Get the real deal on beauty treatments—real doctors, real reviews, and real photos with real results.Here's how we earn your trust.

POSTED UNDER Tattoo Removal REVIEWS

Help Me Going Through This Horrible Process!!! - Germany

ORIGINAL POST

Hello, I'm a 23 year old italian/german girl and...

stellina1991
Hello,
I'm a 23 year old italian/german girl and got to tell you my story :-(
4 weeks ago i did the biggest mistake in my life when I got my tattoo on my left arm. I knew immediatley I don't like to have this thing on my arm, after it was done!!! So I went into depression because I do not understand why I did this to me? Just before the season I love most is going to start :-(
Now I'm searching for reviews nearly 12 hours a day and I have come to the conclusion that it definitely won't be possible to remove the whole tattoo without any side effects als a Result according to the other reviews. In summer I immediatelly get dark skin, so I am sure that I am going to have a ghost image of my tattoo on my arm. I don't know which laser would be the best for my skin type because I read several times that picosure is worse on darker skin types. Do some of you have experiences with that? I am afraid of hypopigmentation and scarring :-( i am also afraid of being left with the pink Color on my arm. Has someone already removed pink colour successfully?
I am going to have my first consultation next monday (doctor using a picosure laser).
Please support me and give ne strength :-(

Replies (35)

User Avatar
April 17, 2015
I have had 3 sessions of Picosure on my hand and yes its painful and yes you can scar, but with a proper consultation and if the laser is used correctly then you shouldn't have any scarring. I have small amounts of scarring on my hand as the 1st time I ever went for laser in a tattoo shop the lady turned the laser up so high, I blistered immediately and bled for days. I had 4 sessions with a normal laser and decided I was getting no were with it. I'm not the palest of people and I have lost a small amount of pigmentation on my hand, however my consultant has assured me that this will come back eventually. My tattoo is on my hand and is proving very difficult to remove as this is poor circulation. You might find that were yours is you wont need that many sessions. Let you consultant know of your concerns but if you are that depressed by it then laser is the way forward. I'm off my 4th pico next week and it is defo worth it, it is a long process though I started mine two years ago and still have a long way to go. Patience and results is all you need to make you feel better, and at least you can cover your arm up. I can't cover my hand. :(
April 17, 2015
Thanks for your comment! Today I went to my doc in order to get something against my depression. Of course I talked to him about the tattoo removal and he warned me which made me even more sad. He told me that skin won't never ever look the same as before (which of course i'm aware of). He explained that laser treatment ruins the cells and that's why it is impossible that the so called "ghost image" will turn to normal. So it's an illusion that there won't be much left after complete removal. What do you think about that? Do you think that picosure is so much better? Does in your opinion picosure cause more hypopigmentation than other lasers?
April 17, 2015
Hey, i also from germany berlin, Wher did you find picosure laser? I want to start removal My tattoo is black and green So i need picosure laser
April 17, 2015
I think it's pretty.
User Avatar
April 17, 2015
What a beautiful tattoo! What don't you like about it? I considered a cherry blossom for myself, actually. In a similar place. Are you worried that it wont heal, properly? It looks great, from what I see. I've had laser removal on some blow outs and line work to tattoo over it and fix what wasn't done properly. It was pretty painful...but not too bad. There is some scarring too but, like i said, It isn't terrible. What other methods were you looking into, for removal?
April 18, 2015
I noticed that I don't like the idea of having a tattoo on my arm where it's always visible since I got this. It's too big!!! I am a very small girl and it looks terrible! I don't know if I should get treatments with picosure or ndyag....?? Oh I am so confused
April 17, 2015
Stop it don't be so hard on urself . I know exactly how u feel . Picosure is the best thing for it . Just stay positive
April 18, 2015
It's not easy to accept what I have done. I ruined my life by making this decision. Is there a lot of fading after your first session? Do you have skin changes?
UPDATED FROM stellina1991

Surgical excision possible?

stellina1991
As I am still very depressed about this situation I am thinking of a surgical excision of my tattoo. I'd rather have a scar on my arm than the tattoo. I don't think that laser treatments bring the result i'd like to have. And I definitely do not have enough strength to go through this whole process.
Do you think that excision would be a way to solve this problem?

Replies (7)

User Avatar
April 19, 2015
Your tattoo is in the same place and roughly the same size as mine - I have often thought about the surgical route but with a tattoo our size our options are limited. As far as I'm aware if excision is possible then it would have to happen in stages, probably three or four maybe over a year or so. Or, it could involve a skin graft, but that would probably just awful. I'd be interested to hear if you get any opinions about excision. Failing that, laser is your best bet.
April 19, 2015
Do you think it's possible without a skin graft? Because I don't think so :-( today I sent an Email to a doctor asking if surgical excision is possible. I don't think there is enough skin to close the scar. Did you have any treatments on your tattoo so far?
User Avatar
April 19, 2015
If it is possible then it would have to be done in stages - remove part then close it, then wait a few months then remove another part. I guess that would be the only way. Let us know if you get a response from them. I've had 8 laser treatments so far and probably need at least two or three more.
User Avatar
April 20, 2015
I think you should have a consultation with a surgeon who does tattoo excision. Ask them all your questions. My honest thoughts are that excision may cause more skin damage than lasering, since your tattoo is rather large. But then again, I am not a surgeon. Definitely ask a professional. - - When it comes to lasers, if it makes you feel any better, a lot of hypopigmentation on tan people will fade. I read (and heard) that lasers will zap your skin pigment and basically take out your tan. But overtime with natural sun exposure your skin can gain those pigments back.
User Avatar
April 20, 2015
After looking at your tattoo closer it looks really light in some parts and the red colors are very, very light. I feel like lasers would fade your tattoo significantly...
April 28, 2015
I decided to do a mixture: Laser Treatments and parts of it will be excised
April 25, 2015
Look into picosure. Your tattoo is light. It should wipe that tattoo out! Take alook at my process
UPDATED FROM stellina1991

Test spot with revlite

stellina1991
4 weeks ago I got two test spots with a revlite: 1 was done on pink (which became grey) and the second one on black. I am very concerned because the black ink turned into a brown shadow. Is that normal? I heard that if it turns brown it cannot be removed by further Treatments???

Replies (16)

User Avatar
May 28, 2015
I've done research on this and have actually asked my laser specialist about it since my black shading is also turning brown. My specialist and most everything I have read tells me that it's normal degradation of ink. Apparently with a couple more treatments that brown will go away as well. No worries. :-)
User Avatar
May 28, 2015
Thank you for this - my skin is going brown too!
May 28, 2015
Do you think that the ink containing metal could also be responsible for the brown?
User Avatar
May 29, 2015
From what I read there is a slight possibility that your tattoo ink could contain a lot of metals. (Especially in permanent eyeliner/makeup). In this case it is possible that the laser will make it turn brown, and the brown will get darker. But I'd have to say this is probably pretty rare. Most likely if you are seeing some browning its ink degrading. The area on mine that turned the most brown is actually fading the fastest.
May 30, 2015
Unfortunately I've already asked the tattooist about the ink he uses and he said it contains metals like chrome, zinc, nickel... So if it contains metals it will
May 30, 2015
Turn Brown??? Or do you think Every ink contains metals?
May 31, 2015
check inbox! (just in case you disabled mail notifications) :-)
User Avatar
May 31, 2015
Ok so I looked into it a little more since I'm also curious. Apparently most inks contain metals, but apparently that's not 100% what causes the problem. Most professionals are saying that problem mostly and almost exclusively occurs with cosmetic inks (makeup). I guess it has happened in tattoos but it's apparently so rare that I'd bet money you are just fine. Just bring up your concerns at your next treatment. Like I said, the part of my tattoo that faded the fastest is the part that turned brown.
User Avatar
May 31, 2015
I think permanent makeup inks are not as good as tattoo inks in a lot of cases...
June 1, 2015
I was so nervous Ehe whole weekend and called several Laser experts in order to ask them about black ink turning brown. Most of them told me they have never seen this happen which is very confusing because I've seen it several times on this website.
June 1, 2015
*the
June 12, 2015
Do you still have some brown areas? Are some of them removed? I'm still not sure if it really is just ink breaking down because I've seen a number of reviews where black ink just becomes lighter with each session. Unfortunately I haven't seen someone who managed this "brownish problem" so far :-/
User Avatar
June 12, 2015
Hi there, sorry I haven't responded. So I'm not sure when exactly your ink turned brown. Was it pretty immediate? If so that 'might' be cause for concern, not that I want to worry you... With my tattoo the shaded parts are fading the fastest. And those are the parts that are brownish. As far as I can tell, they are still fading pretty fast. The brown is getting lighter and lighter. I can post a picture of those areas on my review if you want. And when I brought it up to my laser specialist, he knew exactly what I was talking about. So I am a little shocked that none of the people you talked to had seen that before...... Unless it really doesn't happen to everyone, or if your case is different. Did it happen almost immediately?
User Avatar
June 12, 2015
Oh, and I think it took maybe a month for the shaded areas to start turning brownish after my first session. So far the thick lines and smaller lines are still black... but I am thinking with fading they may also turn brown...
June 13, 2015
I am not quite sure but I think it turned brown after two or three days but it definitely became lighter than the black ink before
User Avatar
June 15, 2015
To be honest I really don't think you have anything to worry about at this time. Nothing really stands out as a red flag. However I am still shocked that the people you contacted said they have never seen that before... Maybe you and I and whoever else this happens to have a similar type of ink that fades to a brownish color before disappearing.