Tattoo Removal Through R20 - Toronto, ON

In summer 2012, I decided after about 10 years of waiting to get my second tattoo. For years, I wanted a second one, everyone I knows has sleeves, large tattoos etc... so it was easy to get absorbed in the culture and influenced by others.

Regardless, I made the choice to get it done and there I was, almost instantly regretting the decision. After many hours, days and weeks went by, I knew it simply wasn't me. Although the tattoo wasn't horrible, it also wasn't what I asked for. It was larger than what I expected and didn't suit my personality.

It hit me pretty hard emotionally and I was not myself for many weeks as I felt guilty and as though I ruined my life to some extent. I was an individual who enjoyed the beach and exercised regularly and there I was, unable to even take off my shirt when I was alone. It affected my happiness, my job and my relationships with the people I love. Seeing the tattoo in the mirror, just made me feel so stupid and I hated myself deep down for making such a poor decision, especially at 30 years old.

I found a clinic in Toronto that offered a new laser called "Tatt-X. " I rolled the dice, but the bullet and decided to endure the R20 treatment in an attempt to fast track my tattoo removal.

My tattoo was 3 months old at the time of my first appointment. I received a numbing cream an hour prior to the session. I couldn't feel anything when touched so I was confident heading in. The first pass was still painful with the cream as were the remaining three. They were increasingly more painful with each successive pass as the numbing effect gradually wore off over the duration of the appointment. If you've ever heard the comparison to hot bacon grease on your skin, it's about right.

Almost immediately after the treatment the skin was very red and I had blistering, which is normal. The blisters were all over, more so on the darker sections. The blisters drained on their own over the next week or two, and I kept it covered and applied polysporin for about 3 weeks after just to be sure.
I could some some minor clearing in the days after bu most of it came in the 6 weeks afterwards and I feel it is still occurring slightly heading into the seventh week. I am scheduled to go back in a few more weeks so I will keep a close eye on the fading as I hope to see more yet. Although I was expecting more fading overall, I think it was a positive first step in what looks to be a year to a year and a half process.

I will continue to update you all as I go along as best I can with more photos. Good luck to everyone else going through this, keep smiling!