PicoSure Laser Removal of Microblading -- My Journey

Hi everyone. I decided to give a little update since there is not much information out there on this subject, and I hope this will be helpful to others. I am now 6 months from my 4th/last Picosure treatment session. There is a small amount of fading since my last shared photos, but there is still a residual yellow/brown shadow in the areas where there is no natural hair to cover it. I do wear bangs so I probably could go out without makeup, but I'm still self-conscious. Even going to exercise, I dab on a wee bit of concealer at the fronts and arches of my brows where the yellow/brown shadow is. It's quick so if I have to do this forever, well, I guess I'll do it forever. I'm still hoping with time they will continue to completely fade away. Maybe I'll return for another laser treatment, but I'm just not ready right now, and the place I went to is an hour from home. This has been and still is an emotional journey for me. I still think there is great microblading out there, and I have seen it, but for whatever reason whether it be technique, quality of ink, or my skin, it just did not work out for me. I'm not sure I have the guts to trust another artist because if it is just the way my skin takes the ink, then I'll be down the same road with gray/blue brows in time. The thought of that is nauseating frankly. So, I hope that my journey is helpful for others. I have no new photos to share since there really is not a significant change since my last set. I'll give it more time, and if I see more fading, I'll definitely post more photos.

I took a few photos a week out from my 4th Picosure session. Over this week, the bruising subsided, my skin peeled (hated that) and I had a few hive-like bumps with a lot of itching. It seemed to be a reaction to the ink particles being broken up. I used hydrocortisone cream on my skin and took oral Benadryl for a few nights, and it cleared up quickly. These pics were taken on day 7, the color has faded further, and no swelling. Covering the remaining shadow with makeup is so simple now, and I really could go workout without makeup although that one spot toward the center on my right brow still makes me feel a little self-conscious. I normally wear bangs so no one else would even notice I'm sure. I did have a regular appointment with my dermatologist yesterday, and he gave me a prescription for Retin-A hoping that will help fade the remaining shadow which the Picosure tech thinks might be just hyperpigmentation and not residual ink (and maybe work on my 55-year-old wrinkles -- lol). I'll give the Retin-A a few months and reevaluate in November or December whether I have another laser treatment. I'm hoping not. From now on I'll just use eyebrow pencil for my sparse brown. No more microblading for me.

Only a few photos today an hour after my 4th Picosure treatment for microblading removal. A combination of wavelengths was used to aggressively treat whatever remaining ink is left. I feel a bit bruised and stingy with a tiny bit of swelling but clearly, nothing significant. In the photos I'm slathered with Aquaphor. Some hairs turned white again, but as before, they do return to brown with time. My provider thinks the remaining discoloration is hyperpigmentation as opposed to oxidation or remaining ink, and I'll be reading more on that subject. He thinks I should wait a few months before deciding whether to treat with the laser again or possibly try a prescription fade cream to see if that does the trick. I have an appointment with my dermatologist in a couple weeks for my general skin check, and I'll see what he thinks. I've come a long way since starting this removal process almost 4 months ago. I hope that time will bring my skin back to a state where I don't need to use makeup to leave the house. Not sure I posted my age before, but I'm 55 so disregard my wrinkles -- lol. I'll post more update photos as the healing process continues.