Removing Poorly Microbladed Eyebrows. Rockville, MD

Hi All,
Sorry for the lack of updates -- I've been really busy and wanted to wait until I was at a more stable point to give you all some hope. Hang in there if you are going through this, things have gotten a lot better for me -- I can finally stomach my reflection in the mirror! [Updated pictures attached]I have two issues which I am still working to combat: (1) heal the pink, damaged skin where the tattoo was removed and (2) remove the remaining tattoo. I'm first focusing on issue 1 because the only thing that could make my situation worse is having scarred skin, so I'm doing everything in my power to avoid that.Here's what I've done since my first post. I've had two pulsed dye laser sessions because I've self-diagnosed my still (faint) pink skin with post-inflammatory erythema. I think it is erythema and not hyperpigmentation because when I press down on it, the color changes from pink to white. That's how I decided to do pulsed dye laser, because that's the only laser treatment that helps heal erythema faster. If you have post inflammatory erythema, pulsed dye laser definitely works. It's expensive though, at about $300 per treatment where I live. I've decided against getting a 3rd laser session because my skin is healed enough where I think I can heal the rest with silicone gel. Silicone gel is the other thing I've been using -- this has been extremely helpful in healing the pink skin. I've tried all of the oils and things out there, and I recommend that you don't waste your time -- only silicone gel works. If you really want to use an oil instead of silicone gel, I think Bio Oil worked best for me. I still use Bio Oil sometimes on my entire face because it's just good for your skin in general. Other than pulsed dye laser sessions, silicone gel/bio oil, I've been wearing sunscreen and hats whenever I go outside. This was crucial for not setting me back during the summer -- but trust me, it was miserable. Summer 2016 was pretty horrible because I had to avoid the sun the entire time, but the lack of daytime social life was 100% worth it. I've seen significant improvement in the status of my skin. I'm going to continue using silicone gel/bio oil and sunscreen until all of my pink skin is gone. I'm honestly so traumatized from the process of tattoo removal that I think I will try and remove the rest the slow and patient way -- by using a night cream with retinol in it. Saline removal almost permanently scarred me and because of the components of the tattoo ink used, laser removal is not an option for me. I have been told that tattoo ink with titanium dioxide and iron oxide is not able to be removed by laser -- at least not easily, and not without trial and error (and the possibility of the ink turning black and permanently staying on my skin).Penciled in eyebrows [picture attached]: As you can see from my bare-faced photos, my eyebrows are extremely uneven. The left eyebrow has most of the ink removed -- the only ink remaining is underneath my eyebrow hair at the bottom. My right eyebrow, on the other hand, has tattoo strokes left in the front of my brow as well as in the arch. This makes applying makeup pretty challenging, because it's impossible to make them even. The ink that is left is grey in color (I'm hoping the fact that it faded grey is a good sign) and the lines are no longer sharp -- they have bled/look blurry as a result of the removal process. That's my update! I will probably update again at the one year mark, hopefully with even more good news.

This is the first time I've joined this kind of site, or written this kind of post. But I am sharing my experience in hopes of helping others avoid the unnecessary trauma I inflicted upon myself. LOVE YOUR FLEEKLESS BROWS.
I opted for the microblading procedure because my natural eyebrows are sparse and uneven. I definitely overplucked them during high school, but I also didn't have much brow hair to work with in the first place. I admit I didn't do sufficient research prior to the procedure, but honestly, since this procedure is so MANUAL, I think mistakes can happen even with the most skilled technicians. Also: everyone's skin reacts differently to pigment, and at this point, I've just seen way too many horror stories to balance out the benefits. DON'T GET SEMI-PERMANENT MAKE-UP. DON'T DO IT!
I think that my brows were microbladed well in the sense that they looked very hair-like. They were simply TOO FIERCE for my soft face. My technician is very sweet and is doing everything in her power to help me achieve the final results I want, so I will not throw her under the bus and reveal her name. It is also partially my fault for not giving enough direction as to the shape I wanted -- I kind of just trusted her to do what was best for my face.
My one eyebrow looked PERFECT halfway through, and I thought that since she saw how much I loved them, she would make my other eyebrow look exactly the same. But instead, I ended up with much thicker brows than I wanted. The fronts were too close together, the arches too high, the tail too long. This all for a girl who hardly had eyebrows prior to microblading.
The very next day (just one day later), I told her that I was unhappy with the shape, and wanted to know what my options were for removing them. She told me to come in, so I did, and we removed them with saline (salt water exfoliation) and a needle with striking cream. I was very happy at the time, because A LOT of the pigment lifted right out of my skin with the saline removal alone. And more came out with the striking cream. I think this is because I had only allowed the pigment to set in for one day.
However, I am currently on Day 19 of healing, and the skin around my brows where the pigment was extracted is still pink and itchy. I am hoping that the itchiness is a good sign, since that means it is still healing, so I shouldn't freak out yet. Also: the redness has faded a lot since the day after the pigment removal (I will post pics). I know I put my skin through A LOT, so perhaps it's normal that I am still recovering. I am just concerned, and at this point depressed, because I have spent the past three weeks either hiding from the world or facing it head on with my crazy face covered in hello kitty bandages/hats.
Current state of my eyebrows:
LEFT BROW: Much more pigment came off. The arch scabbed. The skin is more pink than that of my right eyebrow, but the skin is smooth and flat.
RIGHT BROW: Less pigment came off, so this brow has more pigment remaining in the front, arch, and tail. It's not horrible though so I may leave it alone. This eyebrow did not scab it all -- I'm not sure if this is good or bad. The skin is less pink than that of the left eyebrow, but the skin where the pigmented arch used to be is a little raised. Hopefully it is just still swollen (doubtful at Day 19) and not permanently raised. :(
I am seeing a dermatologist tomorrow, Day 20 of healing, for advice on how to heal my skin. I will post an update then with any helpful tips I receive. If anyone has advice on how to heal the skin redness quickly, please leave a comment! I have been using coconut oil, vitamin E, neosporin, vaseline, and aloe vera up until now. I am currently only using aloe vera and vaseline, because I seem to have developed an allergy to neosporin from overusing it.
BOTTOM LINE: I wish I never did this to myself. My natural brows weren't perfect, but looked just fine once I filled them in with makeup. I would do just about anything to be able to go back in time and prevent this from happening -- all I've gained from this experience is damaged skin (hopefully not permanent) and eyebrows that aren't much better than my original ones. Not to mention: too many tears and sleepless nights to count. I'm afraid to fix the shape at this point, because I am now turned off by the idea of semi-permanent makeup completely. DON'T DO IT.