POSTED UNDER PicoSure REVIEWS
My Picosure Journey
ORIGINAL POST
Hi everyone. This sight has helped me a lot over...
Chantell3October 10, 2013
$500
Hi everyone. This sight has helped me a lot over the past few months. I got a tattoo in May that I hated immediately afterwards. At first I was so regretful that I kind of went into depression mode. But then I thought, Chan, chill out, there is something you can do about this, it's not the end of the world! (I'd just like to add that if there is anyone suffering bad from the regret that comes of having a tattoo you don't like, please feel free to message me if you want to chat about it. Talking always helped me when I was at my lowest and believe me, I know how low it can make you feel).
So anyways, I brushed myself off, started researching tattoo removal and landed on Picosure as it is supposedly the best technology out there at the moment. I have a consultation booked for tomorrow morning at True Skin Medispa in Esher, Surrey. It's about a 2 hour drive from where I live but it's worth it for me personally.
My tattoo is all black, about 15 x 1 cm, down the side of my left forearm (such a visible area, eww, so not me!)
Although I do not have an exact quote for the removal of my tattoo yet, I expect it will be around £500 a session judging by the website guidelines. I am a student at university and have had to resort to using my scholarship money to fund my stupid decision, but I justify this by telling myself that getting rid of my tattoo may make me more employable in the future so il make my money back that way maybe - Silver lining and all that. So, oh well, lesson learned now let's move on :)
Il get back to you all soon!
So anyways, I brushed myself off, started researching tattoo removal and landed on Picosure as it is supposedly the best technology out there at the moment. I have a consultation booked for tomorrow morning at True Skin Medispa in Esher, Surrey. It's about a 2 hour drive from where I live but it's worth it for me personally.
My tattoo is all black, about 15 x 1 cm, down the side of my left forearm (such a visible area, eww, so not me!)
Although I do not have an exact quote for the removal of my tattoo yet, I expect it will be around £500 a session judging by the website guidelines. I am a student at university and have had to resort to using my scholarship money to fund my stupid decision, but I justify this by telling myself that getting rid of my tattoo may make me more employable in the future so il make my money back that way maybe - Silver lining and all that. So, oh well, lesson learned now let's move on :)
Il get back to you all soon!
UPDATED FROM Chantell3
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Chantell3October 10, 2013
Site*, not 'Sight'.. Wouldn't believe I'm an English student :/
Replies (2)
October 11, 2013
Welcome to the community. You have a great attitude about this and that alone will get you through it. We have all done things in life we regret so don't beat yourself up.
Definitely let me know how the consult goes. I will be anxious to hear and see how this all goes.
October 11, 2013
Hey, welcome! You'll get loads of support here from people in the same situation as you! How did your consultation go?
UPDATED FROM Chantell3
My 'consultation'!
Chantell3October 11, 2013
So basically, I made the 2 hour journey to the clinic today, I was nervous but kept telling myself 'one step at a time, it's just a consultation'.
As it turned out, I ended up having my first treatment! Having my treatment that day saved me £50 as the consultation fee acts as a deposit if used on the day. I was bricking it. As soon as I realised that it was happening there and then, my mouth went completely dry, my stomach was flipping and I started sweating like a crazy person. But the laser technician was so nice, she got me some water and reassured me that it would only last about 2 minutes.
She passed the laser over a small section first, and though it does hurt, a flush of releif ran through me as I realised 'it's not that bad'. It is worse than getting the tattoo but not massively worse. It really does feel like hot rubber bands flicking against your skin over and over in quick succession, but it's really nothing unbearable. I do have a fairly high pain threshold (I think getting a tattoo actually feels nice)...
It literally was over in 2 minutes, that included her stopping for little breaks between sections.
It cost me £449 altogether today. I haven't removed the gauze yet to put more Vaseline on so I'm actually not sure what it looks like! Il take pictures and update you tomorrow.
Can anyone remind me how often Vaseline (or alike) needs to be applied to the area. She told me but I can't remember :/ lol.
Speak to you soon!
As it turned out, I ended up having my first treatment! Having my treatment that day saved me £50 as the consultation fee acts as a deposit if used on the day. I was bricking it. As soon as I realised that it was happening there and then, my mouth went completely dry, my stomach was flipping and I started sweating like a crazy person. But the laser technician was so nice, she got me some water and reassured me that it would only last about 2 minutes.
She passed the laser over a small section first, and though it does hurt, a flush of releif ran through me as I realised 'it's not that bad'. It is worse than getting the tattoo but not massively worse. It really does feel like hot rubber bands flicking against your skin over and over in quick succession, but it's really nothing unbearable. I do have a fairly high pain threshold (I think getting a tattoo actually feels nice)...
It literally was over in 2 minutes, that included her stopping for little breaks between sections.
It cost me £449 altogether today. I haven't removed the gauze yet to put more Vaseline on so I'm actually not sure what it looks like! Il take pictures and update you tomorrow.
Can anyone remind me how often Vaseline (or alike) needs to be applied to the area. She told me but I can't remember :/ lol.
Speak to you soon!
Replies (10)
October 11, 2013
Wow - that's awesome! I'm surprised they didn't do a test patch. Most places need to see how the laser reacts on your skin before doing a treatment. Perhaps it's because the Picosure is apparently less damaging to the surrounding tissue that they can just go ahead. Either way, treatment 1 in the bag! You may very well find that those clouds have faded dramatically already.
With regards to the Vaseline, I've heard lots of different theory's. Some say that you should keep it dry for the first few days. I would just play it by ear and see what your skin feels like - twice a day will probably do the trick. Another thing to remember is to get plenty of water in you. This'll help to keep your skin hydrated (especially now it'll be in a vulnerable state for a few days) and will also assist your immune system as it begins to flush out the pigment. Congrats and welcome again.
October 11, 2013
Thankyou so much :) She did a patch test and then waited a few minutes to look at the results apparently they can tell after a few minutes if you will have adverse reactions by how quickly pinpoint bleeding occurs (this happening straight away isn't a very good sign) but I was fine so we got underway! I really hope the clouds do fade, I'd be slightly disappointed if they didn't shift a bit. I'm not expecting a lot from the lines at this stage but we'll see :)
I've had a gander at your review and I really think that hyper pigmentation your experiencing will settle down. I've done an embarrassing amount of research and seen this happen time after time. Hope that's at least slightly encouraging? Lol. Are you using Picosure too?
October 11, 2013
I'm a bleeder too! Nope I'm being treated with the good ol' q-switch yag. The Picosure would cripple me financially (although I imagine it would get the job done quicker) - I'm getting married in May so I'm already not in the good books considering any spare cash should be going towards that! Plus I'm down I'm Devon so it would be a good 3 hours each way which would be more cash on fuel! All quite the inconvenience isn't it!
Have a look for Jakes removal blog on here. Here's having a fairly new half sleeve removed using the Picosure. His clouds significantly reduced after the first treatment.
Have they booked you in for another session? What do your friends and family make of the situation?
It's such a relief to have somewhere like this to write down how your feeling knowing that everyone's going through the same thing. It's a real tricky one in the outside world because ultimately what we've done was our choice, and people without tattoos (understandably) might not be quite so sympathetic to our situation - but people here are!
October 11, 2013
Yeah it is pretty expensive, I'm using some of my student grant and scholarship to pay for it which is a bit of a bummer. I have to make a two hour journey so yeah I know what you mean, it is very inconvenient. I've seen Jake's progress, it's really encouraging. Under all the disgusting swollen redness it looks like my shading has faded considerably too (il post a picture later but you probably won't be able to see too well until it's healed a bit more. No I haven't booked in for another session yet. For financial and travel reasons I'm leaving it 3-4 months between each treatment. Although this means my tattoo will be around for longer, I've seen many cases where leaving long gaps between treatments can keep the overall cost down because the tattoo continues to fade for months after being treated. Luckily I'm a fairly patient person! Haha. My parents are really supportive, their view is 'if you really want it removed, we're behind you all the way. My boyfriend is the same, such a great support, although he does like to remind me how much it's costing me - a money orientated mind, lol. Ive only told a couple of my friends and they agree that if its what i want then its the right decision. Yeah I don't blame anyone but myself, I know it was a stupid decision but I'm fixing it and that's all that matters :)
October 11, 2013
Yea, the longer the time in between, the better. I'm doing 8 weeks - it's a killer (I'm not massively patient) but it's key to remember the body'll be working on removing it (albeit very gradually) the whole time. It sounds like you've got some great support around you!
Do you mind me asking what your tattoo means?
October 11, 2013
I know, it's all down to the trusty immune system now! Yeah, my mum was even sat right next to me as I was having it done. What do your family + friends think about it? Congrats on your marriage plans by the way :)
It says 'shoot for the moon' in Italian. Was supposed to be some kind of ambitious, motivating thing but all it did was temporarily take away my ambition and demotivate me! The irony...
October 12, 2013
My parents were kind of neither here nor there, with regard to the tattoo. Neither of them have any, and my mum isn't a huge fan of them, but she said she thought it was "ok". Now I've started the removal process they're quite supportive, regularly asking how it's going etc (but probably not over the moon about the whole thing, understandably!!). None of my close friends have tattoos either - they're reactions to the situation are pretty much the same as my parents. Do your friends have tattoos?
I still can't figure out why I was so desperate to have ink on me. I clearly didn't extrapolate the feelings in to the long term (which is embarrassing) and now I'm paying the price for it!
Yours looks very similar to mine after treatment. It'll feel pretty sore for a week maybe. Good news that you can see some fading in the clouds already! Don't be too perturbed if the darker stuff doesn't look too different to begin with. The first session will have done more than meets the eye!
October 12, 2013
Well it's good that you have support :) My parents both have a tattoo each, but they were a bit shocked when they saw mine because they hadn't anticipated it would be so big. I was just initially going to get a small wrist tattoo (really wish I had now!). But they aren't against the idea of tattoos, I got another when I was 16 on my hip/stomach area which I still absolutely love, so do my friends and family - even my nan! It has more sentiment behind it and really means something to me whereas this second one was more of a spur of the moment thing. Most of my friends have a couple of tattoos. One of my friends has one that covers a large area if her back/shoulder. So to them my tattoo isn't a big deal but it bothers me so I know I'm making the right decision :) thanks for the words of encouragement, at the moment when I look at the state of it I kind of start to worry about how this will look long term, but I think that's just the shock of the wound! Did you feel a bit like this?
October 12, 2013
That's cool that you have another tattoo that you love - I think this whole situation is likely to put me off getting any in the future. If I did, it would be a lot more discreet!
Yeah, it's always a bit worrying after the skin has had its ass kicked following a session! It'll look like crap for a good few days, don't worry. Mine is still healing from my session a week ago, the skin's still a bit red, and unfortunately a couple of the scabs came off (more likely got picked off!) slightly prematurely, so they're a bit pink - only very a small areas though. I've purchased some bio oil and am going to massage it in to the area twice a day. It's meant to assist with healing and reduce the likelihood of scarring. Certainly can't help to try! Was it a pretty rough nights sleep last night? You might be alright with yours in that position - I sleep like s**t for a few days after owing to where mine is!
October 12, 2013
Yeah it's put me off getting more tattoos aswell. If I did get any more, they'd be meaningful, small and discreet and not in a permanently visible area. I think I might get some bio oil for when mine has healed too, sounds like a good idea. Can't wait for it to heal so I can really see what the laser has done and forget about it again for a while. Right now, it's hard to tell what effect it has had. I won't be having another session until January/February time so I've got plenty of time to tend to my skin before it gets beaten up again! My tattoo is in an easier area so I luckily I didn't have any trouble sleeping. I can imagine the placement of yours would make it pretty uncomfortable :/ it'l be worth it.
Replies (0)