I started this blog to document my tattoo removal both for myself and for other people who are interested in any part of the removal process. Not only did I find very few sites where people were writing about their own treatments, but most of the pictures I came across on websites were horrible Photoshops with attempts to sell various products that obviously did not work. Finding up-to-date blogs or sites with legitimate before and after photos is difficult and it makes researching even tougher.
I recently received a comment from another blogger documenting her laser removal. She started very recently and has a tattoo with red ink, so it will be interesting to see how a different color reacts to treatment. Click here to visit her blog.
As I find out about other blogs and informative sites, I will post them here and to the Blogs or Removal Resources links on the left of this page.
No two people are going to have the exact same results, but the more resources and firsthand information, the better.
09 June 2011
06 June 2011
06 June 2011
The itching has started and I am still trying new things to make it better. Ice helps temporarily, but I still haven't found anything that helps for longer than ten minutes.
I have one picture to show of my right wrist.
The only reason I am posting this one right now is because I am really excited about how it is starting to look. As you can see from my post on February 11, 2011, the tattoos stay fairly red after a treatment. Though it is hard to tell in the pictures, you are able to see ink loss. What is surprising me about this tattoo on my wrist is that I can see almost no ink left! There are a few spots where it is very dull, but it is still so much better than I expected.
After my first treatment, I noticed that some of the ink faded more and more throughout the first few weeks. If this one keeps fading more than I can already see, there won't be much left at all.
It did start off a lot lighter than all my other tattoos, but I will be really happy if this one is completely gone after my third treatment.
I have a lot more bruising this time. It's hard to tell if it comes from the Lidocaine injections or the actual treatment.
As soon as I am a little less busy, I will update with pictures and hopefully a new miracle cure for the itching.
I have one picture to show of my right wrist.
The only reason I am posting this one right now is because I am really excited about how it is starting to look. As you can see from my post on February 11, 2011, the tattoos stay fairly red after a treatment. Though it is hard to tell in the pictures, you are able to see ink loss. What is surprising me about this tattoo on my wrist is that I can see almost no ink left! There are a few spots where it is very dull, but it is still so much better than I expected.
After my first treatment, I noticed that some of the ink faded more and more throughout the first few weeks. If this one keeps fading more than I can already see, there won't be much left at all.
It did start off a lot lighter than all my other tattoos, but I will be really happy if this one is completely gone after my third treatment.
I have a lot more bruising this time. It's hard to tell if it comes from the Lidocaine injections or the actual treatment.
As soon as I am a little less busy, I will update with pictures and hopefully a new miracle cure for the itching.
03 June 2011
03 June 2011
I have just returned from my second treatment. It was more painful than I remember. Don't let that discourage you from getting laser removal, if you plan on doing it though. The pain of the laser is temporary. Right now, I mostly feel like I have a sunburn.
This time it was done a little different. Lidocaine injections were done, like last time, but a topical Lidocaine gel was also put on my stomach and left arm. Also, more injections were done around the bottom part of my stomach. It was very noticeable which spots received more of the medication than others. Some spots I barely felt, other spots were pretty bad.
The laser was also turned a little stronger than last time. If that is supposed to make it feel any worse, I didn't notice.
I will have more pictures as soon as I start to heal. I do have some I got with my phone while still in the office.
This is my right forearm right after the injection of Lidocaine. I have sensitive skin, so it was already getting red.
This is my left arm right after treatment. The white spots are how the skin looks as soon as the laser hits it. Soon after, it starts to turn red.
This is my right forearm about 15 minutes after, right before getting bandaged.
This is my stomach a few minutes after treatment. I worried last time because the ink started to look darker, as it does here.
It is going on three hours since the treatment and I am not sure how everything looks yet. I am still bandaged and will keep this on throughout the day.
It will be a few weeks before these are fully healed and I am able to see the difference since my last treatment, but if it is even half as good as the first, I will be completely satisfied.
I will try to post updates tomorrow and will post as many as possible throughout the coming weeks. As for now, I am going relax and drink a lot of cold water.
This time it was done a little different. Lidocaine injections were done, like last time, but a topical Lidocaine gel was also put on my stomach and left arm. Also, more injections were done around the bottom part of my stomach. It was very noticeable which spots received more of the medication than others. Some spots I barely felt, other spots were pretty bad.
The laser was also turned a little stronger than last time. If that is supposed to make it feel any worse, I didn't notice.
I will have more pictures as soon as I start to heal. I do have some I got with my phone while still in the office.
This is my right forearm right after the injection of Lidocaine. I have sensitive skin, so it was already getting red.
This is my left arm right after treatment. The white spots are how the skin looks as soon as the laser hits it. Soon after, it starts to turn red.
This is my right forearm about 15 minutes after, right before getting bandaged.
This is my stomach a few minutes after treatment. I worried last time because the ink started to look darker, as it does here.
It is going on three hours since the treatment and I am not sure how everything looks yet. I am still bandaged and will keep this on throughout the day.
It will be a few weeks before these are fully healed and I am able to see the difference since my last treatment, but if it is even half as good as the first, I will be completely satisfied.
I will try to post updates tomorrow and will post as many as possible throughout the coming weeks. As for now, I am going relax and drink a lot of cold water.
21 May 2011
21 May 2011
It has been a while since I last wrote about my removal process. I didn't get the second treatment yet, but yesterday I finally set up an appointment. I will be getting it done in less than two weeks.
I have no new pictures to post of my tattoos, because there really isn't a noticeable difference since the last pictures I put up. It looks like there has been a little more fading since then, though I could be imagining. I'm still extremely pleased and cannot wait for the second treatment. I will post new pictures right after getting it done and then again as they start to heal.
I have no new pictures to post of my tattoos, because there really isn't a noticeable difference since the last pictures I put up. It looks like there has been a little more fading since then, though I could be imagining. I'm still extremely pleased and cannot wait for the second treatment. I will post new pictures right after getting it done and then again as they start to heal.
07 April 2011
07 April 2011
Today makes exactly eight weeks since my first treatment. I was told to get my next treatment sometime between eight and ten weeks. I hope to get it done in the next two weeks and will update as soon as I do.
I just took some pictures to show how great things are now. The before pictures can be seen here for a comparison.
With this, you can see the biggest difference in the smaller lines and areas where shading was used. In some spots, ink has completely disappeared.
I haven't been using the Dr. Blaine's ScarCare
sheet as I should, but I've used it enough to notice a very slight difference in the scar. I can't say if it is the sheet or the healing process. I will see as I keep using it in the future.
As for the reduction of ink, this one also did very well.
There are some spots on this one that are completely gone.
As I had guessed, this one is doing the best. It was already a bit faded to start, most of it was done as shading, and the lines were very thin. I did expect it to do better than all the others, but I am honestly surprised at how good it is turning out. I can't wait to see how it looks after the next treatment.
I just took some pictures to show how great things are now. The before pictures can be seen here for a comparison.
With this, you can see the biggest difference in the smaller lines and areas where shading was used. In some spots, ink has completely disappeared.
I haven't been using the Dr. Blaine's ScarCare
sheet as I should, but I've used it enough to notice a very slight difference in the scar. I can't say if it is the sheet or the healing process. I will see as I keep using it in the future.As for the reduction of ink, this one also did very well.
There are some spots on this one that are completely gone.
As I had guessed, this one is doing the best. It was already a bit faded to start, most of it was done as shading, and the lines were very thin. I did expect it to do better than all the others, but I am honestly surprised at how good it is turning out. I can't wait to see how it looks after the next treatment.