Tattoo Removal: Stories

Hi Christopher! That's great you are going for a consultation at Sk:n. if you no longer love your tattoo its best to remove it if you can as it will make you a much happier person. When I had my consultation I had a small patch test and was well informed about all the risks involved. The nurse said that green is a very stubborn ink to remove but in all cases, laser is the best option with the least risk of scarring. The majority of my tattoo is red which is known to blister a lot - that is definitely true! Black is supposed to be the easiest colour to remove but all results are as individual as the person receiving treatment. I will have to go to another branch of Sk:n to have the green fully removed as they need to use the Ruby laser for that. Good luck with your consultation!

Thanks abryant! I hope you excused the typos! :) I'm also interested to know what type of adjustments to your lifestyle they suggest to make? I'm hoping this process can be done in 20 sittings the art itself is excellent work so required a lot of shading/layering. I'm not naïve about the whole thing & would fully expect greenish 'blemish' here & there. But I understand that if you lived heathily & supported your immune system that could benefit the recovery?

You have to go into this as a long journey. An expensive and painful one. But I see it as I got this tattoo so I am prepared to get it removed so pain and money doesn't come into it.. Lifestyle changes would be; no sun exposure to the tattoo whilst undergoing treatment and if you do go in the sun use lashings of SPF 50 on it. I'm not going on holiday for the entire duration of my treatment which is very annoying but I'd rather not take any risks- sun exposure is extremely damaging to the lasered tattoo and can cause all sorts of complications. Also, I know that every six weeks when I have my session I will be dressing the wound constantly, cleaning it, using anti-infection sprays, intensive tissue repair cream, and having to be careful in the shower. Also as mine is on my wrist I have to wear long sleeves to cover it up as its healing - very annoying when it's warm weather!! But I work in an office where tattoos are meant to be covered and with mine all bandaged up I prefer to keep it under long sleeves anyway. Also for the 2 weeks it takes my tattoo wound to heal back to a 'normal' state, I tend to miss out on social events as I don't want to get it knocked and its not a very flattering thing to have! I make sure I drink loads of water - trust me drinking water is the best thing for your body whilst its healing a wound. And I make sure I eat lots of fruit and veg to just help my overall immune system. I sometimes take vitamin tablets too. Hope this has been useful, sorry if I ranted on a bit!! :-)

i think its called Q-switched, not sure what its specifically called though. I just know its definitely working. I'm not expecting over night miracles because my original tattoo was a cover-up and it was very bright and had loads of ink. I think its doing really well since i'm only on session 4. Yes, they told me the machine was on maximum and it made a much louder sound on my wrist when the laser hit the ink - which is normal apparently. Good luck with yours, how's it fading? What is your tattoo and where is it?

Hello! That's funny we both have rose tattoos and are on the same session number! I think the black and red are fading about the same at the moment, and the green isn't fading much at all. My original tattoo was very vivid and bright so the fading so far is great! I have to go to a different location to get the green removed, not too far away about an hour but that will only be for a few sessions until the green is totally gone - with the Ruby Laser. Do you have any photos of yours? I would love to see! Where do you go to have yours lasered? And how much do you pay? (If you don't mind me asking). Thanks for your comment, its much appreciated! And yes, we CAN DO THIS!! :-)

I forgot to mention also that my rose is a cover up for a small tattoo as well- it seems like many people here regret the cover up more,while the original picture could've been "tolerable".. :-/ I haven't posted any pictures yet or written a review,I should totally do that later,when I'm ready for it,I feel still very vulnerable and I don't know,it kind of effects me so that I want to hide it all even from the web :S I'm actually European and the place that I go to charges me from 6 session the total of 330 USD (converted it from euros). The only things is that it's not located in my town,so I have to take the train and that adds up to the costs. And for sure I will need more session than that, I'm healing now from the second session in that clinic (did 1 laser session at a different clinic) so I still have 4 sessions left. I think I'll have 2 more lasers before this summer and then 2 at fall time. Then I have the whole winter to laser off the last bits :-) and by next summer 2014,I'll be ink free (at least to the point that a thin layer of makeup will cover everything)! wohoo :-D got to stay positive&hopeful. I'm wondering about the green color though! I have 5 small leaves on my tattoo,I want them gone.. for sure. Maybe I also need to search for clinics with the ruby laser. Only thing is that I don't want to change the clinic,since this one is so cheap,I trust and like to guy who does the lasering! We will see, it's a slow process but so worth it!

Hi JoliJilii, how did your 4th session go, do you have a review on this site posted?

Hi blackberry :-) my 4th session went well. I have to say I was a bit hangover that morning and it hurt so much more than normally!So big lesson learnt :-) I haven't done a review yet, I'm considering it.. It's just such a sensitive topic (my removal) that I'm terrified of sharing it with others- fully. I just realized that no one knows that I'm currently going through such thing. Ugh,I really need to be more open about it I guess,everybody makes mistakes! I'm just not noticing so much fading that I could just walk around this summer without long pants or certain kind of "ankle" shoes or whatever..I still need to hide it for this summer..I knew ever thought that ankle would be such a hard place to hide.. I can see your doing some major progress with yours,btw! We can do this :-)

Hi, An ankle in the summer would be hard to hide, sucks, but it is what it is I suppose...I understand this is a hard thing to share, and when you are ready to you will, both on here and with friends, family. It's a very sensitive thing, as it impacts you emotionally, and plays a bit with your confidence, it does mine anyways. I was much much more confident of a person then before all of this, I often ask myself why am I allowing this issue to take from who I am, and I have not fully found the answers yet, I am just healing, trying to cope and trying to understand all of this. I have grown in ways, spritually, than ever before, but this is hinderting my social aspects of life. I used to be so outgoing, and wanted to be around people all the time, and now I would rather just stay home and hang out with my family and dog...I have no desire to meet new people, which is a shame because today on my walk with my dog, I met this very nice lady at the dog park, and being new to the city that I live, I could use a friend, she was so nice, and we seemed very compatible, and she asked me on the way out if I come here often, and if so what time and that she hoped to see me again...kinda my q to offer my email or something, but rather I shyed away, and just told her that I come at random times and maybe i'll see you again.... I feel kinda sad that I went from such an extraverted person, to an introverted person. I used to be full of energy, and talkative, now I kinda just want to be left alone, and left in the backround...I am working on it, but I am just not ready to branch out and meet new people, it's too bad, she was very nice. I wish you tons of sucess on your removal. Take care :)

Hey,I know exactly what you mean. I used to be so outgoing and now,well I still am sometimes but only when my ankle is covered and I've put myself all "pretty" and anything less would make me me feel bad..such a shame to feel that way. I think "ink regret" should be way more "out there",I mean when I started searching for tattoo removals and stuff,it all sounded so negative (but I guess realistic) like "it might never go away/ it hurts so much to remove it/it's so expensive/ never do it in the first place etc.. but now after finding this forum,I've had the chance to feel the empathy&understanding between all the people here that are going through the same thing. There are so many people like we are, we don't judge others based on their tattoos,the lady you met at the park most probably wouldn't give a darn about your tattoo,it's your business anyway,she really saw you for you and you have a positive and kind energy regardless of this tattoo mistake you've made. Just read your posts on your review page yourself, they speak for themselves. :-) take care!

Thank you JoliJolii for your kind words. It's a shame I allowed my emotional issues over my ink get in the way of meeting a potentially great friend. I am new to the area I live, and all my friends are many many miles away, across country. I promised myself if we meet again at the dog park, and there is still a connection, I will share my email. Baby steps, everyday I work on my emotions, and hope others are getting better as well. All the best to you and your removal will go just great, don't worry. Take care!

In the clinic I go to it would be the same price as mine. Anything up to 5x5cm is £50. What is your tattoo of and where is it?

Is on my side wrist. And it's a heart with a design around it. Red/black Don't ask! Horrible mistake.

I know how you feel I hate mine too, wish I could go back to when I was 18! are you going to get it removed?

Yea we all wanted tattoos at some point. And now look. Yea actually, I'm trying to get informed with the priceing. I know it's painful, almost everyone tells me that.

Wow really? Where abouts is your tattoo and what's it of? thanks for your comment :)

Check out my profile. It's a coverup flower tattoo on my hip. I'm 13 treatments in now.

You're doing fantastic! Looks like you are almost there! I've got my 3rd session this Sunday so still a long way to go for me. I will keep going until it is gone, I am determined to get this tattoo off me for good! Thanks for your review its great to read other people's stories and experiences :D

Many thanks :)