Tattoo Vanish Left Me with Permanent Skin Damage

I have a large, upper armband with mutli-colored ink (lots of greens & blues) which has remained vibrant for 20+ years that I have lived with this tattoo. I decided to try Tattoo Vanish as a last-ditch option before excision, which is now the route that I will be going in the next few weeks. Tattoo Vanish DID remove the ink from this area (approx 85% of it) but it also permanently scarred me, and some of the skin where this was injected is completely destroyed. It is also very painful.

I opted to try Tattoo Vanish because I preferred the ink exiting the body via the skin, which it does in the form of a scab, rather than via our lymphatic system, which is the case with laser removal methods.

I paid $500 for a section that is about 6 sq. inches. I went to the only permanent makeup artist in Tucson, AZ advertising this procedure.

My photos show the journey I've been on since late August 2016 when I had the Tattoo Vanish session. It lasted about 2 hours and was quite uncomfortable to endure. The pain is best described as someone jamming a hot poker into your skin repeatedly. She used a tattoo gun used for permanent makeup, and used a very fine needle size. She went over some sections of my skin repeatedly, which are now the areas that have the worst damage.

I will post my excision process next. Saw a doctor today but only got a referral to a dermatologist (VA healthcare). I have a medical urgency at this point, as the area is swollen and painful, and recently getting worse on both counts. I have a consult scheduled with a plastic surgeon in Roanoke, VA who has done a similar excision, which I read about on Realself.com. I'm hoping my review helps someone avoid a painful situation and find a way safely out of your unwanted tattoo!

I have been through 2 plastic surgeons and 2 VA doctors before finally getting sound advice on how to move forward. Per the new, highly competent plastic surgeon, she will not excise any area except what was treated with Tattoo Vanish. I wanted to excise the entire tattoo. She said the area treated with Tattoo Vanish has sustained 3rd degree chemical burns which should have been removed within days of treatment. This area, approx. 4 sq. inches, has 2 different outcomes: a little more than half of it, where the practitioner combined two different serums (Tattoo Vanish and another one called A+Ocean) and went over the area twice, has sustained a 3rd degree chemical burn. The other part of the treated area (approx 1 sq inch) has a "normal" outcome for Tattoo Vanish, which is a white, slightly tougher skin. My plastic surgeon is going to excise all of the skin that was treated with Tattoo Vanish. She will not excise any other healthy skin. She said I am too thin, with no extra skin, and the area is too large. It would likely create a keloid scar around my entire arm which could have negative impacts on nerve function, muscle movement, etc. THANK GOD I found her, and didn't go forward with the planned excision of the entire tattoo, which the other plastic surgeon was more than happy to do (without telling me all of the risks involved). Be SOO SO careful who you trust your body too, friends!!

My surgery date is Feb.21. I will update with more images soon. Oh, and the treated area has been intensely painful the entire time, with shooting pains down my arm and ongoing deterioration of the skin. Phew...not a good scene.

I finally found a surgeon that I trusted to perform the excision. I wanted to remove the entire tattoo, but she convinced me it was a terrible idea. Said there isn't enough loose skin and that I could end-up with a feeling like a tourniquet wrapped around my arm. I'm so glad she was honest - I had another plastic surgeon ready to do the entire excision and he never once mentioned the considerable risks. She went forward with removing the approx. 4 inches of burned skin, which she said was not optional. Funny, cause she was also the first of FOUR doctors to tell me that it was a 3rd degree burn. :-(

Now that it's removed, I totally see what she was talking about in terms of risk. The 4-inch scar was healing beautifully until the last 2 weeks of healing (10 weeks total). That's when the painful keloid developed. It looks red, raised, and it hurts. :'-( I wish I had known about silicone scar strips before this happened, as I think it may have prevented it. I'm using them now, and I've been told there are treatments that can help. My doc is giving me cortisone shots (I think it's cortisone), but I've only had one so far (get a 2nd today) so I can't tell yet if they're really helping. Sigh...now I get to add "scar remediation" to the list of procedures I'll be reviewing on here!

PS - Looking forward to resuming my tattoo removal journey as soon as this scar is a bit less pained. I've seen some inspiring journey here on RS using Picosure so I am feeling optimistic, despite everything. Best of luck to everyone here, esp. tattoo removal peeps! Hang in there!