Tattoo Removal: Stories

I have a tattoo of 5 smallish symbols in all black ink across my chest. I got it done towards the end of '09. I'm a quite pale caucasian female. The artist used black ink only, and after it got some sun damage in '10 I went back to get a touch-up. I'm not sure many people think about this when they go in for tattoo removal, but my laser specialist says that a touch-up will drastically increase the average number of laser tattoo removal sessions you will need because you're getting more ink put under the skin. I was happy and completely fine with the tattoo for about a year and a half. And then it was as if I woke up one morning and was ashamed of it. I thought about laser tattoo removal for a few months and then made an appointment with a dermatologist in my area in September '11, paying 300$ per session.

They didn't offer a package deal and they don't try to trick you into spending more money by getting you to sign contracts. I just had my 5th session last week and I can't see so much while it's still scabbed, but I constantly worry about when I will finally start seeing a major difference. I'm ready to go out and stop hiding it with high collar shirts everyday, but it's definitely going to be a while still. I guess you could say I really screwed up by getting a touch-up that one time when I still liked it.

After 2 laser treatments I started seeing small white dots on the inside of the tattoo, but it wasn't fading. After treatment 4 there were more dots and my friends would see them too if they were standing near to me, but from a distance the tattoo looks exactly the same as it did before starting laser tattoo removal. I am moving to Europe in May and will have to find a new laser tattoo removal specialist there, where it costs nearly double the price. I might post a future update, but I hope you, as a reader, learned something from this.