Tattoo excision - Los Angeles, CA

I got this tattoo in August of 2014, and only months later, am beginning the removal process.

It's kind of a long story, but in short, the numerals are incorrect (my fault), and due to spacing issues/blowouts in the linework, unfortunately it can't be corrected to my liking.

I just started treatments with PicoSure last week. My Doctor is optimistic that we'll only need 5 sessions, but I have a gut feeling that this thing is going to be stubborn and that I'll end up needing more than that. There is also one line that blew out and had some mild scarring even after healing, which is my biggest concern. I'm worried even if the ink disappears, the skin will still be scarred.

Post my first Picosure treatment, everything seems to be going okay. I started blistering about 10 hours after the procedure, and those lasted for about 5 days. There is still some deep redness directly around the lines of the tattoo, but other than that it's looking pretty good. The scarred line looks a little angry still too, but it might just be because it's a slightly different texture due to the way it healed. The area still stings a little, but nothing I wouldn't assume is normal.

Now that the blistering has healed for the most part, I can say that so far I cannot tell a difference, one week after treatment #1. Am I supposed to start noticing changes over the next couple of weeks? I know it takes time for your body to break up the ink, I guess I just assumed I would see SOMETHING right away, just so I know it worked. :)

Alright, so we're 11 days past my first Picosure treatment. The results are subtle, which I expected on a new tattoo, but I definitely see a difference! To me it looks like the tattoo has faded very slightly. Instead of the harsh black linework, it almost looks blue-ish now. It is especially noticeable in the light. I see a tiny bit of darker pigmentation around the last "X," but from what I've read that most likely won't be permanent.

I've been feeling pretty discouraged over the last few days. It's been three weeks since my first session, and while it did look lighter after the initial peel, now it looks just as dark as ever. In certain lighting, I'll glance at it and see a difference, but for the most part I don't think it budged.

I know it's normal to not see real results for the first treatment or two, but it's very frustrating to see others with great results after just one treatment. Of course everyone is different, and our bodies are going to react differently depending on a number of factors, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating. It's just a very painful procedure to have to go through and not really see anything upfront.

The good news is that my skin is completely healed and aftercare went well, so hopefully they can turn up the intensity on my next visit. Next appointment is December 18.