Just Started Upper Arm Half Sleeve - Ethos Spa, Summit, NJ

Well I have session one under my belt and it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I got this tattoo in May and pretty much hated it since day one, I wasn't exactly happy after my first tattoo session of just the outline, I don't know why I ever went back to get color, I just kept hoping I would end up loving it. Now tattoos aren't new for me, I have 11 tattoos and love all of them except this one. It was nothing that I wanted and didn't speak up and now I am paying the price. I am not the kind of person that really lets things get to me and I can honestly say I have never really been depressed before, this tattoo changed all that. I was never so sad and so depressed over anything in my life. Then you feel guilty because you say, this is something I did to myself, there are people dying of cancer, don't be so silly. But its REAL. And it was a HUGE relief to find this website and realize this tattoo regret is REAL and you're not alone. What a relief that was. So thanks to many of you for helping with that part of this process. I have to stop kicking a dead horse and move forward and stop harping on the bad decision I made, I can't go back and change it, so move forward. So thanks to this website I was able to find a kind, trustworthy place for my tattoo removal. And a special thanks to Monzzz for posting about Ethos Spa in Summit, she spoke so highly of Dr. Soni. We all know this is a very expensive, mentally draining process, then add on making sure you are finding the right person to do such a serious job, its very stressful. I like Dr. Soni the minute I met him at my consultation a few months ago. He was honest, nice, and got straight to the point. And being that my tattoo is very large, he told me my options for dealing with the pain. So this Saturday I had my first session and I have to say I didn't thing the pain was much worse than getting an actual tattoo. Now remember, everybody's pain tolerance is different, so you cannot base it on OTHER PEOPLE. Just like getting a tattoo, everyone handles the pain differently. Comparing the laser to getting snapped with tiny rubber bands is probably the best analogy. I was able to get through the session without taking a break, took about 20-25 minutes. The did use that cooling machine and he sprayed me with something that numbs the area for about 40 seconds, he said those two things together down the pain by about 50%. If I wasn't about to handle the pain he could have given me injections, but being that the tattoo is so large, I wouldn't be able to do the whole thing in one session, I would have to go back every three days. I really didn't want that so I'm really glad I could tolerate the pain. He was shocked how well I tolerated it, I didn't even flinch the entire time. He said I am in the 1% of people that can handle that pain well. I recommend bringing someone with you and talking to them because that takes your mind off it and make the time go quicker. Now, all that being said, I have really really BIG, GROSS blisters. They are the ugliest things I've ever seen in my life, but they are normal. I read that you shouldn't pop them so I am leaving them alone, but boy I can't wait for them to pop and go away. They don't hurt which is good, but they are HIDEOUS! The doctor even texted me yesterday on a Sunday asking how I was and I sent him pics and he said its all normal. Hopefully in the next day or two the blisters will pop and start to heal. The FANTASTIC news is I can already see fading from day one. My dark blue and purple roses are already a light faded blue color and the green in her skin is almost gone, you can see mostly yellow that was underneath. I am beyond happy that after one session I can see results. I know this is will be a long process, but seeing a change already is making me see this is all worth it. He was honest about the red, it will be difficult to get rid of, especially the red around her eyes because it is so dark, we all know that Pico doesn't really touch red, but he's going to really try to fade it. I wasn't planning on getting a cover up because I was so upset about this tattoo, but I've moved past that and I'm contemplating fading this enough to get a coverup. So that's my story. I am glad that this experience hasn't stopped me from wanting more tattoos because anyone that knows me can tell you how much I love them. For a long time the thought of getting another one made sick. Any questions, please feel free to ask. I think I covered everything! Thanks again to Monzzz for all her help answering my questions and for suggesting Dr. Soni!

A week later and the healing is going really well. I'm not going to lie, the first 5 days were miserable, the horrible, huge blisters and fatigue were killer. I couldn't take the blisters anymore and drained them myself Wednesday. I know you're not suppose to do that but I couldn't take looking at them anymore and I was very careful. After that it's been uphill every day. After one treatment and only a week gone by I am seeing major fading. The pictures don't do them justice but I think you will get the idea, remember it is still healing, more skin needs to come off. Most of the green is almost gone in her face and arms and all the flowers are a much lighter shade of blue. I couldn't be happier after only a week. You can also see I had significant fading under her eyes, I'm shocked that even the red faded. As hard as this process is, it feels so good to see results so quick. I wish everyone had such positive results so quick.

Well I was definitely fooled the first time around, I didn't think the first treatment was bad at all as far as pain goes, HOLY HELL was the second one the opposite. I have a very high tolerance for pain, but holy crap I wanted to DIE. The pain was almost unbearable, I don't know how I didn't cry. He jacked up the settings, which now I am happy about because I have so much fading, but at the time, man did it hurt something awful. I was literally pouring sweat and my entire body hurt the next day from tensing up so bad. Now to the good news! Doctor is very happy with my fading and he thinks I will only need one or two more and then I can get a coverup, I was SHOCKED and thrilled to hear this. I still have tons of ink left, but it really has faded so much, you can even see big chunks of black are gone from her hair, all the green is gone and the yellow that was underneath is fading. The red is a [RS bleep], but we know that already, I just plan to cover any red that's left with the new tattoo, I'm not going to stress over that. Also, this is HUGE, the first time as you can see from my pics I had HUGE, DISGUSTING blisters, this time the doc told me to wrap my arm with an ace bandage as tight as I could take it, that's what I did and I literally had 2 small blisters. I was so relieved because the last time the blisters were so disgusting. I did have some pain the for a few days after, which I didn't have the last time, but I would take that over the nasty blisters any day. So next appt is the end of January, then hopefully by this summer I will have a nice cover up that I love. I will post pics in a few days, its still really dry and healing, but you will really be able to see what great results I am getting only after two treatments.