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POSTED UNDER Tattoo Removal REVIEWS

Regretting my Fresh Tattoo to the Point of Insanity - Philadelphia, PA

ORIGINAL POST

Hi everyone. I read a few peoples stories on here...

ang_solo
$1,000

Hi everyone. I read a few peoples stories on here and I figured I would add mine to the list. I got my first tattoo in January. I had no regrets before or after. I got my second tattoo last Tuesday (April 2nd). I went to a reputable tattoo business in the area and since it was just script I trusted it would come out well. I am normally not a spontaneous person, but lately I have been trying to be more impulsive to challenge myself.

Anyway I got the quote "the most powerful force on earth is the human soul on fire." I love the quote and it's meaning. And actually, after the tattoo was complete I felt pretty good about it. I remember thinking that the tattoo was big, but then again it was a lot of letters and it still looked nice. Then I noticed the flaw. The word "soul" is crooked. You see I am very muscular and so all of the words kind of flow with the muscle in my back (the tattoo is on my back near the shoulder and going down), but the word soul definitely droops down lower then the rest. Instantly, my optimistic "I could live with this" feelings turned to regret.

The tattoo is about 7inches acroos and 4 inches down and definitely takes up more space then I was able to tell initially. And like I said, I love the quote, but I regret it completely now. My first thoughts were okay, maybe I can get the word soul lasered off and applied straighter, but I can't help but to feel regret about the whole thing now. I learned my lesson that I can't be spontaneous like that. It's just not me and I got carried away. I made a few appointments for laser consultations in the area and I go in a few days. I'm hoping once I get a plan in motion I will feel better. Honestly the past week has been so very difficult.

I literally spend hours during a day looking in the mirror at it. It makes me so depressed knowing that I will have to most likely live with this the rest of my life, and even if I get the word soul lasered off and put back on the tattoo will still remain and I feel like it's already so tainted in my eyes. Maybe I'll eventually learn to live with it, but for now I feel like I ruined my body and it's killing me. I would like to hear any stories that you may have that are similar to mine, and also any laser success stories might help me feel better as well. Thanks you

Replies (25)

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April 10, 2013
aloha ang_solo...welcome to the world of ink regret.  It sucks doesn't it?!  We had such high hopes, full of expectations and then bam...and now we spend so much time looking at the offending ink and wondering what happened.   Having a plan will definitely help, it did for me.  I was on this forum before I started laser tattoo removal.  Support definitely helps.  Having your questions answered by a professional often brings peace of mind.  You'll find out what can be done, how much it'll cost and how long it'll take.  Everyone is different though, different ink, different bodies, different immune systems. I've had five passes of the laser beam and I feel much better about my offending ink.  I see fading and breaking of the lines.  Ink regret is funny though, it doesn't matter where the offending ink is, it affects us.  We spend so much time looking at it and it affects our psyche.  I was so depressed and I'm not alone with those feelings.  We're all here for support.  Good luck with the consultation.  Thanks for sharing.  aloha...k
September 18, 2014
i too have this issue. perhaps it's some kind of sickness o reaction to certain ink? i don't know what happened. i lost all of my confidence, i think i went too far. i am ashamed embarrassed andfeel mentally unstable over it WTF? it has to go, pico appointment for tuesday, dont know how i'm going to afford it but its either that or long sleeves and the nut house!!!
April 11, 2013
the good news is that it's actually way, way, way less of a big deal than you think it is. honestly, spend an hour reading through this http://fucknobadtattoos.tumblr.com/ . it's just a tattoo. and it's not /that/ bad.. a section is just a bit crooked. it's probably only an issue because something else negative is going on in your life and you're channelling it into this. you should talk to the laser person though. things could be sorted relatively easily. you also might want to talk to a tattoo artist (or even just a regular artist) because chances are it's not beyond repair. maybe something goes in the background of the text and that changes the shape of the letters? either way, you have lots of options. you didn't ruin your body. your body still works fine. it's just an itchy thing in your mind.
April 11, 2013
seriously though, you need to not spend hours staring at it in the mirror and flooding yourself with regret. you're just spinning your wheels doing that-- digging the rut deeper. you can get the crooked bit fixed. if that's not good enough, you can get the word soul lasered off and put back on. if that's not good enough, you get get the whole thing lasered off. if it's the size and not the crooked bit that's the problem then maybe just accept that and look into total removal. and really, you definitely won't have it for your whole life if you hate it so much. it can be removed now. it can be removed even more fully and easily by the laser technology that will be available next year. even more so by what will be available in 5 years. in 10 years, they'll probably just be able to flash a painless light at tattoos once and have them disappear. so fret not. calm down. look at something you like to look at instead :)
April 11, 2013
Thank you for your support. I am going tomorrow to two places and i hope it goes well. I just need something positive to hold on to because this is ruining my psyche
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April 11, 2013
aloha ang_solo,  I understand the turmoil of ink regret.  The ink is very new to your skin, it takes time to heal.  I think your commitment to the ink, the design is wonderful, it means so much to you.  We're all here for you and wishing you the best.  aloha...k
April 11, 2013
Thank you I truly appreciate your support im hoping i can get through.this. I cant believe how much its effecting my life. I am not embarrased to say that i missed a day of work and a day of school this week
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April 11, 2013
I understand your pain ang_solo.  I have my good days and on those days life is wonderful:  I ignore my offending ink, I am positive and when people comment on the ink I am able to simply say "it's a mistake and now tell me about that pretty t-shirt you have on, you look marvelous!".  But the days when I am not positive, I cry, I wonder how this happened and I hide.  Luckily those days are few now, and I believe it's because I've shared my feelings with so many people.  But I do understand, there is one friend that I have not seen since last year, I am avoiding her.  It's not because she's judgmental, in fact she's the exact opposite, I just can't face her.  But I'm plucking up the courage to go see her in the next few days.  I hope your consultation goes well...let us know how it went.  aloha...kit
April 11, 2013
I know that you make so much sense yet it's so hard to accept. Part of the problem is that i am normally a particular/anal person when it comes to things so I am completely out of my comfort zone with this. Thank you for your kind words
April 12, 2013
I can see you are clearly trying to be positive and thats great. Im struggling with that. I have so much regret! If only i did things differently. And for me, its what the ink is doing to me. Because one thing ive learned is no one cares! Yet here i am not having any joy in life. Things i used to love to do i dont do anymore and i have no desire to do them :(
August 12, 2013

I know how you feel. I'm very analytical and second guess myself after I make a decision. I don't rush into things and think most things through and yet after the fact, I always think of a way it could have been different. I got a tattoo on my wrist and thought it looked a bit crooked when looking at the stencil. The tattoo artist said that it'll change direction as you move your arm.. now after getting the tattoo, it definitely is a bit off. I then started freaking out wondering if I should have gotten the tattoo in a different direction entirely. My boyfriend said that it looks beautiful.. but it is hard to not just stare at it and wonder about your decision. I think the more you get used to this new piece of art on your body, the more it won't seem like such a big deal and other people probably won't notice.

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June 28, 2014
I'm exactly the same way. I got a rather large wrist tattoo done about 3 weeks ago and I have spent the last two weeks picking apart every aspect of the tattoo. I thought I was well prepared to get this tattoo but it didn't turn out the way I had envisioned it. I have to remind myself that it's impossible to get every detail to perfection and you risk the chance that the tattoo might not turn out exactly the way you were hoping. As you said, give it time and it won't appear as bad.
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October 16, 2013

Hey, just following up to check in with you and see how things are going, have you started removal? 

October 17, 2013
Hello! I found a place 30 minutes away that has the picosure. My first session is a week away. I will be updating my progress.
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October 17, 2013

How awesome is that! I hear great things about the Picosure! Keep us posted.