23 October 2014

Here are the updated pictures of my tattoos. These were taken today. I have had five treatments. My last was May 30th, 2014. I am long overdue for another. As you will see, the treatments thus far have really helped a lot.

Lots of the shading has completely disappeared. The bottom part of the skull is gone. As painful as this one is to get treated, I'm really excited that it is almost done.

A lot of the ink in this one on the left arm is gone. The scarring is the real problem.

I could barely tell where to crop this one. This is the skull from my right wrist. I can barely make out some of the outline when I look at it. It almost looks like veins when I'm this pale. When I had been in the sun some over the summer, it wasn't visible at all.

These are almost gone, too. I actually see it more in these pictures than I do looking at it on myself right now. I took the pictures of the right arm in a brighter LED light, so maybe that is why it shows up a little more.

Until I have another treatment, I am going to try the derma roller that I mentioned in my last post. I hope this will reduce the scarring on the left arm. I may even try it on the stomach, just to see if it does anything.

Thanks for reading! I'm a bit surprised I got this post up as soon as I did. I will try to get a video using the derma roller on my arm soon.

18 October 2014

It has taken some time, but I am finally here with the update I promised months ago. I had problems finding the pictures I had taken before my last treatment. Once I found them, I realized the quality was horrible compared to previous photos I had taken. I tried to fix them, but there wasn't much I could do. On top of that, I've just been fairly eh for the past few months. I assume "eh" is the technical term? I've had many nights like tonight where I am sitting in front of my computer trying to organize the mess I've made on my desktop. There are so many random folders full of photos from my phone, from my camera, or that I've scanned. Pictures of cats, pictures from vacations, pictures of my ancestors from 100 years ago that I'm trying to clean up for my Ancestry tree ... but mostly cats. Anytime I do this, I come across the pictures I meant to upload here and think that I need to get with it and finally post an update. Tonight is the night I finally did it.

Without any further delay, here are the photos of my tattoos that were taken before my treatment in May of this year.

Comparing this photo with the photo before my fourth treatment, you can see a difference around the edges.

Though the flash is really bright, you can see that this one has also faded a decent amount between the fourth and fifth treatments.

This is the underside of my right wrist. While you can still see the outline prior to the filth treatment, you really don't see it at all anymore.

This is the top of the right wrist. This one is also nearly gone. I can show people my arm and they have no idea there were tattoos there. It is amazing to compare it to how it looked before starting the removal process.

Now that I have done this update, I need to take pictures of how everything looks now. Though the left arm and stomach tattoos are still visible, they have faded even more. The right arm looks great. I'm hoping to get another treatment before the end of the year and look forward to seeing if they are even going to be able to do anything on the right arm. Since there really isn't much there at all, I don't know if the laser will hit it correctly. If that is the case, I hope the price I normally pay gets cut a little.

I've mentioned the scarring around the tattoo on my left arm before along with different things I've tried to reduce it. I'm attempting something new now and will post any results I might get from it. Some of you may have heard of derma rolling. For those that haven't, it is a procedure where you take a handheld device called a derma roller, which is outfitted with hundreds of small needles, and roll it across your skin. The needles slightly pierce the skin and cause the skin to heal itself, producing collagen. It is done for acne scars, fine lines, stretch marks, and things of that nature. When I first learned about this, I did a lot of reading up on it. When I heard positive reviews from people whose opinions I trust, I decided to try it out for myself. I found a roller with great reviews for an amount that I didn't mind wasting (if it didn't work) on Amazon. Before it arrived, I read more and more about derma rolling and how people do it. That is when it clicked that if it can be used to heal scarring from acne and stretch marks, perhaps this might help my arm. (For those who don't remember or haven't read, I explain the reason the tattoo on my left arm is scarred in this post.)

This is my roller. Yes, those little needles are sharp. Yes, it is painful. It is meant to pierce the skin. Most people use these rollers on their faces and they do bleed. This procedure is better done by a dermatologist or at a clinic where the roller can be properly cleaned and your skin can be treated to make sure you do not get an infection. It can be done at home. There are rollers specifically for medical professionals and others which are meant to be used at home, though they must be cleaned and sterilized.

I have used my roller on my face. I don't do it hard enough that I bleed. Some people do. It all depends on the reason you use it and the results you are trying to achieve. I do it and then will massage coconut oil over the area. I feel my skin has gotten brighter and even a little bit tighter. Has it helped the scarring from my tattoo, though? I only did it once, so no. The reason I didn't continue is one of the reasons I decided to finally update this blog. I created this blog because I wanted to share the details of my tattoo removal. I don't want to do something that results in a dramatic difference in the appearance of one of the tattoos and not detail what went into it. The roller has been sitting there, waiting for me to use it on my arm. I will get post-treatment five photos this week and finally start using this roller. I am actually thinking about using it only half of the tattoo to see if there is any change. When I do use it on my arm, I will be using it the way it is intended. I'm going to need to bleed a little in order for the scarring to re-heal. If I can figure out how to do it, I will get a short video.

That is it for this post. I will take current photos and get to the next update much quicker than I did with this one. Until then, if anyone has tried derma rolling or any other procedures like it, please tell me how it worked! Same for anyone else going through tattoo removals right now. Especially those of you documenting the process. Leave a link to your blog, Instagram, Facebook, or whatever else you might use in the comment section and I will link to it.

Have a great Halloween everyone! Enjoy the candy and the weather.

14 March 2014

Hello again! It has been quite a while since my last post. I mentioned in previous posts that I had my own health issues. Those haven't been as bad, but I'm still having minor issues here and there. Not to make this an extremely personal depressing post, but the main reason I haven't felt up to posting is that my mom passed away last year. Though things have gotten back to what is now normal, I always forgot to update even when I was up to doing it. I'd look at my arm while taking a shower and think that I'd get out and at least post a small update. By the time I would get out, my cats usually take my focus off of whatever I planned on doing because they yell at me until I turn on the sink so they can make a mess. Anyways, I finally am here. This isn't much of an update, but more of a reminder for me to do an an actual update. Not only do I still need to post photos from before I had my last treatment, but I need to take photos of how they look now. For those of you still reading, have a great weekend and I will be back with pictures soon!

03 June 2013

I had my fifth treatment on May 30th. I did get pictures before the treatment, but have been busy and haven't uploaded them yet. I will get those up at some point this week. This was the best procedure I have done, as far as pain goes. We started with the typical Lidocaine injections around each of the tattoos. When we got to my stomach, I almost didn't want to continue. I was told it is a lot more painful without, so I went ahead. It's weird, I'm fine getting blood drawn and didn't wince when an ER visit required getting an IV in my neck because I was too dehydrated to find a vein in my arms. These tiny Lidocaine injections are the worst, though. I'm glad I got through it because I barely felt the laser this time. I didn't have to ask for a break at any point. The best part was that the PA who does my procedures had a problem seeing the two tattoos on my right wrist because of how faded they are. I have no doubt those tattoos are completely done. It will be another two weeks before I am able to tell with absolute certainty, but there wasn't much left to remove.

The left arm looks good. It isn't as red as it normally is after a treatment and I can already see a great deal of fading. The problem there is still the scarring that existed before my first laser procedure (due to the Tat Gone Ink). Depending on how much ink is left, it might be time to start looking into some type of laser resurfacing. The tattoo removal has actually helped reduce the scarring a bit, but it is still noticeable enough that something will need to be done.

The stomach tattoo is fading nicely, too. It is impossible to tell with this tattoo how the result will be until a few weeks after. There is always minor bruising from the injections and it can get a little more irritated from shirts rubbing across it. Each time I get it done, there are small spots that completely disappear. The more it fades, the more excited I am about it going away. I've hated wearing swimsuits in the last few years because of it. It will be great when it is finally gone and my only concern will be working out enough to be able to put on a swimsuit.

I really hope that I will be able to get another treatment before August, when the PA will be on pregnancy leave. I've been saying it since I started getting these, too, but it really is time to start on getting the tattoos on my back and neck removed. I feel the one on my neck will go quick, like the ones on my right wrist. The others will be a bit more like the stomach. There are some thin lines that will disappear almost immediately and then some thicker spots which are going to take some time.

Though getting these tattoos have been some of the stupidest mistakes I have ever made, the removals has been such an interesting process. I'm glad I decided to document it. I honestly cannot believe how much they have faded since starting this. I knew I'd have some success, but I was extremely nervous going into this. I knew it would be painful. I knew it would be expensive. I was worried about how many treatments it would take and if it was even possible for them to fully disappear. Williamson Cosmetic Center and Kristi, the PA who has done all of my treatments (minus one during a pregnancy leave), have been perfect. Anyone in southern Louisiana or Mississippi in need of tattoo removal, make sure to get

I will try to get the "Before Treatment 5" photos up this week. If there is anything that will show up in photos as everything is healing, I will try to get those, too.

I hope those of you getting your own treatments are having as much success as I am!

24 April 2013

Wow. It has been almost exactly a year since my last post. I've gotten a few comments and messages asking for an update. The last year, I've been having some problems with kidney stones. I've had more than a few surgeries for that and I'm still getting over the previous shoulder surgery. Anyone who is getting a tattoo removed or knows someone who is can vouch, we almost always end up taking a much longer break in between treatments than we would like. This is especially true once the tattoos have faded enough that you aren't noticing a constant reminder any longer. As my health seems to finally be on an incline for the first time in a while, I'm hoping that I will be able to get another laser treatment soon.

Since my last update was soon after a treatment, I will post a wrist picture to show how things look now.

It's almost completely gone!

I think if I were to get some sun, I wouldn't see it at all. Right now, it looks like a slight bruise. The others are still visible and will probably take at least two more treatments, though they have faded very well. I am almost certain this one will disappear completely after one more treatment. Something interesting I have noticed is that even months after having a treatment, the tattoos are fading a little each month that goes by.

When getting IVs for the surgeries I had recently, the nurses would always ask about the tattoo on my left forearm. Because it is a bit of a faded blob that has some scarring for that first non-laser removal I did, the nurses all seem to tread lightly at first when asking about it. One thought it was a burn and didn't want to hurt my feelings. Many guessed correctly by asking if I was having a tattoo removed. When I would tell them about the one on my right wrist (the one pictured above), they've mostly been shocked because they didn't even realize I had one there. I can't wait until the same can be said for the rest of my tattoos.

Thanks to everyone who wrote to ask how the process was going. If anyone reading has started getting their own tattoos removed and is documenting it, please comment so I can link to your page.

I'm going to attempt synching my various accounts (Facebook, Google, Tumblr, Twitter) to keep myself a little more organized and able to update across various platforms. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm willing to try anything. That's it on the update for now. I hope to have another post-treatment update in the near future.