Lasering Off My Impulsive Ink Choice in Toronto, ON

I am getting ready for my 10th treatment in a few weeks. I feel that my progress has plateaued somewhat which isn't helping my mental state. I just wish so much that this darn ink could just be gone already. I also didn't ever anticipate that I would need more than 5 treatments to clear all the ink. The regret is sinking in deep with this one.
I have gotten some motivation by seeing others before and after results who have a skin tone and similar ink colors to mine. I admittedly am jealous of anyone who has gotten a full removal no matter how many treatments it took. One of the best removals I've seen photos of is someone who needed 32 treatments on a colorful neck piece. So that just shows it can be done!
As I've previously mentioned I have come to hate all my tattoos but I know that the cost of removing all of them just isn't in the cards. I got one of my more colorful tattoos consulted and was given the thrifty price of $5000 for 12 treatments. That just isn't possible for me.
Thank you to anyone who has read this and best of luck on all of your removal journeys!

Tomorrow will be my 9th laser treatment overall and my 2nd treatment with the Picoway laser at The Removery. I've definitley seen some more fading between my 7th and 8th treatments which is giving me some positive vibes for how well the rest of my treatments with the Picoway laser will go. I'm really hopeful that this will be the year this tattoo is finally faded out enough to be considered gone.

This journey has made me hate all my tattoos (I have 5 others minus the one I'm removing) and my greatest wish of all would be to be completely tattoo - free. I'm considering getting a consult to remove my feet tattoos when I'm in for my next treatment tomorrow. I wonder constantly why I got inked in the first place. I've come to realize that for me the tattoo process was too impulsive which is why I regret all of them. My thought process in all cases was no different than thinking 'Hmm, I've got a massive craving for chocolate so I'll just eat this entire two layer chocolate cake myself in one sitting'. Odds are you'd probobly regret eating that cake though the removal purpose of something edible doesn't involve a laser.

Fingers crossed that tomorrow's session goes well!

It’s hard to believe that my last laser session was in 2015. I remember very clearly all the frustration and anger I had surrounding my tattoo removal process. I had 8 treatments total between two different clinics plus a patch test trial treatment of the Picosure laser all over the course of about 2 years.
As I posted previously I had decided to take a break from laser treatments for an indefinite period. I wasn’t seeing the results I had hoped for and the experience was costing more than I could afford. Once a few months had passed I pretty much forgot about laser treatments and just focused on everything else I had going on in my life. The fact that I was busy with starting a new job and had just gotten married definitely took the majority of my attention. I also had an interesting mental shift take place which happened very gradually and caused a massive amount of peace in my previously stressful and anxious existence.
It’s hard for me to put this mental shift into word. The best that I can do is to say that I began to accept things the way they were. I realize that this isn’t a groundbreaking statement as we have all heard many times over that acceptance is the key to happiness or something to that affect. It’s a cliche for sure, but I think it’s something you can’t entirely understand until it happens to you.
As I can only speak from my personal experiences I am choosing to share this in the hope that some people out there can relate or find it useful. However, if you don’t agree that’s your choice and I respect it.
What I came to realize was that a big part of my wanting to remove my arm tattoo was because of self consciousness surrounding my body and weight on the whole. I am larger chested (I wear a 38DDD bra) and had a lot of flab on my arms, upper back, stomach and thighs. Even though it scared me I joined a gym and started taking weight lifting classes. Yes I definitely felt like I didn’t belong and I had no idea what I was doing but I kept telling myself that the reason anyone takes a class to learn something is because they don’t know anything about it and want to learn. And even though it hurt and was hugely challenging and I wanted to give up I didn’t stop, I kept pushing and pushing until one day it stopped hurting and I saw my results because I no longer feel self conscious wearing a sleeveless top even with my partially removed arm tattoo. The big lesson I learned was that focusing on what your body can achieve rather than focusing on what problems about it need to be fixed leads to amazing things. I know my commitment to bettering my health and fitness aided in my tattoo removal healing since a healthy body will always function better than an unhealthy one.
What this all adds up to is your mindset is a lot more powerful than you may be giving yourself credit for. Could you change your mindset in the way you see your body?
In closing, I’d like to share some advice I’ve been given and that I’ve learned over my tattoo removal journey:
1. Be open to the possibility that you might have to try out a few different clinics and technicians. There are many different kinds of lasers which treat different colours and types of tattoo. It might take a few tries to find that type that works for you.
2. One method that many agree works is to get a handful of treatments spaced in the timeframe your technician suggests. Then give yourself a chunk of time like 6-8 months without any laser treatments to give your body time to heal and flush out the removed ink. Then go back to your laser sessions. Odds are you will experience a good amount of fading during the waiting period.
I am still debating on going for a few more removal sessions. I’m also intrigued by a tattoo removal cream I’ve seen a few ads for. If anyone has experience with that method I’m open to hearing about your experiences.
All the best to anyone out there working on a tattoo removal journey!