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When Two Tribals Go - United Kingdom, GB

  • Worth It
  • Cost: $300
  • SG3, United Kingdom, GB

Wanted to get rid of the ankle tribal tat, which...

  • 28 Feb 2013

Wanted to get rid of the ankle tribal tat, which was a cover up (should have gone for laser at that point!), and also decided the one on my back could take a hike too.
Session 1 Jan 2013. Painful but can cope with it. Redness on first night and some itching. Felt it 'stop working' about a week prior to 2nd treatment.
Session 2, Jan 2013 (end of). Again managed to deal with the pain, area reddened and swollen. Back tat stopped itching after 2 weeks, ankle has itched all the time. Managed to not to scratch.
Session 3, Feb 2013 (end of). Both tats have faded, but not as fast as pratitioner would like them to have. Perhaps the size and depth of ink could be a problem - and i may need to drink more (water). The laser on the ankle was heavenly, scratching an itch for me. Back was ok. Quite a lot of localised swelling. Itching kept me a wake overnight. i will seek some antihistamines.

3 weeks after Treatment #5

  • 17 May 2013
It's all going ok. Still slow and stead but I am seeing results. The Tattoo is dull, colours less vibrant. There's so much ink in my tattoos it will take a good while.
Posotove this time, the laser at session 5 was up to 850hertz, there was a lot less itching to deal with.
Next session is on Thurs 24th May.

2 weeks after Treatment #6

  • 4 Jun 2013
All going well, had a bit of a need to scratch a couple of days ago, hence the scabby appearance. Overall there is fading. Some peoples tattoos are going in patches back to skin colour, this one seems to be dulling in general. Still can't get a good one of my back, but I will try to do that soon.

Keep the faith.

1 week after treatment 7

  • 3 Jul 2013
Well we keep going back and although I am not seeing patches of normal coloured skin appearing, I am seeing a general overall fading of the colour.

It stings a bit still when the laser is being administered, but no pain no gain. Healing well after each treatment and now the itching is a lot less. Probably because the weather is better and the clothes are lighter.

Also using Bio-Oil to help the skin heal, this has made a lot of difference.

I will keep going until the tattoos are gone.

1week after treatment #8

  • 29 Jul 2013
Focussing mainly on the ankle because I can see it! The fading is happening, generally at a steady rate over all the tattoo. Back has some tiny areas that re nice skin colour.
The healing process is much better now the weather is good. Fresh air and no socks. Bio oil has helped a lot too.

2 weeks after #9

  • 3 Sep 2013
Hanging in here waiting patiently for the ink to GO. There is some pink skin showing through the back tat. Ankle is fading. No pics this time as I've managed to break the screen on the iPhone - but will add as soon as I can.

4 days post treatment #10

  • 17 Oct 2013
Well it is happening, steadily. The back tat does seem to be dark, but there is more skin color showing through. Couple of interesting photos. The ankle one is a bit fuzzy but you can see the old tattoo was (arabic writing) and also the fragility of the skin, it is like paper and itches still -but is ok as long as i don't scratch it. The 2 back tattoo photos one immediately before treatment 10 and the other is directly after. The skin swells like orange peel but quickly goes back to normal. 4 days post treatment it is now little scabs where each laser blast happened (feels like a chees-rater LOL!)

It's been a while - 11 treatments done...

  • 16 Dec 2013
... and still going well. Each time I see a small improvement. This time I have managed to be itch free - it's all about leaving it alone!! which is hard. Not got a piccy of my back this time (I'd forgotten to take them at home, can't do them in the office) but I promise to post after my next session (which is today).
SG3

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4 out of 5 stars Overall rating
5 out of 5 stars Doctor's bedside manner
5 out of 5 stars Answered my questions
5 out of 5 stars After care follow-up
5 out of 5 stars Time spent with me
5 out of 5 stars Phone or email responsiveness
5 out of 5 stars Staff professionalism & courtesy
5 out of 5 stars Payment process
5 out of 5 stars Wait times
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Comments (28)

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Hey Jann, apologies if I've missed this is your blog.. Do you mind me asking where you've been having treatments? It's obvious you're making decent progress with your ankle, but the back looks like it's just not playing ball! Is there some green in there? I can try and have a look at what laser they're using (is it a large machine or a small, table-top one?) and see if it's equipped to get the job done.
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What're your thoughts on larger versus tabletop? do tabletop machines like astanzas not work as well against solid black?
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Hey. I can only speak for the research I've done. What you need to look for is an 'active' q switch YAG, as opposed to a passive. Whilst I don't think there are many of these in terms of the smaller, table top lasers, I think the Astanza might be one of them. I'm sure I've checked it out before and the spec looked decent. Then again, I'm only going by what I've read about. Generally speaking the smaller machines possess less power than the larger machines, and it's the power that comes in to play towards the end stages of removal. Having said that, with an all black tattoo you might find that a smaller machine could get the job done. A lot of it comes down to the skill of the technician.
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Good to know! Thanks for the heads up
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Hi JannV. Did you have any more treatments?
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I had a couple more treatments. The coloured one on my back is just not going! there are some bald places but for the amount of sessions I would have expected more. The ankle one has faded quite a lot but I was suffering with itching quite a lot so have not had a session since January as the practitioner wanted to give my skin time to recover. I am thinking about going to someone who has Picosure instead as they seem to get better results faster... we shall see. I will put an updated photo of my ankle on here soon. How goes things with you?
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Hi JannV, i just got started on laser removal with very dense ink, so not very optimistic ): anyway, just thought i'd say hi, and it's nice that you seem happy with where you are (: hope i'll feel better about my crap too!
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Amazing results, you must be very happy.  It looks extremely promising.  aloha...k
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I'd love to get both my ankles clean too but I doubt I can afford to get 3 tattoos removed. Do you get your back and ankle done at the same visit?
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Yes she does them at the same time. She did think that getting both done would slow the overall process down but things seem to be ok. I got a deal the first one full price with the other being half price. well woth it in time and cost.
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aloha!  everyone is different in healing and in reaction to the laser treatments.  Some of my ink looks very old, some of the black is turning brown and some of it is hanging on strong.  I understand now what I read earlier that people need to be patient as the tattoo can look weird with the different degrees of fading.  I found these skin patches that could help you  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GG0TQI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AHEPIKNE2T3AF     I'm using them for rough skin patches after the laser session.  Antihistamines also help with the itch and lots of hydration and cream.  Good luck!  Your fading looks amazing and makes me hopeful.  aloha...k
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I'm using Bio-Oil now, it is really helping my skin heal nicely. And now the weather is good the ankle is not itching at all as I am not wearing socks :)
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i would like to follow your post, i too have tribal on my back that i hate. I should have gotten it lasered years ago! It was naturally faded. But stupid young me got more tribal added in hopes that it would bring it lower down on my back like i wanted. Now i hate it more than anything but im so scared to pay all that money, not knowing what will happen.
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It is an expensive business getting rid of them, but if that is the route your heart wants to take then it is worth it :)
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aloha JannV, your fading looks amazing!  The photos show such a dramatic difference, it gives me hope for myself and at the same time I'm so happy for you.  Slow and steady is good...the tortoise won the race that way...and with us it'll mean scar-free results.  Being patient is hard but the end goal is worth it.  Good luck next week with your next session.  Thanks for the update.  aloha...k
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I have never heard someone call this process heavenly! I am having a huge problem with itching on my arm, not so much on my chest though. 
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Try not to scratch. Once you start it's almost impossible to stop. The antihistamine tablet really helped break the cycle.
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Also discovering that putting nothing on the skin is better. Last time I applied some thick clear grease to keep the skin moisturised. This time I've left it alone. Tried to get some fresh air to the areas too -but that's tricky as it is still cold in the UK & need to keep warm clothes on. Less itching overall. And it is fading.
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Hi there? Who is the doctor that is removing your tattoo?
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Hi Sam06, the person is not a doctor, she is a practitioner trained in the use of the machine to remove tattoos.
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aloha JannV, so glad you are posting here.  I hope your fading is coming along.  I too am tempted to peel away the peeling skin and scabs...but no!! must be strong.  Can you see your original tattoo?  Mine is also a coverup and I'm seeing a hint of the older tattoo, so amazing to see that the laser is working.  Just need to be patient.  Good luck with your fading!  aloha...k
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I've not scratched at all since last treatment. Soooo tempting to pick the scabby dry skin. But told that leaving this alone will help. No hydrocortisone needed so far this time. :)
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Session 4. Tuesday 26 March. After a month of itching, steroid cream as needed and a dose of antihistamine I went for my 4th session. Overall the ink is fading but it is a slow process. The laser this time seemed to help with the itching. Came out and spent the day with foot elevated as much as I could. The one on my back is not irritating me much. 4 days in & no overwhelming urge to scratch. They are both a bit itchy. I'm not putting any creams or gels on them. Trying to stop clothes rubbing on them and also now the UK weather is improving, there's a chance I can get them exposed to natural light and fresh air. So far so good. Just need to work out how to get photos on here!
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The itching isn't as bad this time. I applied some topical steroid cream and that took the bad itching away after 2 days. It's still itchy, but in a good way (like its working). I also noticed a lot of skin flaking (think like after sunburn) so I've been rubbing this away. The overall tattoo is fading, becoming duller in colour but I'm not getting any patches. Guessing this is an ok response.
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Yep, overall dulling in the color is what I see too, and now I now on session 5 I am seeing  more patches/lines going. For me, it will be many more sessions before I see real results, I just have so much ink. I asked for only light shading, instead the artist decided to do his own thing....oh well, I just hope he has not done this to many other people, it's not a nice thing to do. He has no care in the world about what his actions caused, he was too arrogant and thought he knew best...I had a feeling about him, but thought that based on his portfolio and the knowledge of tattoo/art he had, I felt confident in his ability...now I know that before (if I ever get another one) I get another tattoo....I know what signs to watch for, and if something doesn't feel right, it's not. I hope the best for your removal, don't worry, in time it will be gone.
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