Picosure Treatment for Blue/black Tattoo on Ankle - Houston, TX

I'm finally removing my one and only tattoo after 21 years. It's about the size of a business card on my ankle.

I just had my first treatment this morning, and it went better than expected. The technician put numbing cream on the tattoo and covered it with cling wrap while the laser was warming up. It was not completely numb by any means, but I'm sure it helped take the edge off. It hurt worse than getting the tattoo, but it was very quick ... 30-45 seconds. She asked if I wanted to take a break halfway through, but I chose to have her just go ahead and finish.

She said to expect the blue to clear very quickly, but that the black ink will linger longer. The $768 I am paying is for a package of 4 sessions.

I'll post another photo in a few days to show how much the ink has cleared. My next appointment is in 4 weeks. I'm considering pushing it back to 6 weeks to give the tattoo more time to break up between sessions.

I had not planned to post any after-treatment photos for a few days, but I just changed my bandage and was surprised to see how much ink seems to be gone already. So far this looks promising. I've been out and about all day, on my feet, taking care of my toddler ... and no pain or swelling so far.

Yowzer, I didn't realize the pain of the laser would be NOTHING compared to the week of pain afterward. About 24 hours after the treatment I developed one really large blister, in addition to several smaller ones. The technician had warned me not to pop blisters, but by the third day the blister was very tight and large and was starting to develop even beyond the area that had been lasered. I had to end up lancing the blister with a sterilized needle a few times over the next couple of days because it kept filling again. If I develop any blisters that large after future treatments I will drain them sooner. The tattoo was very painful to the touch for the first week. There was the sharp pain of a burn, but also a duller pain like the entire area was also bruised. That bruised feeling is still there, but much better now. My ankle also swelled a bit about 24 hours after the treatment. Next time I'll try to keep my ankle elevated as much as possible for a couple of days after the treatment. I hope that will help with the swelling and blistering.

I am still happy with the amount of ink that is gone. There are large areas of the tattoo that are completely gone, and some areas around the edge that seem about the same as what they were to begin with. I'm planning to have my next laser session in about 5 weeks.