14 February 2011

I'm posting a small update today because I am a little surprised how things are going. First, last night was the worst night I've had yet since getting the laser treatment. Nothing painful, just a lot of itching. I woke up every 30 minutes or so simply because of how annoying it felt. I tried Hydrocortisone, prescription Lidocaine, and ice packs. None of it helped, but I managed not to scratch. If anyone has any suggestions on what can be used to stop the itching, please post a comment.

I don't have pictures today, because there is still a lot of redness, but everything looks great. The skulls on my right wrist are the best. If you look at my first picture post, you will see that the eyes are already light, but you can see that they are there. Now they look to have disappeared almost completely. I notice more and more little pieces of ink that have disappeared each day. It has only been four days, so I am hoping that things keep disappearing at this rate.

I've done a bit of reading and found out that keeping yourself healthy, drinking more water, and exercising can help the removal process. The body naturally starts to break down a tattoo as soon as you get it, but the ink particles are too large for the body to completely remove on its own. During laser removal, the ink is broken into smaller particles and is removed much quicker. The healthier you are, the easier it is for your immune system to take care of the ink particles.

I will update later this week with photos, if the redness goes away.