PicoSure for 18 Yr Old Blue/Green/Black Gecko Tattoo - Houston, TX

Went with PicoSure over other methods due to speed and ability to target blues/greens. The 1996 gecko tattoo originally had some yellows and reds, but those colors have all but vanished over the past 18 yrs. First treatment was without numbing cream with a pain level similar to getting tattoo; individual pain quite low, but after 5 min the pain builds and becomes annoying. Fortunately the treatment was only around 5 min. Tattoo was bandaged up after treatment, but was not iced (mistake, remember to ice). Attached pictures show tattoo 6 hrs, 3 days and 8 days after treatment. Here is the rundown. Six hrs after treatment there were a lot of red dots (broken blood vessels) and clear fading of the tattoo, especially the blue/green, but even some of the black outline (tail, left back foot, front right arm) appears to be gone. On day 2 (no pic) a blister formed on the gecko’s body which was drained after 24 hrs. After three days, the treated area developed its highest level of redness (looked worse than it felt). After 8 days, the general redness had subsided, but dark red spots remained and look very similar to itsy bitsy blood blisters. I covered the area with a combo of Neosporin, Bacitracin, Aquaphor and A&D location for the first 4 day (24 hrs). It continues to be covered during the day and uncovered at night.

After the first treatment, one large blister formed and looked pretty bad for the first 4 weeks (never hurt or itched), but healed up nicely in weeks 5 and 6. My second Pico treatment was 6 weeks after my first. The treatment time was just as fast as the first and ended just before I would have asked for a break. I immediately iced for about 20 minutes and then iced another 20 min about 4 hours later. I credit the icing to no blister formation after the second treatment. This time around, however, there is some serious itching or maybe it just feels good when the area is scratched.

The attached pic shows before treatment, day 8 and 41 after 1st Pico treatment, and 8 days after 2nd treatment. The coloring / lighting isn’t the same in all pics, so it’s might be hard to see changes, but in real life the fading is obvious. The second Pico treatment did appear to result more darker skin pigmentation despite the appearance of zero ink in some areas (e.g. the tail). Based on other’s posting and my first Pico treatment, the ink and pigmentation should fade over the next 6-8 weeks. Due to travel and work, it will likely be at least 8 weeks if not 12 before my 3rd Pico. By the way, my Pico price was based on a package of 4 Pico treatments.

Due to some family issues, wasn't able to find time to get my 3rd Pico until 10 months after my 2nd (1 yr since my 1st Pico). While the pics are not all in the same lighting, you can clearly see that the tattoo underwent significant fading over the last 10 months. I prepaid for 4 treatments, which based on progress, should do the trick.