Tattoo Removal is Painful - Houston, TX

I recently had my first removal treatment done. My tattoo is rather large, and I had it done about 26 years ago. It had faded alot, but the green was still very bright on it. I didn't know what to expect, but at the consultation, I decided to go ahead and have my first treatment.

She started by blowing cold air on the tattoo, and she said this would help numb it. They use two different types of laser, one is for green only which I'm told is very hard to remove, and then the other one is for all other colors. At first, it just felt like a hot rubberband popping my skin. The pain was BAD, and it got much worse as the procedure went on. She asked if I wanted to stop, but I just wanted to get it over with. She said most people can't go as long as I did, but I didn't like the idea of stopping and starting again.

Towards the end, it felt like hot rubber bands with hot needles going into my skin. There are sparks, and at one point it smelled like burned flesh. It hurts a heck of alot more than getting the actual tattoo, so think twice before getting one in the first place. They do have a numbing cream called Dr. Numb, that you can get on Amazon for 20.00 I will be getting some of this before my next treatment!

The techinician told me to apply 2 hours before, and to cover it with saran wrap. Other than all this, I am extremley pleased so far with my results. My tattoo has faded considerably, it does itch and scabbed up some but, I can already see that the Q-switched laser does not leave a scar. I was told that it may take up to 5 treatments, well worth 1200 I'm estimating.

I had my first treatment with the pico laser. Much better than the q switched! I still had a lot of green and blue left, and while it's only been a few days I have noticed an improvement. I was expecting severe pain again, but while it hurt, it wasn't too bad. The nurse told me that since it is on my breast, it shouldn't take as many treatments. The blistering wasn't as bad as in previous treatments, and no scarring so far.

All my green is gone! Can't believe the results. I think one to two more treatments, and that's that. The second treatment was more painful than the first, but maybe because it was only 6 weeks apart.