Tattoo Removal at PureLite in Strood Kent - Not Recommended, Dreadful Experience. - Strood, Kent UK

Hi all,

So here are some pictures of my arm as it looks now. I am surprised it has healed as well as it has, but i've been using bio oil 3 times per day for months now. Unfortunately, i've got large patches of skin that have a milky/cloudy colour and a very strange texture to it plus hypopigmentation in a number of places. The skin damage is obvious, but I suppose it could have been worse.

My representative has their insurance details now so shall see where this goes.

So it's now June, I have a solicitor involved in this dispute and for the last few months PureLite have been refusing to provide insurance details as requested, ignoring any correspondence relating to this matter. Very professional.

The claims that were on the PureLite website 'we are fully insured' seemed to have disappeared and they are failing to cooperate.

I visited PureLite in Strood, Kent for a tattoo removal treatment on a visible black and grey tattoo that I was unhappy with. I initially had a consultation with Ranjeet, the laser operator, and we discussed all the necessary details and I read over the literature provided. I decided to have a patch test and paid £20 for the privilege.

Some weeks after I had the patch test, everything seemed okay, There was no evidence of adverse reaction and my skin healed in the areas where she fired the laser so I decide to book in for my first session.

This first treatment took place on 28th November 2014 and lasted approximately 30 minutes, which was a lot longer than I expected. Whilst I observed the treatment I noticed that she was using a very small spot size for such a large area and she was taking a very long time to laser the darkest, blackest parts of the tattoo. The spot size looked no bigger than around 3mm, I am familiar with this because I have had one tattoo removed before and the technician used a spot size of 8mm.

After Ranjeet finished the treatment, we discussed aftercare and I explained that I was familiar with how to care for the area because I have had multiple laser sessions on one tattoo before at Beautonics and never experienced any form of infection, or complication due to poor aftercare. I then paid for the treatment and went straight home.

A few hours after the treatment, my arm was emitting so much heat that I was forced to apply a cool compress to the area as the pain was horrible. From this point onwards, my arm got progressively worse and horrendously painful. In the next few days massive fluid filled blister started to develop on my arm and they seemed to grow bigger by the day, until they eventually popped on their own. At this point, I was concerned about the pain and I was concerned about the size of the blisters, but from experience I knew that blisters, swelling, redness and soreness are normal side effects, so I tried to ease my worry by giving my arm some more time to recover.

6 days after the treatment I was forced to leave a work course early as one of my blisters was causing so much pain that I was finding it hard to concentrate. I contacted PureLite to tell them that I was concerned about my arm and that I planned to see a medical professional, Ranjeet confirmed that this would be the best course of action and asked me to keep her updated.

I went off to the Gravesend Minor Injuries unit and they assessed my arm. I initially thought it may have been an infection as there was a small amount of wet brown fluid coming from one of the worst areas, but the nurse informed me that I had actually been burnt, in multiple places. The 'fluid' from the burn was actually the paraffin I had put on previously mixing with the black pigment that was seeping out of my arm. The nurse cleaned my burns with saline and applied jelonet dressings.

I drove straight home and texted Ranjeet at about 6 explaining what I had just been told. That message was ignored. The next day I text her again at about 11 asking her to contact me immediately and that was also ignored. I phoned the clinic and did not get an answer so I decided I would need to go there in person. To cut a long story short, my first attempts at contact were ignored and when I finally surprised Ranjeet at the clinic by turning up unannounced she did not know what to say, how to explain it or how to answer any of my questions, she also refused to provide a copy of my treatment records stating that she would need to talk to head office and consult her 'laser specialists'.

I waited over a week for her to provide a response. In her response, which was sent via email, she told me that my burns were an 'idea' and that poor hygiene could have caused a bacterial infection. She completely refused to acknowledge that the minor injuries unit and my GP confirmed my injuries as burns and tried to fob me off.

This type of back and forth communication went on for a while, her refusing to take any responsibility whatsoever and me asking for an explanation of how this happened. Well, I got no apology, no refund, no explanation, no investigation and I was branded a liar. It's funny how friendly she is when she is taking your money, but when you have a complaint, she shuts you down and blames it on the customer.

Make your own mind up about this place but consider this;

- According to another individual that I found out about who has had a tattoo removal treatment by her, burns have happened before and she did exactly the same with that person as she did with me, telling them ' this is just the process' and ignoring the situation

- She uses a cheap, unreliable, low quality laser, which you can pick up for about £5k

- I emailed the company who she bought the laser from and they were able to confirm when she bought it but did not have a date on record regarding when she was 'trained' to use this machine

- She tries to police the web and get rid of bad reviews by getting them deleted or her details edited out.

- Look at the pictures of my arm for yourself and ask yourself if this how you want to end up.