After a couple days, those mystery red marks are drying up and getting ready to peel, so it turns out they were burn marks which I guess means the laser was in fact hot! I never did develop one blister though.
I think the ink is officially unreachable :(
I am going on vacation soon, and I have decided to leave the tape and bandages off this time. If an annoying amount of ink shows through at the end of a good tan, one that is two years overdue, I will go back for more treatments, but I feel at this point I have come to a road block and need to do something different, which may be to accept the ink that remains in the deepest depths of my skin.
I know I should feel excited, but I always imagined not stopping treatments until I couldn't see a drop of the black ink. I also wonder will the skin stay hypo-pigmented as it is now? Or in the sun, will it hyper-pigment, such as brown clouds? Will there always be an outline to remind me of what was once there?
I guess I will find out soon...
hello from australia looks amazing ,i have one that i would like to remove too , alot bigger then that tho,yours looks as close to normal as you would get i would be very happy with that result, just need a tan,thanks for your blog :)
ReplyDeleteOnly just found this blog. Nice one, please keep it going.
ReplyDeleteI had Number 3 done yesterday on my tramp-stamp. Starting to fade but if I get results like yours I'll be happy - even if it does take 11 rounds with a psychotic South African wielding a laser gun.
Just found your blog today. Very interesting. I just finished round 3. Very, very blistered and black craters of skin. Did they always numb you? They do not numb me. I wish they would!
ReplyDeleteI have the same concerns about the pigmentation--I've had 8 treatments on a black wrist tattoo. In the areas where the ink is gone, the skin is much whiter than the rest of my skin. I still have a lot of ink left, although it's faded from the original. I'm considering just getting a cover-up because it seems like I won't get to totally "normal" skin without an outline.
ReplyDeleteFYI, I switched laser clinics, and the new guy told me he doesn't recommend using lidocaine injections (which my original clinic had done). He said the laser beam can interact with the lidocaine and be less effective. He just uses an ice pack before and after. I don't think I would've been able to do the first couple of treatments without the lidocaine, but it's not so bad now that there's less ink.
Anyway, thanks for the updates and I'm interested to know whether you've had any improvement with the pigmentation.
Sarah - Thanks so much for putting this blog together - so helpful! I'm In the same process (doing #5 today).
ReplyDeleteJennifer - Yes it HURTS! I went to a dermatologist as wanting to be under supervision while doing this and was able to get a numbing cream prescription. It's like night and day - very little pain with the cream.
Good luck, everybody!
Bridget Z
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ReplyDeletehey thanks for this, please keep up with it! I'd like to know what kind of laser are you using in your treatment, it looks good! thanks and good luck
ReplyDeleteHey I am from America,please suggest me some tattoo removal firm...
ReplyDeleteI have my first session scheduled for November... I'm a little nervous!
ReplyDeleteI'm going in for treatment number 2 in December. They gave me a prescription for numbing creme and I didn't feel a thing! Tattoo was originally done in the 90s and is mostly blue, green, and yellow. Fading after first treatment was dramatic
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ReplyDeleteThanks for your blog! Have just started the process. It's a long road but stories like these can provide a bit of hope! I am just dying to know how your arm looks now?? Are you able to post a pic?
Katie
I just had my 3rd session yesterday and am also a little discouraged from the last 2 visits but today I see some fading....I'm happy this is finally something progressing with results. Your blog is awesome! I don't know if this sounds crazy but in order for me to remember all this, I've had the last 2 sessions with no numbing agent and it hurts like hell! This tattoo will be forever even though I have decided to remove it for personal reasons.
ReplyDeleteIt looks great! Thank you so much for posting this blog! I go in Saturday for my first treatment and I'm really nervous.. Please post a picture or let us know how it looks now (esp. with a tan). Thank you again!
ReplyDeleteHey, I'm glad to have finally found a thorough chronicle of a tattoo removal because I am wondering what to expect with my own. I have had 2 sessions so far and have definitely seen some improvement but, like you, I wonder if it is even possible to have it completely removed? I will keep checking up with your blog just for my own peace of mind. Hopefully we get the results we want. Thanks for doing what your doing! By the way, you're gorgeous!
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