The Arduous Road of Tattoo Removal - Franklin, WI

In 2005, I made the silly mistake of getting a tattoo on my right wrist. Thankfully, I had enough sense to get a small one (1 inch long by a few millimeters wide). I was contemplating tattoo removal for a few years and finally found a deal online in 2013. It was $100 for 4 treatments. Considering I was quoted $50 per session at another clinic and was told it may take 6 treatments, I decided to go ahead with the $100 package. Well, I finished the 4 treatments and the technician informed me that I will probably need an additional 5 treatments. I hope that's not the case! I have a feeling that since I was getting a significant discount, she didn't use the laser at it's highest level. Therefore, my results aren't dramatic. Or maybe, my skin is taking longer than normal to push the ink out. Either way, I'm going to continue to shop around, but here are my reviews and photos. Good luck!

PAIN LEVEL: tolerable. Every session took 120 seconds (believe me, I stared at the clock the whole time). At first, I thought the pain was excruciating, but after the 1st session, it was manageable. I would describe it as getting burned by grease over and over again. Eventually, you just zone out and forget about the feeling. I can't imagine how people with larger tattoos deal with it. Afterward, you shouldn't get the treated spot wet for 24 hours or do any rigorous exercise. I didn't use any numbing cream and just kept it moisturized and out of the sun.

COST: high. I understand that a laser is being used, but for a $40 tattoo I will have spent about 10 times more to remove it. Plus, for the 4 treatments I had so far (each scheduled 6 weeks apart), I was in the clinic no more than 20 minutes in total.

I went to another clinic on 08/19/13 to get my 5th treatment since my 4 session deal had expired. I originally went to this clinic last year for a consultation and was quoted $50/session. Let me say that this treatment seemed to hurt a lot more and I could actually smell the burning skin. Perhaps she used the laser at a higher level, which is something I wasn't used to. Well, as the pictures show, it blistered and is still tender two days later. The technician informed me that the reaction is normal. I anticipate my next treatment in early October and hope there will not be more.

My latest picture shows some better fading, which proves my suspicion about the first 4 Groupon treatments being weak. Oh well, you get what you pay for.

The affected area was very tender and itched like crazy for longer than I wanted. I used a lot of polysporin and never popped the blisters. I got it wet in the shower, but was too paranoid about going to a public pool. I didn't want to risk an infection. I kept it bandaged a lot, too.

I will say that that I liked the Groupon tech a lot better. She was much more friendly and provided a lot of info. This latest one was tardy, rude, barely talked and gave no aftercare instructions whatsoever. However, since the price is right and the results are more dramatic I will continue to see her. Hopefully, not too much longer!