually pretty pleased with it. I'm a little concerned that it will hold me back on the job market, which is why i want to know my options, in case i at some point need it removed. I might also get a little test spot done, just to see how i react to it.

Overall i feel much better now, and i hope that this feeling last so that i can be pleased with myself and my tattoo. There are some minor things i consider getting done to my tattoo (some lines and shades i want fixed), but i dont know if im going to get them fixed or not. It might make me more satisfied about my tattoo, but then again, its unwise if i should want to remove it at a later point, so i dont know whether i should get it touched up a little or not. What are your thoughts here? :)

TL;DR - Going to keep the tattoo, still going to meet a laser specialist to know my options if i later on in life would need it removed.

So today i went and spoke with my laser specialist Jan, and we spoke about my tattoo. His clinic uses the RevLite, but has also bought the picosure! :) He believes that the RevLite is best for my tattoo, while picosure is more for colors. He believes that 100% removal of the black and the shading is possible, but that the white lines might not be able to be removed. He also gave me a zap with the laser so i could feel how it is, and i didnt think it was too bad. He has given me a good offer for the whole tattoo, somewhere around 3500$, which is 1300$ less than i was quoted first time. He believes it will take me 18 months and between 6-9 treatments.

I will be going to Thailand, NZ and Australia for three months november - january, where i will be exposed to the sun a lot. He says it wont be a problem, as his laser only targets the 2nd layer of the skin and not the 1st where the pigment is, that sounds good, but mabye a little too good. Also i am going in the army from february-june next year, which may force me to take a 4 month break in between treatments, but that is allright i guess.

So right now i'm thinking of whether or not i should accept the offer. If i accept it i can have 2-3 treatments before i leave for my travel, then i can have 1 treatment when i come home, and then wait until i have done my time in the army to complete the remaining sessions. So im looking at atleast 2 years probably even more if i begin now.

To all of you who are currently going through removal, what are your experience when it comes to sun exposure and laser treatments?? :-)

I will update the blog when i have decided where to go from here!

22th of july i will start my tattoo removal journey. I'll be paying 480$ pr. session for 7 sessions, and if there is still ink remaining afterwards i will get free treatments. So the total cost of my removal SHOULD be 3343$ according to the agreement i have with my provider. Looking forward to get started, even though it will be expensive and painful! :-)

Just came back from the office. Did the treatment with no numbing cream, only the cold air machine. He used the Revlite laser. It hurt pretty bad, but it didnt take more than 5 minutes. There was a nice frosting all over the tat. Now the tattoo is red and raised as you can see in the photos. He didnt wrap it up afterwards, but he put some sort of gel on it, that hospitals use on people who have got burnt. He said that i shouldn't be afraid to go excersise or work or anything, he even told me that i could go out in the sun, and thats its only the old lasers that cant treat people with tanned skin. I got a 50% discount on the treatment because i am a new customer. All in all a good experience, and i feel like im in good hands, even though his aftercare advice differs a lot from others i have read on here :-) Now i just hope that i see some fading once the redness goes away :) Cheers

My first session went well and i am almost all healed up (although it is a tiny bit raised and scabbing still).
My tattoo is already much lighter/brownish in the shading, and the thin black lines around it is breaking up. The thick black lines havent changed.

But lately i have been considering only removing everything around the bird. All the things im unhappy about with the tat, is in all the shit that is around the logo(bird). When i went in there originally, i dit it to get the logo, and thats it. So i have been thinking, that mabye i will be pleased if i just remove everything but the bird. I am not against tattoos in general, its just that i dont think SOME PARTS of mine turned out like i wanted it. Any of you guys who have considered partial removal of the part your unhappy about, instead of the whole thing? And no the bird doesnt look bad after #1 treatment, it looks a little lighter, but nothing much :)

I will post pictures of the result of treatment #1 the day before treatment #2 which is scheduled for october 1st :)
Cheers

Today i went for treatment #2, he turned up the machine a bit, hurt like hell, but was done quickly. For me these sessions take less than 5 minutes. Not so much frosting (hope this is because less ink), but i did see some though. These pictures are taken right before treatment #2.

This is the results after 5 weeks. I think it went well and i do see fading. The itching was really bad again, and it pretty much gives me 2 horrible weeks without sleep. In a week im going backpacking, so it will be exciting to see how the lasered spot reacts to tons of sun. I personally hope the sun will fade my tattoo, and i hope that it wont give me any complications. Will be exciting to see, as i feel like a lot of people dont like mixing sun and skin that has been lasered. My next treatment is not until next summer, as i am going to the army for 4 months when i return from my travels, and i cant be treated while im in there as the itching takes away my sleep. I am personally excited to see if it continues to fade over the next 9 months time, or if it stays the same :) Good luck to the rest of my removal family with your journeys, this will be the last you hear from me in quite a while! Cheers!